Bright steel from the dark continent: classic custom blades from an old-world craftsman

Guns Magazine, Oct, 2004 by Jim Gardner

Arno Bernard is a big bear of a fellow, but in contrast to his physical appearance he's quiet and soft speaking--until you happen onto a subject that ignites his passion. And Bernard's passion is steel. Or more correctly, the fine knives he creates to be used--not to be stored away in safe or drawer. But more on that in a moment.

I met Arno at a knife show and was struck both by the handsome style of his hand-crafted blades and by the number of them available for inspection. Bernard is a prolific maker, made more so by the restrictive regulations in his native South Africa which prevent him from shipping his wares out of the country. At this particular show. he had close to 100 blades on display, and while they fell into several general patterns, Bernard's use of natural materials made each one unique.

A pleasant hour was passed looking over Bernard's samples and chatting with him and his son Ruin. Each knife was splendid in its own way.

Vertically Integrated

In the terminology of the modern business world. Arno is a "vertically integrated" knifemaker. He not only grinds and finishes his blades, selects handle materials such as warthog tusks, giraffe bone and exotic hard woods from the bounty of Africa, but also sews his own sheaths and even performs his own heat treatment on site.

That last item is becoming fairly uncommon among U.S. custom knifemakers, who often use specialized beat treating firms. There's nothing at all wrong with this, and certainly the motivation is to make the best possible product for the end user, but I think you have to admire a maker who insists on performing every step of the process personally and to the very best of his ability.

Bernard prefers to work with the popular ATS 34 steel (a tough stainless with high wear resistance) and D2 tool steel (an even tougher alloy which sacrifices a small degree of rust resistance but produces an incredibly tough, durable edge).

His knives feature a fully tapered tang, a labor-intensive feature that's not as well appreciated as it should be. The tapered tang reduces weight in the handle and places the balance further forward where it increases control. The result is a knife that's easier to work with and just feels "fight.'" Look for this nice custom detail next time you examine a good knife.

Tools To Be Used

Perhaps the most uniform characteristic of Bernard's knives is they all feel comfortable and willing in the hand, like picking up your favorite sixgun. There's no needless ornamentation, no contours designed to appeal to the eye if they won't at the same time feel welcoming in the hand. And that gels to the heart of Arno's opinion about the custom knife world.

"There's a big difference," Bernard explained, "between those who make collectible and "art knives' and those who make knives designed to be used. I can admire the skill that goes into a knife meant to be more an object of art than a useful implement, but some of those creations are so beautiful you're afraid to use them. For myself. I much prefer to make good tools that will be used and enjoyed.

"Of course," he adds with a grin, "we make these as visually pleasing as we can."

And pleasing they are, with sweeping lines, excellent, uniform metal finish and really attractive, comfortable handles. Bernard's sheaths are very nice as well, sewn from rich cape buffalo leather into a deep pouch that retains the knife securely but needs no straps or fasteners.

Happy Camper

As if to underscore Bernard's lecture on the merits of good using knives, a past customer walks up and introduces himself. He's an active hunter and outdoorsman and confessed to owning seven of Arno's custom blades.

He's taken to keeping them scattered in various places--one in this pack, another in that truck, one as a regular companion for day hikes--because he never wants to be without one. He reports they're comfortable to use, work well and hold an excellent edge. Frankly, he couldn't say enough good things about Bernard's workmanship.

Finally, convinced both by this gent's glowing recommendation as well my own inspection, I paid the most sincere compliment of all--I bought one.

Trim And Capable

It's a tidy little blade with a slightly dropped point, no bolsters and with a full tapered tang, which keeps the weight down to an airy 1.8 ounces. The blade is 2.75-inches long, ground from .125" stock. This is u high-country hunter's knife if I've ever seen one--big enough to do the job, but without a scrap of excess weight.

The scales are of warthog tusk secured with epoxy and five delicate stainless pins. The scales are wonderfully thin and beautifully contoured, but combined with the finger notch the knife feels completely secure in the hand. Perhaps they would feel a bit small for a guy with a Paul Bunyan-sized mitt, but no worries, Arno makes other knives that will nicely fill out a big hand.

Every detail exudes careful workmanship, from the perfect symmetry of the grind lines to the final hand rubbed blade finish. Even his maker's mark electro-etched into the blade is done more crisply than is usually seen. Bottom line, Arno's work is first class in every respect.