The Shed magazine April/May 2026 issue 126 on sale now
Hayden Scott’s road to crafting Damascus blades has been a journey of self-discovery, from an ambitious teen working the boning tables of the Balclutha freezing works to chef Al Brown’s right-hand man. Now, with over 25 years of experience using knives, he has found his calling: hand-forging the finest blades for cooks all over the world from his backyard sheds in the Waitākere Ranges.
“Hayden grew up in Balclutha surrounded by farmland and a practical family: his mum made the family’s clothes; dad was a chippie; an uncle built airplanes, and another uncle was a fitter and turner.
Hayden and his brother were often left to their own devices, usually with a pocket knife in hand. He remembers, “I always had a project on the go. What have we got here? What can I make from this?” Huts and bows and arrows lead to hovercrafts with electric motors, and later to bicycles, motorbikes, and furniture restorations.
His uncle Russell was a real inspiration, a builder who knocked together a Jodel airplane, which Hayden fondly remembers flying around Otago in. “I was in absolute awe that someone could build something like that, at home.” Another uncle, Allan, was a Fitter and Turner who rebuilt motorcycles. He had to dig out a cellar under his house to store his vast collection of vintage motorcycles. Hayden remembers, “He was always in there with his overalls on, working on them. Growing up around people like that was really motivating.”
Making a workshop bench video
Every shed needs a utility bench, and most sheds usually have one or two.
It’s a place where things can be worked on or stored. I have built a few recently, and I have developed a simple process that makes the process quite easy and results in a sturdy workshop asset with space for storage.
The advantage of this design is that it doesn’t require good, straight timber. In fact, I often buy very cheap, knotty 2nd or third grade timber from my local sawmill, who specialise in Macrocarpa. I can get long lengths, but they are rarely straight or twist-free. Sometimes I can get relatively straight pieces, or I can find 3 metres or so in a 4-5m length. For the most part, you can usually find enough pieces of around a metre that are relatively straight.
Hobbit haven
I have made a hobbit house for my kids almost entirely from recycled materials and left-overs from building a garage. The frame is an old trampoline. It is 3.2 metres wide (this depends on the size of your trampoline ) and 2.3 metres high at the apex. I can stand in it easily. The poles that were for the side of the trampoline had holes at the top so by the time I lashed them all together it was incredibly strong.
I made the walls out of an old pallet with a couple of bigger bits of driftwood on top. We mudded the walls with a mix of dirt, grass and a little cement until there were no more holes and then patched as needed. I used all kinds of recycled wood that would fit. We have added more layers as needed or as bits fall off. The walls are probably about 100 mm thick on average but up to 150 mm in places and we have added paper in the middle for extra insulation.
Content categories
Videos
