Chris Reeve - Early Knifemaking

Early Knifemaking

Reeve began his knife-making career by chance. Before being called up for a 3-month compulsory military service period in 1975 on the Mozambique / South African border, he noted that the standard army kit did not include a good all-purpose knife. As a result, Reeve decided to design and make one.

A subsequent three-month military service period in 1978 was spent on the Angola/ Namibia border. Reeve had previously designed and made for himself a hidden tang knife with a wooden handle, inlaid with silver wire. The climate in Durban where the knife was made is hot and humid, while the Angola/ Namibia area is semi-desert. After a few days in the dry air, the wooden handle had dried and large cracks appeared. This set Reeve thinking about a knife that could be used across all climates without such damage. The idea of an all-steel knife, with both handle and blade made from a single solid bar, started to germinate. Reeve’s resulting one piece knife concept was first produced as a custom knife in 1982. The one piece concept hit production as the 7 inch bladed MK IV, with 40 pieces becoming available for sale early in 1983. Chris stopped tool making and became a full-time knifemaker in January 1984.