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Steinar Helle returned to Holmedal in the late 1920s. As many Norwegians, he had travelled to America after WWI in order to see the world and explore its opportunities. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the “roaring 20’s” that was taking place at the time there was something about the stillness of western Norway that he missed. When Steinar made the decision to return home, he brought with him from America the understanding that skills and ideas coupled with the energy to see it to the end meant to opportunity to try something special Even in the wilderness of the Norwegian west
While Steinar's story was writing itself, another journey was unfolding. The journey of his brother. Sigmund had spent the past decade learning the temperament of steel from their father, Bernd. Their father was the village blacksmith a vital trade in rural Norway. Later taking this passion further by exploring the craft of steel at the forefront of metallurgy in large Norwegian steel plants. When finally the two journey’s merged they decided they wanted to make a tool... But what tool ? When looking through the local community it became apparent that most of the knives used by the farmers in their day-to-day lives could be vastly improved and made to a much higher standard. At the same time, the local farmers also had an ornamental “dress knife” that would adorn their belt in church on Sunday’s. So the brothers set out to bring those two worlds together. A knife that would do the heavy work around forest and farm, but high quality and artistic enough to wear to the most formal occasion. From that day in 1932, the measure of a good Helle knife isn't just functionality and durability but that just because a tool is these two things doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful too. A company had begun to take shape that would set a new standard in Scandinavian knife production.
Aktiv is proud to be one of the few companies to sell Helle Knives in the United States. Knife culture is such a huge part of being Norwegian that we felt having Helle was a must!
While Steinar's story was writing itself, another journey was unfolding. The journey of his brother. Sigmund had spent the past decade learning the temperament of steel from their father, Bernd. Their father was the village blacksmith a vital trade in rural Norway. Later taking this passion further by exploring the craft of steel at the forefront of metallurgy in large Norwegian steel plants. When finally the two journey’s merged they decided they wanted to make a tool... But what tool ? When looking through the local community it became apparent that most of the knives used by the farmers in their day-to-day lives could be vastly improved and made to a much higher standard. At the same time, the local farmers also had an ornamental “dress knife” that would adorn their belt in church on Sunday’s. So the brothers set out to bring those two worlds together. A knife that would do the heavy work around forest and farm, but high quality and artistic enough to wear to the most formal occasion. From that day in 1932, the measure of a good Helle knife isn't just functionality and durability but that just because a tool is these two things doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful too. A company had begun to take shape that would set a new standard in Scandinavian knife production.
Aktiv is proud to be one of the few companies to sell Helle Knives in the United States. Knife culture is such a huge part of being Norwegian that we felt having Helle was a must!
