"If you want something done right, you should do it yourself."

- Ramon Hanelt, 2022 -

Ramon Hanelt may still be a young whippersnapper among knife makers; experience he has nonetheless! At the age of 13, the Hamburg native began building a fire in his parents' backyard (with permission, of course!) and using a hairdryer and a stone as an anvil to forge a piece of steel. At the age of 15, Ramon actually bought an old field mess and was given an anvil by his grandfather. From then on, there was no stopping Ramon, and he began to try his hand at all aspects of knife making.

As with so many knife makers, it was the contact with his grandfather that sparked Ramon's interest in all things craft. Whether it was working on the lathe or laying paving slabs, Ramon would lend his grandfather a hand with all of these things. The decisive spark that was to ignite the fire came at school. Here blacksmithing was offered as part of the lessons and only a short time later, the first blacksmith fire blazed in Hanelt's garden.

After a short intermezzo with studies in electrical engineering, Ramon quickly realized that the craft meant the future for him. Today, he works independently for a carpentry company and makes knives on the side. "If there's one thing I've learned from my life so far, it's that if you want something neat, you should do it yourself. That's what I work by, too. I do everything myself on my knives, which means forging, grinding, heat treating (soft annealing, / hardening and tempering), assembling the knife and if necessary, I also build knife sheaths or knife boxes. In the future, I also plan to make my own steel!" reports Ramon today.

In fact, Ramon Hanelt's knives are nothing less than a declaration of love for traditional and handmade cooking and all-purpose knives. At the same time, each knife is unique. Ramon does not use templates, grinding aids or auxiliary lines. Each blade is created freehand on the belt grinder and is ground out to about 0.1 mm. All of Ramon Hanelt's knives are made primarily from materials such as carbon steel and rare woods. But the young Hamburg native is also not averse to acrylic, micarta or fossils. The only important thing is that every step of the process happens with the greatest possible care in his own workshop. In addition to the appearance and the loving workmanship, the balance and usability of Ramon's knives is the main focus. From the kitchen knife with a mono steel blade to the finished cutting work of art made of self-forged Damascus steel, one aspect is clearly in the foreground: a Hanelt knife is and remains a cutting tool that wants to be used. It is significant to Ramon that his knives are really meant for cutting: "What fascinates me about knife making is that you work with so many materials to combine them into a tool that not only looks good, but also works well. Of course, my chef's knives are not miracle tools with which you can do everything, like chop bones or coconuts open for that there are other tools that are masters in their field."

With every knife from Ramon Hanelt you get a custom-fit and very high quality processed leather sheath. This is made to fit your model exactly and thus emphasizes the individual character of the knives.