Berthelsen Smedje

Jesper Berthelsen founded Berthelsen Smedje in 1998 after apprenticing as a silversmith at Georg Jensen, then training at historical-reproduction smithies on the Copenhagen island of Amager, where the site says he studied medieval armor and weapon restoration for Danish museums. The site also states that blacksmithing can be traced within the Berthelsen family back to the 1400s via old church records, according to the workshop.

The workshop sits in Marup on Central Zealand, described on the site as overlooking a "viking landscape." Per the site's own description, "everything is manufactured here at the address," including forging the blades, sewing the leather sheaths, and shaping handles from recycled wood. Jesper's son, Lucas Berthelsen, has worked alongside him in the smithy since 2015, making it a two-generation operation.

Berthelsen describes himself on the site as a "multi-artist: tattooer, silversmith, blacksmith, leathersmith, handle-maker, grinder and polisher and maker of fine art" — an unusually broad description of a workshop spanning blades, handles, leather and finishing. The webshop sells chef's knives, nakiri, bunka, and petty knives, priced roughly 750–4,500 Danish kroner on the current webshop, with each piece described as unique since blade, handle, and sheath are all made in-house by hand rather than assembled from outsourced parts. The founding date, apprenticeship and family lineage are therefore presented as the workshop’s own account.