Father and son Dmitrii Federov (left) and Egor Makarov show their wares to a group of customers on Sunday at the 2024 Lloydminster Gun and Outdoor Sportsman Show. Jeannette Benoit-Leipert Meridian Source
A father-son team brought more than goods to the 2024 Lloydminster Gun andOutdoor Sportsman Show.
Not only did they display their handcrafted knives and other unique items, but they also provided a chance for people to learn about Siberian culture.
Originally from the Sakha Republic, Egor Makarov and his son Dmitrii Federov, came to Canada seven years ago and currently run their business; Sakha Knife, out of Calgary.
“I design all of the knives myself,” said Makarov, who is also a photographer, producer, traveller, and collector. He has taken many award-winning photos and produced documentary films showcasing the beauty of his northern homeland. The most popular of those is called ‘24 Snow’.
“As long as I remember, I have always been attracted and charmed by stories and hidden secrets of my native land,” said Makarov, who is an adventurer at heart.
In the winter of 2021, he supported Nikita Gretsi (London, UK) in the first leg of his 1,000 km expedition. Gretsi rode on Sakha horses along the deadly Road of Bones and Makarov rode 500 kilometres on reindeer with the famous Swedish travel blogger Mikael Strandberg.
Another one of his passions is mountaineering. He has climbed several of the highest peaks in the world: Mount Elbrus (5642 m) in Europe, Denali (6190 m) in Alaska in North America and Aconcagua (6961 m) in Argentina in South America.
Makarov and his team of metal workers bring their culture to life through their handmade items, each using only natural Siberian materials, which aren’t often easy to harvest, considering their homeland of the Sakha Republic sees very extreme climatic shifts.
In the winter the temperatures fall as low as -70 degrees, and summer often sees +35.
Woolly mammoths once roamed his homeland, which Fedorov explained, pointing to the handle of a knife.
“This is from a mammoth tusk, found in the permafrost.”
When asked how long it would take to make a knife such as that—including the forging of the blade and handle construction, he said it’s not a quick process.
“It really depends on the knife, but most knives take over 80-100 hours,” said Federov.
“Everything is natural. The process itself comes from making the blade from Iron ore.”
There are other things they forge as well, including a Siberian music instrument—called a jew harp, and scissors.
“In Siberia, men give scissors to their wives as a gift. It’s like a lucky charm. They are very sharp and can be used to cut fabrics and lots of things.
Even the jewelry Makarov wore at the show was made of natural materials.
“That is horses’ hair, it’s braided,” said Makarov. “And this is cherry stone from Siberia”, he said, pointing to the lilac-coloured stone around his neck.
Federov said his father likes coming to Lloydminster because the temperatures are cooler than in Calgary, and it reminds him of their homeland.
“He likes the cold temperature, he wants to buy a little house up north.”