Jean Wilke Custom Knives
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Jean Wilke Custom Knives
Fire Goby Forge Knives
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Werner Hattingh Knives
Discover Excellence in knife making with Jean Wilke and Fire Goby Forge.
- Welcome to Fire Goby Forge, a bladesmith platform business and your gateway to comprehensive and expert knife making services.
- Led by the experienced and qualified Jean Wilke, a member of the KGSA and Cape Guild, our firm takes pride in offering a diverse range of services tailored to meet your specific needs.
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What our customers say about us
During my tenure as Chief Judge of the Knifemakers’ Guild since 1999, and now as Emeritus Chief Judge, I have evaluated a great many blades, and I was delighted to be fortunate enough to add Jean’s exceptional Damascus Kaleidoscope hunter to my collection.
The choice of beautiful mosaic Damascus as blade and pommel steel is certainly not conventional, but the design is classically elegant and highly functional.
The beautiful, carefully crafted nickel silver guard and spacers tastefully round off the Red Bush Willow handle and perfect the classic beauty of the knife .
The symmetry cannot be faulted; from the tip to pommel, the knife maintains perfect geometry with grind lines that speak to the maker’s discipline. Ground surfaces are well-defined.
The cutting edge is precise, even and very keen; the point is needle-sharp and robust, carefully centred exactly where the distal taper and cutting-edge grinds converge.
The fit and finish of the beautiful coachwork is immaculate and the Damascus steel is superbly etched to a depth that brings out the intricate high-contrast patterning without sacrificing the smoothness of the surface.
Finally, the logo is struck with absolute clarity, providing a sharp, well-defined signature that acts as a final seal of quality on a superior build.
Willie Venter
Emeritus Chief Judge, Knifemakers' Guild of Southern Africa
Johannesburg, 30 January 2026
I clearly remember receiving my very first Jean Wilke chef knife. I had just been accepted into culinary school, and from that moment on, it has been me and that knife against the heat of the industry.
I’ve used it professionally for several years now, and it has become one of the most reliable tools in my kitchen. Its balance, edge retention, and the way it fits perfectly in my hand make it feel as though it was made specifically for me. I know that everyone who owns a knife from Jean feels the same connection.
Knowing Jean personally, I’ve seen the passion and skill he brings to his craft, and this knife is a true reflection of that dedication. It’s rare to find something that combines professional performance with genuine handcrafted beauty, and I’m proud to own a piece that embodies both.
Jane Payne
Chef de party
I have done a number of Jean Wilke’s variety of knife courses and all are exceptional! He explained techniques clearly and emphasized both precision and safety.
The instructions were clear, practical, and easy to follow and emphasized both precision and safety.
I learned proper knife handling, cutting techniques, and safety tips that I’d never been taught before and feel much more confident and safer using knives.
Also taking home a beautiful, useful tool which, I LOVE using in my kitchen. Super useful and well taught—I’d highly recommend his courses to anyone.
Louise de Wet
Hi
So, I first met Jean many years ago when he was still in school. Through a good friend of the family, my son and I went on one of Jean’s first knife forging workshops, where we made a simple knife out of a piece of rebar. I still have that knife, and it’s still sharp 🙂
Since then, I have followed Jean’s knife making career and every now and then I would either attend a show and buy a knife, or see on Facebook something new and interesting that he had made and buy it 🙂 He also invited me to attend one of his knife sharpening workshops, which was very interesting to say the least, and something every knife owner should do, even if you think you are a master knife sharpener.
I have built up a good collection of Jean Wilke knives and the quality just keeps getting better and better since the early days. I am glad I was able to support a young man with a bright future who now makes some of the most beautiful as well as functional knives available.
Regards
Jacque Fenihough
Owner: BushPower
I have had the pleasure of following Jean Wilke’s work for many years, beginning when I first awarded him a prize while he was still in high school. Even at that early stage, his talent, attention to detail, and clear passion for knifemaking stood out. Watching his skills develop over time has been genuinely rewarding, and his growth as a craftsman has been both consistent and impressive.
I have judged Jean’s knives on several occasions, and his work has always demonstrated exceptional craftsmanship, balance, and finish. Each piece reflects a deep understanding of materials, function, and aesthetics. His knives consistently meet — and often exceed — the standards expected at a professional level, showing maturity in design well beyond his years.
As a customer, I can say with complete confidence that Jean’s knives are as outstanding in use as they are in presentation. I personally own four of his knives, each of which I value highly for its performance, durability, and craftsmanship. Jean Wilke is a knifemaker of integrity, skill, and dedication, and I would not hesitate to recommend his work to collectors, professionals, or anyone seeking a truly well-made knife.
