OSTAP HEL

 I'm a full time designer and custom knives & gear maker from Poland.

Since I was a child I've always loved drawing things - probably because of genes. My father is a graduate of Academy of Arts, so first years of my life I spent with my parents in dorm surrounded by students from all kind of art faculties. My first "design" was also created then - when I was 2 years old I drew a really nice concept of car. On a TV screen. Using mom's lipstick. Parents weren't very pleased when they discovered this masterpiece...

Knives in my life appeared when I was a teenager, due to my growing interests in Middle Ages and all kind of weapons and knights equipment. I spent a year in armorer workshop as an apprentice where I've learned basics of traditional medieval metalworking methods. Since then I've been looking for more reliable, repeatable and precise way of creating things than using basic hand tools - that's how my own workshop and journey with manual machining and CNC was started.

Funny thing is that my next level of education was almost completely unrelated to designing or machining. The only connection between my studies at Faculty of Law and knives was my master thesis about "Knives, knuckles and other dangerous items in Polish legislation". After 5 years of studying my need of creation became too strong and I've decided to turn my "hobby workshop" into full time job.

Now I spend my time on things which I really like - designing and making custom knives & EDC gear.

All my designs are based on basic geometry, smooth transitions and Golden Ratio concept. However, in my collaborations, I'm always trying to experiment with new shapes and ideas to fit my partner’s company unique style and manufacturing capabilities.