J.D. van Deventer

Johann van Deventer started on the violin at seven. By his school years he was performing with the Central Free State Youth Symphony Orchestra. By high school he was playing electric guitar and bass in rock bands. Then came spray painting, auto body work, seventeen years running a used car dealership — and then, in 2005, a tiny workshop behind his house and a first knife.

He joined the Knifemakers’ Guild of Southern Africa in 2007 and came under the influence of Andre Thorburn, one of Africa’s finest makers. The combination took. JD builds framelock flippers of exceptional precision, using Flavio Ikoma’s IKBS bearing system throughout his work. His milled carbon fiber handles — deeply textured, color-infused — are the most recognizable thing about him. There is nobody else making carbon fiber look quite like this.