Bertie Rietveld began making knives in 1979 and has been a member of the Knifemakers' Guild of Southern Africa since 1982. He also served as Guild Chairman for three years from 1997 to 1999.
In recent years, Bertie has been focusing much of his time and attention to attending international shows and became a full voting member of the (American) Knifemakers Guild in 2000.
He specialises in art daggers and persian knives - mostly top end and is constantly in pursuit of the elegant line.
He works exclusively in his own damascus and frequently uses ancient ivories and stone as handle material.
He is currently attending four American knife shows, the Italian knife show and two South African knife shows annually, which leaves him with just enough time to build his masterpieces while not jet-setting the globe.
