African Custom Knives as gifts for family or outdoor friends

By John Markwell | Contributing Editor

Like most outdoors folks, we have a weakness for knives. And, like many folks we seemingly have more than we need or can use. However, like most who are reading this, we do have a couple of truly favorite knives that are much like old friends. We keep them close to hand as they are solid companions that can always be counted on and they are valued for a multitude of reasons; some practical and some sentimental.

Such is the case with the knife we have carried daily since 2009; our George Muller single blade folder. George Muller is a South African knife maker. We purchased our Warthog ivory scaled folder from Muller at the Orlando SHOT show in 2009. Carried in a leather belt pouch made by an Amish leather worker, this knife is our constant companion and has, over the years, been the subject of considerable lust from our son Brock. We have often thought we’d buy a similar knife for Brock but finding one had seemed a daunting task.

George Muller has been making quality knives for almost 20 years and his knives, like this folder, are in high demand in the US.

Enter African Custom Knives (AKC), a new company run by Nathan and Nolan Reynerson. ACK is a labor of love and serves as a one stop shopping experience for the outdoorsman looking to acquire cutlery crafted by the best of Africa’s current knife makers. We discovered African Custom Knives at the 2016 NRA Convention in Louisville, KY, and were immediately stopped in our tracks when we saw the almost identical twin to our old George Muller folder on one of the tables in Nathan and Nolan Rynerson’s’s booth. It was indeed a Muller knife; one of several on display and, for sale! A long chat ensued with the Reynersons and they were enthralled by our older Muller folder. Photos were taken of both our old, and their new, Muller knife to be sent to Muller in South Africa. After much fondling of the new Muller folder, a deal was eventually struck; my son had a new knife and I was considerably poorer.

Warthog tusk ivory ages just like other ivory. When new, the Warthog Ivory on the lower knife, which has been carried for about 8 years, was as pure as the new one above.

To truly appreciate the offerings of African Custom Knives requires a visit to their exquisite website. The Rynersons currently represent 23 African knife makers. Some, like Muller, Arno Bernard and the Steenkamps, we’d heard of before. However, Andre Thorburn, Dirk Loots, Corrie Schoeman and quite a few of the other makers were new to us. The knives offered by ACK and their artisan clients run the gamut from traditional to extremely modern designs; from everyday carry styles to true art knives. Fixed blades or folders, African Custom Knives has something that will appeal to most knife lovers. Prices are not as outrageous as one would think. A Steencamp utility folder can be had for $100 and the George Muller folder we purchased for our son set us back $400. Damascus blades and exotic handle materials escalate the cost of some knives but many in the user category are actually quite reasonable in price. Details on the George Muller folder we purchased at NRA are to be found in the box below.

Carried in a leather belt pouch made by an Amish leather worker, the author’s knife(left) is his constant companion and has, over the years, been the subject of considerable lust from our son Brock. We have often thought we’d buy a similar knife for Brock but finding one had seemed a daunting task, until he found the African Custom Knife Company. Now he’s got a duplicate knife and a duplicate belt pouch.

To say our son Brock was pleased with his new knife is somewhat of an understatement as he thought the only way he’d ever get a knife like my Muller folder was for me to kick the bucket. During our 2016 summer varmint shooting trip we stopped off in Newell, SD, to see our buddy Jack Gully of Badlands Leather and while in his shop he crafted a belt sheath for brock’s new knife. Our two Muller folders are shown in the accompanying photos.

Should you find yourself in need of a new knife for a gift, especially at Holiday time, or for whatever reason or use, we highly recommend a perusal of the African Custom Knives website. We are sure Nathan and Nolan Reynerson will go out of their way to see that you obtain a knife to fit your needs, and which you can truly delight in using.