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MH Knives custom slipjoint engraved bolster closeup
Klerksdorp, North West · South Africa

MIGUELHETZEL

Custom slipjoint folders and fixed blade knives — built by hand, one at a time, in a shared workshop in Klerksdorp. Customade for you.

100% Handcrafted
2 Specialities
1 At a time
ZA Made in SA

Steel is honest.
It doesn't lie about what it is.
Neither do the knives.

Two disciplines

THE WORK

MH Knives custom slipjoint folding knife
01
Traditional · Refined
SLIPJOINT
FOLDERS

The most demanding test of a knifemaker's precision — no lock, just a perfectly tuned spring. Miguel's slipjoints walk and talk with the best in the world.

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MH Knives custom fixed blade knife
02
Purpose-Built · Raw
FIXED
BLADES

Hunters, skinners, camp knives and art pieces. Fixed blades built for real use, finished to a standard that makes them worth passing down.

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MH Knives at work in the Klerksdorp workshop
KLD Klerksdorp, NW
The Maker

MH
KNIVES

MH Knives is a custom knifemaker based in Klerksdorp, North West Province — working from a shared workshop alongside fellow Guild-connected maker André Erasmus. His focus is tight and deliberate: slipjoint folders and fixed blade knives, each one built from scratch and finished by hand.

The slipjoint is Miguel's signature discipline — one of the most technically exacting forms of knifemaking, where a perfectly calibrated spring must produce consistent, satisfying action without any locking mechanism. His fixed blades bring that same obsession with precision to purpose-built working knives.

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Klerksdorp, North West

Working from a dedicated shared workshop in Wilkoppies

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Slipjoints & Fixed Blades

Two disciplines, one obsession — the pursuit of a perfect knife

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100% Handcrafted

Every knife designed, ground, assembled and finished personally

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Commission Only

Each knife built to order — contact Miguel directly to discuss

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How it's made

THE PROCESS

01

DESIGN

Every knife starts on paper. Blade geometry, handle proportions, spring tension — drawn and re-drawn until the design is right before steel is touched.

02

STEEL

Premium blade steels selected for the application — from stainless options for everyday carry to high-carbon steels for working fixed blades that hold a serious edge.

03

GRIND

The blade is profiled, drilled and ground by hand on the belt grinder — establishing the bevel geometry that determines how the finished knife will cut and feel.

04

FINISH

Handle fitting, spring tuning, final sanding and polish. For slipjoints, action is tuned until the blade snaps open and closed with exactly the right weight and feel.

Shared Workshop

ONE WORKSHOP.
TWO MAKERS.

Miguel shares his Klerksdorp workshop with fellow knifemaker André Erasmus — creating a concentrated centre of custom knife craft in Wilkoppies. Two distinct makers, two distinct styles, one high standard of workmanship.

Workshop partner: André Erasmus Knives →
Shared knifemaking workshop Klerksdorp
Every knife is built to order

READY TO
COMMISSION?

Tell Miguel what you're looking for — blade type, steel, handle materials, intended use. He'll work with you to build exactly the right knife.

Start a Commission 💬 WhatsApp Miguel View the Gallery
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