K’roo Blades

Our Story

Custom knife makers situated in the Great Karoo desert region of South Africa.

K’roo Blades is a father and son team situated in the Great Karoo desert region of South Africa. This is where our brand name “K’roo” is derived from – the locals pronounce Karoo with the “a” silent, it is pronounced much like “crew” in English

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Our Beginning

It started out as a hobby

Like most makers I started out as a hobby maker in 2005. I was a professional hunter at that stage and also very involved in black powder shooting as well as historical re- enactments, so I started out making hunting knives and “rustic” knives for the black powder hunters and re-enactors. But I have always had a love for the slipjoint and back lock folders – when I grew up, just about every boy always had a slipjoint in his pocket – even at school. I am grateful to say my kids all appreciate and carry a good knife and know how to use it properly.

Our Beginning

Going full time with Knife Making

When I decided to go full time into knife making, and specifically folders, the learning curve was steep, and tough. There is surprisingly little information about making slipjoints available, and what is available is often disjointed, and incomplete in essential detail. The fact that there were almost no slipjoint makers locally at that stage, and with me living in the middle of the Karoo desert resulted in my being entirely self-taught. I am grateful to say that I have been able to share that knowledge with new makers on courses I teach from time to time, and even more grateful to see some of them develop to be amongst the best slipjoint makers in the country.

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What drives K’roo Blades

We make what we love.

A love of knives. We make what we love. As simple as that. I have carried, used, and been fascinated with knives since I can remember. Our stated aim is to provide the best quality knives we can and to do so at the best possible value for money on the market. This does not mean cheap – it means our aim is to make and supply a top-quality folder for the best possible price, and we continuously strive to achieve this.

View our previous work

The Team

And I am very proud, and profoundly grateful, to say that my son joined me in 2019, and he has proven to be a great asset to the business. He grew up in the workshop to a large extent and I started teaching him when he was about 12. I am proud to say he already makes at least as good a knife as me, and his knives have become sought after items amongst collectors quickly. He is also driving a continued and ongoing effort for achieving ever better quality and value for money – nothing like a fresh mind and a little healthy competition to keep dad on his toes and stimulate improvements!