Profile

Hobby meets full-time occupation – a brief portrait

My name is Gerhard Wieland. I was born in Karlsruhe (Germany) in 1950. Having finished my A-levels I decided to become a professional goldsmith. A short-termed career which was followed by a job as a dental technician. I practised this profession for quite some time until mid-year of 2008. In this year I finally made up my mind to turn my hobby into a full-time occupation. Since 2016 I’m retired and do not offer knifes for sale any more. But I’ve decided to continue my website, for it would be such a pity to simply go offline. Every now and then I will show you some knifes, that I’ve created for my own showcase.

I’m married and call three grown-up children my own.

Having been an avid longbowman I was naturally introduced to knifemaking (stock removal) in 1982, but unfortunately I had to give up shooting due to an injury in 1989. Thus my knifemaking ambitions sank into oblivion as well.

The years went by filled with many enjoyable paddle trips to Scandinavia equipped with my home-build wooden canoes. Meanwhile my knifemaking enthusiasm had kept on laying dormant until the year 2004 when it all of a sudden surfaced in its most archaic manner – blacksmithing.

A thrilling back-to-the-basics experience

Every time I forge a red-heated bar of steel into a blade with simple hand-tools, shape it by filing and grinding, harden it and complete it with a natural handle, I really feel rewarded with a thrilling back-to-the-basics experience. My main priorities regarding knives are top-notch performance of the blade and perfect all-round characteristics of the knife itself. Last but not least I feel obliged to a flawless craftsmanship and a creative design which truly reflects my personal preferences.

On the one hand I manufacture ethnic knives from mono steel – often with the scale layer still visible and on the other hand exclusive half-integral knives with a Japanese hardening line (hamon) depending on the steel I use. My preferable handle design features a hidden tang build-up because I can freely express my creativity without corrupting the sturdiness of the construction.

My logo

Answering to the name “Wieland” and having been trained in the art of goldsmithing and blade forging – the idea of calling myself “Wieland der Schmied / Wieland the Bladesmith” seems to suggest itself. Which of course doesn’t mean that I want to compare yours truly to the fabulous skills of my famous medieval namesake, but I’ll keep working on it.

My logo is supposed to express my love for the Scandinavian north, to my dear family and going boating. All that under the sun with a highly symbolic cross – for I’m a Christian man.