Māripi (knife) - Svord with Pounamu Handle

4" blade from 15n20 carbon steel, 2.41mm thick, Brass guard and Comes with a genuine leather sheath.

Bryan Baker, Master Cutler started his knife making business from necessity in 1983. Made redundant by the untimely demise of an engineering firm, the 18 year old decided to turn a hobby into a practical business.

The early SVORD Knives were forged individually and therefore expensive. Bryan Baker had to rethink his production methods and pricing to secure a share of the New Zealand sports market. He began using the 'stock removal' method and soon carved a niche in the sports market, with attractive, affordable, handmade outdoor knives.

Designs improved styles and a steady demand saw SVORD Knives grow in credibility and popularity with the sporting public of New Zealand.

A chance meeting with an elderly Czechoslovak knife maker gave Bryan Baker's business a real boost for this master craftsman was able to pass on to Baker many cutlers secrets and knife know-how.
Especially important was the unique hardening and tempering process which gave Bryan Baker's knives a special edge of strength and durability.

Baker immediately set about to build his own hardening and tempering plant using his newly acquired skills and knowledge. Today, every SVORD Knife is treated and tempered on the premises. The combination of quality Swedish cutlery steel and Baker's process for heat treating and tempering produces a truly superb blade.

SVORD has continued to grow with increased interest both domestic and international. You can now find SVORD Knives in Australia, U.S.A and a number of other countries.

SVORD Knives even attracted attention from the prestigious "American Fighting Knives" publication who rated their durability and edge holding quality as "outstanding".

SVORD Knives continue to gain a reputation for quality and functional design, and the future looks promising for the mark.

SVORD Knives are 100% NZ handcrafted from innovative designs by Bryan Baker, Master Cutler.

THE POINT IN USING A GOOD KNIFE!
New Zealand maker Bryan Baker, the manufacturer of Svord branded blades, related this true story to me. (Knifemakers may sometimes manipulate the truth, but never tell lies.)

Somewhere on the North Island a saleslady in a sports store was trying to convince a Kiwi bushman that he ought to purchase a top quality Svord knife to take back with him into the sticks, whence he came. He was a big bloke, over six feet tall, and mean-looking. He wore a black singlet and gumboots. (Don't tell me ... his name as Wal and he hailed from Footrot Flats!)

The charming lady managed to mellow the scruffy bushman who agreed to buy the knife, although he still had reservations about it's alleged ability to perform in tough conditions.

A few feet outside the door, so the lady says, "Wal" raised the knife at arms length above his head. Then, to her utter amazement, he dropped the knife, plumb onto its point onto the concrete pathway. There was a sickening crunch as steel met stone! He picked it up, carefully examining the tip, then to her great relief, "Wal" gave her the thumbs up of approval through the shop window.

I Guess this is the sort of stuff that starts legends. No doubt Wal, like Banjo Patterson's MAN FROM IRONBARK, has "told the story o'er and o'er while the listening shearers gape". Of course, it would have been a different story indeed had there been a metal fatigue fracture somewhere near the swedge!