Danabay, South Africa
Cell. 072 525 4770
eMail. magnusstone5 @gmail.com
I grew up in Chrissiesmeer, in the lake district of Mpumalanga, where my parents had a small but successful business, manufacturing wool duvets and pillows. It was through marketing these products at craft markets that I first came into contact with knife makers like Gawie and Tinus Herbst and Kevin Harvey. At that time I was about eight years old, and could do no more than leave my fingerprints on their blades.
It was about that time that my brother, who is five years older than me, decided that he wanted to make knives. So after some research, my father built him a hollow grinder similar to a Herbst ultimate grinder. My brother never made knives, and after eight years of using the hollow grinder for odd jobs, I, then sixteen, decided to have a go at knife making, after all, I always had a burning passion for knives.
After doing a daylong “Look and Learn” course at Kevin Harvey, and grinding away several meters of mild steel, I made my first real knife in September 2012. I made some saw blade knives before that, but this was my first real knife with a hollow grind and bolster.
Meanwhile I was working my way through school, and being home schooled, I used every opportunity to make knives, sometimes much to my mother’s dismay. I matriculated in 2013, and, faced with the question of what to do with my life, I decided to become a fulltime knife maker, so I did a rather late knife making course at Herbst, and started working. In April 2014 we moved to Mosselbay, where I am fortunate enough to share a workshop with another knife maker, which is a great help. In the meantime I bought myself a Herbst grinder, but my father’s machine is still serving me well.
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