Herucus Blomerus Custom Knives - About the Craftsman

HERUCUS BLOMERUS CUSTOM KNIVES:

The Custom in the Making – The ideal behind a custom knife is the creation of something superior in its design, choice of materials, and the execution of its construction.

Where did it all start? Herucus J Blomerus was born in 1958 in Upington, Northern Cape, and grew up in Pretoria. He bought knives with his pocket money as a young boy. His interest grew to a knife collection of over 300 knives. He made his first knife in 1998 and it was not long before the interest in handcrafted knives developed. He started to setup his workshop and even built some of his own machinery.

He started under the mentorship of a friend, Andre Thorburn, and slowly developed his hobby into part time knife making. First he designed his own biltong knife and followed up making hunting knives. After completing his liner lock folding knife course, he started his well-known series of folding knives.

He continues to design new models, of which the HB 17 Motswiri & HB 18 Phiri models are the latest thereof. He continues to develop his craft and he focuses on custom builds. This gives the customer the opportunity to select their chosen materials to be used. That’s how knife dreams come true.

He has a well-established workshop, carefully selected material, he crafts his knives to perfection. He uses different manufacturing methods, that includes allot of hand skills like hand satin finished blades, jimping, needle file work, patiently grinding each blade to exact measurements and anodizing Titanium liners.. All done by hand. One of his signature finishes are the Blomerus lines. He incorporates certain machinery for certain manufacturing tasks. Collaborating with Julien Marchal, who does all his custom engraving as requested by customers.

Each of these components are machined, hand finished and mechanisms meticulously fitted by hand following the craftsmanship principles unknown to the mass mass-production industry.

South Africa has its own highly regarded group called the Knife Makers Guild of South Africa which is an exclusive group dedicated to peer evaluations based on quality. Herucus Blomerus’ talented manufacturing skills and eye for great designs, has earned him a spot in the guild from 2000 and his popularity has skyrocketed ever since.

Since the start of 2020, he has shifted his focus to become a full time knife maker, utilising his manufacturing skills to live out his passion and purpose. He appreciates the mentors he has had, and to pay-it-forward, he started hosting fixed blade knife making courses from the beginning of this year.

Herucus Blomerus creates beautiful knives that have the look and feel of art knives but still function like work knives. He is a talented knife maker with a lot of experience. He extracts the very best from the materials he uses, available to the customer and brings them together in a knife which is both an investment as well as a practical tool. Each component of the knife is perfectly fitted by hand and thus each knife is unique. His knives’ smooth action really defines the quality of his work.

Herucus believes that a folding knife is primarily a working tool which can be your everyday carry!

“Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind.”
― Johannes Brahms