Thinus Bothma

I was interested in knives from a very young age. I suppose it was because my Dad had a bowie/hunting type of knife that I used to play with and was quite fascinated by this knife wondering who made it, how was it made, etc.

In the 1980’s and 90’s I attended quite a few of the Knifemakers Guild shows but it was only in 1999 that I decided to also pursue this hobby. I contacted a Guild member that stayed the closest to me, which happened to be Gavin Dickerson, and asked him to teach me the trade and luckily he agreed. In April 2000 I sold my first two hunting knives to two of my colleagues at work who believed in my skills. From there on my hobby just took off.

In July 2006 I was accepted into the Knifemakers Guild and my hobby as a knife maker was truly on track.

From February 2020 I became a full time knife maker.