Dobruski, Mauricio

Mauricio Dobruski's grandfather, a skilled gunsmith, fled World War II from Poland to Brazil. Mauricio's father learned the gunsmithing profession from his father, but he found that in rural, agricultural, Southern Brazil, there was more demand for plowshares than guns -- literally. So, he turned to plowshares and hoes eventually starting a manufacturing company producing such parts. At twelve years old, Mauricio started working in his uncle's gun shop. Between his father's factory and his uncle's shop, Mauricio literally grew up in machine shops surrounded by lathes, milling machines, grinders, saws, and all the tools and processes of knife making. But, he didn't try making a knife until his was eighteen years old. After three years, he started selling a few of his knives locally. In 1997 he became a full-time professional knife maker.