Kernunos: where modern knives meet Highland history

There’s a locked glass case at FISK Gallery in Polbain, near Achiltibuie, where I can usually find a knife I’d like to own and very little justification for buying it. The blades and handles are the work of Gabriel Moyne, the French maker behind Kernunos at Knockan, Elphin, and almost every time I visit I have another look in the hope that a convincing reason will occur to me. So far, the prices have helped me keep my money in my pocket, although I’m beginning to think I could have bought one for the amount of time I’ve spent admiring them.

Gabriel is one of those rather irritating people who has managed to acquire talent, good looks and a French accent, and that combination once helped me persuade a guest to take an interest in contemporary knives. We’d been in an antique shop in Beauly when I discovered that one of the two gentlemen touring with me collected them. I suggested we might visit Gabriel when we got farther west, but he explained that his interest was in antiques. Once I’d described the maker, the conversation became rather more enthusiastic, and I agreed we could go provided they intended to look at the knives as well.

Fortunately, Gabriel’s work was quite capable of keeping their attention. The gentleman who had been interested only in antiques ended up commissioning a substantial set, so he went home with considerably more than I’ve ever managed to justify to myself. Gabriel makes bespoke pieces as well as sgian-dubhs, the small knives worn with Highland dress, and draws on Celtic, Viking and Pictish art. With the blade and handle worked as parts of an individual design, you can spend a good while looking at a knife before you get anywhere near the question of what you might use it for.

Visits like that tend to take shape as I get to know guests. An interest comes up in conversation, perhaps while we’re browsing somewhere else, and somebody farther along the route suddenly becomes a person worth meeting. You do need to contact Gabriel beforehand, because he’s a working artisan and a visit has to fit around what he’s doing. If it can be arranged, though, there’s a particular pleasure in meeting the person who makes something you’ve admired behind glass. You may even come away with a commission, while I’ll probably still be trying to explain to myself why I need just the one.

To learn more, book one of our North Coast Explorer private tours.