Cape Town, South Africa
Tel. 083 789 1114
eMail. hilton@purvis.web.za
Honourary Life Member.
My interest in the art of scrimshaw began in 1986 through a chance encounter with pioneering custom knifemaker Des Horn.
I was not a complete stranger to custom knifemaking, having been given an Owen Wood springblade folder for my 21st birthday, but little did I know that we would meet years later, not as knifemaker and client, but as fellow exhibitors, behind tables at a knife show.
1987 saw my admittance to the Knifemakers Guild, the first scrimshander to do so. Although I continue to be a member of the Guild I no longer practice the art of scrimshaw. My work is represented in collections in the USA, Germany, Italy, France and Japan and has been published in a number of overseas journals and books such as “Points Of Interest”, “African Blade”, “KNIVES Annual” and various monthly magazines. I specialised in portrait work and African game, making exclusive use of the “stipple” method, working only in monochrome, on freestanding items or hand made knives. The average time taken to complete a design was 70-100 hours.
I live with my wife Loretta in a house overlooking the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by a garden filled with wild birds. We enjoy travelling, and food, with sushi and dim sum being their favourites, travelling, spending time with friends, and more travelling! Loretta is a keen photographer, and feels sure that in a past life she must have been a spice merchant!
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