Peet Uys at a knife show in Nelspruit. PROFILE
Under African skies rock are melted for iron .Trees are cut for a precious piece of unique wood to be used as a scale in a knife. Blood, tears and a lot of cursing later a knife is born to be sold to the highest bidder …………..NOT REALLY.
Stainless steel, exclusively designed for knife-making is imported and selected small pieces of wood are stabilized and used to make a knife to the best of my ability.
My name is Peet Uys and I reside in Erasmusrand, a suburb of Pretoria in sunny South Africa. I retired from the Central Bank of South Africa (S. A Reserve Bank) in 2003 and since then spent most of my time creating and building knifes.
Originally I started making knives for pleasure and as a hobby, but was encouraged by friends and family to start selling the knives.
As a keen hunter I am aware of all the qualities a knife should have to be practical in the veld. It must be light, washable and most of all, the hunter must be proud of his knife and keen on showing it off to his mates. I strive to meet all these qualities in my hunter’s knives.
On my folders, intended for everyday use I built different qualities into my knives. Design will focus on weight,’looks’ and size. But I still want the owner to be proud on his custom made knife. I’m aware that ‘cheap’ knives can be purchased in any store the same as you can buy a print from Picasso paintings. You can hang the original or a print in your house. The choice is yours – the same principle will apply with the knife you carry.
I try to design my own knives except in the case of Joseph Roger-knives. As a youngster this was the knife to have. Because of my respect for these knives I imitate the Joseph Roger with small exceptions. My knives are ‘liner - lock’ as to ‘slip back’ and I use Buffallo-horn for the scales instead of plastic. On the outside I try to stay as close as possible to the original design.
All the designs and materials used in the production of my knives are reflective of the South African environment. In this regard unique South African hard woods like black and red ivory, wild olive, tambotie and hardekool are used in the production. Giraffe-bone and antelope horn are also used because of their unique qualities. New designs are constantly introduced to my collection and this web catalogue is a good representation of my current range, and will be updated as and when new knives become available. Accolades
In 2008 the 'Beaver Society of England' asked the 'Sharp Shapes Society of Knife makers' to hold a competition for the best 'Beaver Knife', with the option to buy the ten best knives. The two knives above were entered with the top knife achieving second place and the bottom one fifth. The top knife was also awarded "Best Knife in the club' - (the knife maker that came first was not a member of the club).
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