Cutting Edge: meet a knife-making family

The Svörd story began with a redundancy, a fish and chip shop contract and a Czechoslovakian cutler.

Having dabbled in knife-making as a young teenager, Bryan Baker took the leap into a career as a cutler when he was just 19. “I made my first knife in a metalwork class at high school, but just after I’d finished it got stolen,” Bryan says. “I had really enjoyed the process, so I took a course at knife school to learn a bit more, and started making knives as a hobby when I was 19.

Kelsey Baker at work in the Svörd workshop. © Jessie Casson

“At the time, my uncle was selling paper to fish and chip shops. He came to me with my first job – an order for 40 or 50 large knives for the fishmongers. Not long after that, the place I’d been working made me redundant, so I decided to have a go at making knives full-time, and I’ve been doing it ever since – for 42 years!

“About four years in, an elderly Czechoslovakian man, Bohumil Nebesky, down in Hamilton got in touch with me. He’d come from Czechoslovakia after WWII and had had a business making knives, which he’d just shut down. I started spending a lot of time with him as he shared his knowledge, so that’s where I learnt my trade.

Today, Svörd produces more than 100 types of knives, primarily focused on the hunting and fishing market in New Zealand, and also exporting to the US, Canada and Australia.

But Bryan no longer runs the business alone. “My daughters are now both involved. Kelsey, 23, is working here in the factory and Madison, 26, has developed her own knife brand, Nuz (pronounced ‘nouge’) which is a range of eco-friendly chef’s knives.”

“The idea for Nuz came about during lockdown 2020,” Madison explains. “Dad and I started talking about the future and creating knives that were more suited to the every day person. While hunting and fishing is huge in New Zealand, not everyone has a need for a hunting knife.

“I studied mechanical engineering and I always thought my passion was in aviation, so to end up coming back to working with knives is not something either Kelsey or I expected to do, but we love it!”

Kelsey Baker has followed in her father’s footsteps to become a cutler, working on both the Svörd and Nuz brands. “I’ve learnt knife-making from Dad,” Kelsey explains. “I did a bit of woodworking in school, but mostly I’ve learned from being in the workshop with Dad during school holidays and making little projects for myself. Dad was more than happy to give me a job; he’s a good boss!”

Kelsey, Bryan and Madison Baker. © Jessie Casson

So, what makes a good knife? “There are a lot of knives out there that I think are quite ugly,” Bryan says. “I’ve designed thousands of knives over the years and I don’t really have a formula for it, but knife should be well-balanced and have curves so it looks good.”

“For Nuz knives we make handles from ash or mahogany from a FSC certified forest, so it’s a renewable resource.” Madison says. “And we use good quality carbon steel. It’s harder to maintain and look after, but it holds its edge a lot better so people can use it for years and years to come.”

“When I started 42 years ago I’d say 99% of the knives in New Zealand were made from stainless steel,” Bryan adds. “Carbon steel had been lost over the years and it was cheaper to mass-produce knives out of stainless. We brought back carbon steel for about 90% of our range.

Carbon steel stays sharp longer and it’s easier to sharpen. A lot of stainless knives on the market are not very good quality. Its a hard material to get right – even for the steel mills that make it.”

The range of Svörd and Nuz knives are built to last. “We offer a lifetime warranty against breakage under normal use,” Bryan says. “We will get knives back that people have had for 30 years and the handle is starting to come off. For a fee we’ll replace the handle.

“We’ll always stick to that ethos. We’re making a product that’s not the cheapest in the market, but it’s well made and when you offer people that service for repair or refurbishment decades later, the knife becomes a family heirloom.”