Passionate South African knifemaker David Hoehler has a sharp eye for bespoke chef’s blades.
We’re in the kitchen of David’s home in Salt Rock on the KZN North Coast. A gleaming array of his exquisite knives takes centre stage on the table in front of us. The sharpness of the blades, the smoothness of the steel, the comfortable fit of the handles in one’s hand speak of years of practice and the fascination for knives that began when David was a little boy. “My late dad, Carl, was an avid collector of knives, so I was exposed to them from an early age. I got my first pocketknife when I was in nursery school,” he shares.
Growing up, David would spend hours making knives, axes and the like from all manner of materials. He also retreated regularly to Carl’s study, where he pored over books on knifemaking, constantly whetting his appetite for crafting his own knives.
“The number-one reason I became a full-time knifemaker was to find happiness,” smiles David Hoehler, crafter of superior chef’s knives, which are gaining favour both here and abroad. “I don’t belong in an office; I need to work with my hands.”
Along with a passion for knives, David was a keen cook and he combined these two interests to qualify as a chef at Fern Hill Hotel Training College in the KZN Midlands. His career took him to many places, including Florida in the USA. But, upon his engagement to Karin who is now his wife, he found himself at a crossroads: family life or the exacting career of a chef? Choosing family, he left the kitchen to sell advertising and write restaurant reviews for the North Coast Courier. Later, David joined an e-waste recycling company. All the while, he dreamed of a career as a knifemaker, but lacked the means to acquire the necessary equipment.
The dream only started to become a reality five years ago when he visited a friend’s father who pursued his knifemaking hobby in a home workshop fitted with basic equipment. Inspired, David began setting up his own workshop, gradually buying the tools required to make good-quality knives. “That’s when I seriously started as a knifemaker. I’d come home from work and make knives at night,” he smiles.
As word spread and his social media sites gained traction, orders came from far and wide; some for more than he’d expected, like one for 60 biltong knives. David fulfilled the order, but his pricing was too low, so he made a loss. Still, the experience proved valuable. “I decided to move away from the standard South African knives – biltong and hunting knives – and specialise in chef’s knives, the most used type of knife in the world.”
Friendships forged in the restaurant community through writing reviews gave David the boost he needed. “I showed some of my wooden knife templates to Brett Michielin of Mozambik restaurant in Ballito. He ordered several. But I still needed more equipment, so Brett paid me in advance.”
One of only a handful of chef’s knifemakers in the country, David is the only one who is also a trained chef, as far as he knows. And, his eight years spent behind the cutting board uniquely positions him to create knives a chef really wants.
His focus is on functional knives that are realistically priced and used every day. “I’m not one for making collector’s knives,” he says. However, David once inadvertently created a collector’s item when he was asked to make a knife to raise funds for a school that burnt down in the Knysna fires. “The request was for steel screws from the school roof to be fused into the blade steel. It was a nightmare of a knife; the steel kept cracking and warping. I managed to salvage it, but it wasn’t a workable knife. It raised R10 000 on auction though,” he grins.
THERE’S A JAPANESE SAYING THAT WHEN A BLADESMITH MAKES A KNIFE, HE PUTS HIS SOUL INTO IT. WOULD YOU PUT YOUR SOUL INTO A DISHWASHER?
Hand-crafting a knife is labour-intensive by any standard. David describes the two methods used: “One is bladesmithing or forging. It’s not what I do. It’s loud, hot work and involves heating carbon steel until it’s red hot, then hammering it into shape. Carbon steel discolours and rusts, but some people love the patina that develops.” His preferred method is stock removal, which uses stainless steel and is the preference of 95% of his customers.
David starts by tracing a shape around a wooden template placed on a flat bar of raw steel, then cutting out the knife with an angle grinder or bandsaw. Next, he puts the knife into a kiln at 1 060°C for 7 – 15 minutes (depending on the thickness) to harden the steel. “This puts the essence into the knife; one of the most important aspects of the process,” he clarifies.