Martin Reeves
Associate member of KGSA
FAQ's
Jean is a multi-award winner at most of the top knife shows in South Africa, has an agent in the USA, and serves customers globally. Remarkably, in just 10 years (five of which he spent at school), Jean has achieved what many makers do not accomplish in a lifetime.
High-end Jean Wilke Guild Standard knives are one-of-a-kind pieces and are not repeated. Other designs may be made again. Jean does not maintain a traditional order book, but there are several knife levels available through Jean and his business, Fire Goby Forge:
• Jean Wilke Guild Standard knives – Available via Blade Gallery (bladegallery.com), Annual KGSA show, or select one-on-one orders
• Jean Wilke day-to-day knives – Available through the Fire Goby Forge website, bladegallery.com, and various stockists
• Fire Goby Forge knives – Available through the Fire Goby Forge website and selected stockists
You never need to be without a Jean Wilke—or Jean Wilke-inspired—knife.
Custom knives, on the other hand, are made by a single maker (or a very small team). They are often unique pieces, created with exceptional attention to detail, creativity, and purpose. Many custom knives are as much works of art as they are functional tools.
Commercial knives are produced to a fixed specification with consistent quality control. A cheaply made mass-produced knife will generally be low quality and lose its edge quickly, while reputable brands like Victorinox deliver reliable performance.
A high-end custom chef’s knife by Jean Wilke, however, is a true work of art. With exceptional heat treatment and craftsmanship, it will outperform most commercial knives in performance tests.
Short answer: A custom knife made by a top maker should be superior in both aesthetics and performance.
Commercial knives focus on speed and efficiency, often sacrificing certain processes. Large production volumes allow for lower material costs.
Custom knives are an extension of the maker’s name and reputation. Pride, craftsmanship, and attention to detail replace factory shortcuts. A custom knifemaker may spend an entire day hand-polishing a blade—because “good enough” is never good enough.
Custom knifemakers must still make a living, and the price reflects the time, expertise, and care invested in each piece.
They are part artist, part craftsman, with a healthy dose of obsession. Standing in front of a forge—hot, dirty, and exhausted from swinging a heavy hammer—they still have the ability to create a fine art piece that “makes love to the eyes.”
That same piece of art can then be taken into the harshest environments and perform its duty as “just a knife.”
A rare subspecies of human—homo knifemaker—they represent the very best of human creativity and innovation.
A more measurable indicator is membership in professional associations. Some organisations require makers to meet strict standards before admission.
In South Africa, the premier organisation is the Knifemakers’ Guild of Southern Africa (KGSA). To gain membership, a maker must submit five knives to a judging panel and, after acceptance, continue producing knives of at least that quality.
Jean Wilke was the first person admitted to the KGSA while still a full-time schoolboy—at just 18 years and one month old.
Non-members should not automatically be judged as poor makers; however, their work has not been formally peer-reviewed.
Carbon steel contains little to no chromium, while stainless steel includes higher levels of chromium and other alloying elements.
Chromium reduces corrosion by limiting the formation of iron oxide (rust). As a result, carbon steel knives are more prone to rust than stainless steel.
There are trade-offs, however. Some stainless steels have lower edge retention, cannot produce Hamon lines, and cannot be hot-forged—making them less creatively exciting.
So what is the best knife steel? There is no single answer. It depends entirely on what you want.
Typically, this involves a high-carbon steel such as 1085 or 1095 combined with a high-nickel steel such as 15N20 or 75Ni8. The layers are stacked, heated to just below melting point, and bonded through pressure from a hammer or press.
The steel is then folded, cut, twisted, and rewelded to create the striking patterns seen on this website.
The final step is etching the steel in a mild acid. The carbon steel darkens while the nickel remains bright, revealing the pattern. With deeper etching, the layers can even be felt by hand.
Admission is tightly controlled by a panel of highly skilled and respected judges using a strict evaluation process. Applicants must submit five knives, and only exceptionally well-made pieces pass.
After acceptance, members continuously review each other’s work to ensure standards are met and exceeded. Members have been expelled for substandard work.
The annual Guild Show is the highlight of the knifemaking calendar, with millions of rands’ worth of knives sold each year. Jean has won multiple awards across several categories.
They are strong supporters of South African makers and provided significant assistance during COVID. Each maker has a dedicated page and may also appear in curated sections such as New Knives, Staff Picks, and Award Winners.
Jean has been selling through Blade Gallery since 2020. While he offers a limited number of pieces, some of his finest work has been sold through them.
