About us

Bio Wicus Hattingh

I was raised in a small rural town in South Africa’s Northern Province, where resilience, discipline, and self-reliance were part of everyday life. Those early foundations shaped a career that would span decades in elite operational environments before ultimately leading me to the forge.

In 1976, I joined the South African Police Force, and in 1980 I was selected for the South African Police Special Task Force — an honour reserved for a small number of operators. During my service, I qualified in parachuting, explosives, underwater diving, VIP protection, hostage negotiation, and counter-terror operations in both rural and urban environments. I later served as an Inspector of Explosives and Bomb Disposal Officer, roles that demanded absolute precision, composure, and technical discipline.

After leaving the Police Force in 2005, I continued working internationally as a Close Protection Officer in Iraq for the U.S. Department of Defence Corps of Engineers, later serving as a VIP Protection instructor and advisor to the team of the Prime Minister of Iraq. In 2007, I joined Vanguard, safeguarding critical oil exploration and extraction operations in the Kurdistan region. During this time, I also completed the NEBOSH International General Certificate and qualified as a Health and Safety Officer.

In 2017, I returned home to Pretoria and committed myself fully to Bladesmithing. Knife making is where my lifetime of discipline, technical precision, and operational experience meets craftsmanship. I trained under Master Smiths Kevin and Heather Harvey in their Introduction to Bladesmithing course and am proud to be an apprentice member of the American Bladesmiths Society (ABS). I create working and tactical knives designed for performance, reliability, and purpose. My work includes high carbon steel, stainless steel, and Damascus steel blades — both fixed and folding knives. I use a combination of forging and stock removal, and with the addition of my 25-ton press, I am forging and producing my own Damascus steel.

Every knife I make reflects the same principles that defined my career: strength, precision, and uncompromising reliability.