Next, the knife is quenched by heating it at 200°C for two hours, then letting it cool. The process is repeated twice to ensure the blade reaches the desired hardness. Grinding, shaping of the bevels and sharpening of the blade follow, and finally, the logo and the handle, also carefully hand-crafted, are applied. “On average, it takes eight hours to complete a knife,” he elaborates. David describes his style as a bridge between two types of speciality chef’s knives. “I’ve taken the cutting performance of the thinner, sharper Japanese blade and put it into the looks of the heavier, thicker Western style.”
He uses a premium stainless steel called N690 that’s made in Austria and is superior to the steel used in most commercially available kitchen knives. “This means my knives are harder and, with the edge geometries I grind into the blades, they cut extremely well and will stay sharper for longer,” he highlights. The most popular knife in his range is the 21cm chef’s knife – “the most versatile” – while the 17cm one is favoured by people on a budget or who feel overwhelmed by a larger knife. “It still has substance and will get most jobs done,” notes David.
Being hand-made, each Hoehler knife is unique. “I enjoy putting personality into each one and I experiment with South African hardwoods for the handles. We have some of the best hardwoods in the world, like African blackwood, wild olive, mopane and kameeldoring.” But wood does come with challenges: it can absorb moisture and, in drier climates, it tends to shrink. So, David is increasingly also using synthetics like carbon fibre as a more durable and modern alternative. Most of the handles, whether wood or synthetic, have an inter-screw construction, which provides a mechanical fastener, and are epoxied in place to ensure the handles don’t come loose. But, he cautions, regardless of how durable the handle, a hand-crafted knife should never be put in a dishwasher.
“There’s a Japanese saying that when a bladesmith makes a knife, he puts his soul into it. Would you put your soul into a dishwasher?” That aside, the heat in a dishwasher weakens the pins and rivets, wrecks the handle materials and affects the steel strength. According to David, another aspect of knife care that’s overlooked is the sharpening. “The pull-through sharpeners don’t work; the best tool is a Japanese sharpening stone – available online from Kitchen Samurai – and there are YouTube videos on how to use it,” he advises. David also recommends using hardwood, bamboo or plastic cutting boards instead of glass, marble and granite worktops, which ruin blades.
Apart from his father’s early influence on him, David’s greatest inspiration came from Mandeni-based knifemaker Stefan Diedericks, who gives courses on the craft. “Stefan is a world-class knifemaker with a wealth of knowledge. He took me under his wing and mentored me. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him,” David enthuses.
Other inspiration comes from fellow members of the North Coast Knife Makers Club, whose monthly meetings are an opportunity for like-minded people to get together, to encourage one another to push the boundaries, learn new techniques and share ideas. “Artisan knifemaking isn’t a particularly competitive occupation and it’s little known in our country because people don’t recognise the difference between a good knife and a bad one, so they tend to buy cheap knives. We want them to understand that a good knife is the best investment they can make in their cooking, and that with proper use, it should last a long time.”
The camaraderie within the knifemaking community is also what makes exhibiting at shows like the Durban Easter Knife Show worthwhile for David. For him, such events are not only about showcasing knives, but also about the learning experience and peer inspiration. Exposure is all-important too, of course, and that’s what the Appetite Fest in Pretoria in September provided.
My knives were displayed in the Chefs Theatre where celebrity chefs were doing their demonstrations. This came about after I contacted top chef Coovashan Pillay, with whom I once worked when I was a chef, and who is now on the board of the South African Chefs Association,” David reveals. “I asked Coovashan if there was a way to involve my knives in the association. He recommended that I contact the organisers of Appetite Fest.” After showing them some of his knives, David got the go-ahead for a stand. “That was another reason I gave up my job to become a full-time knifemaker – I needed the time to make as many knives as I could,” he smiles.
In carving out his new career, David has a guiding principle: he makes knives to please himself and that do what he wants them to do, which is to perform their task well. Underpinning that focus is his passion for the craft. “It’s a soul thing. The greatest satisfaction for me is seeing the smile on customers’ faces when I watch them cutting with my knives.” To ensure that clients get the knife best suited to their needs, David sells all his pieces directly to the public via his website.
BY ANDREA ABBOTT | PHOTOGRAPHS BY CRAIG SCOTT | FOODANDHOME.CO.ZA | NOVEMBER 2019