made my first knife at age 17 while serving as an apprentice toolmaker. I used an old industrial saw blade, carefully cutting out the profile then grinding it to shape on a grindstone. I used oxhorn for the handle held together with white bone pins and a leather thong wrapped tightly in place. Like many first efforts, this, too, was poorly conceived and executed, and absolutely useless. But it was a start nevertheless.

any years went by and a lot of changes occurred since my first effort. I finished my formal education as a Marine Engineer, and worked in this field worldwide. My interest in handmade knives, however, remained strong and in 1987 I sold my first. Simultaneously, my interest in knives expanded to hunting - particularly bow hunting - which led me to join The Danish Bowhunting Association and service on its Board of Directors for seven years. Recently, however, I have developed a strong interest in rifle and shotgun hunting and combine these methods with bow-hunting. s a result of my keen interest in the outdoors, in conservation, the environment, and through continuing education in these and related programs, my circle of friends with similar interests has steadily grown. From sharing

personal experiences among my sporting friends and colleagues, my interest in modern knifemaking techniques has continued to grow. Today, my working knives are the result of hundreds of field tests by outdoors men and women throughout Scandinavia, Greenland, Continental Europe, North America, Africa, and here in Denmark where artistic handcraft forms a serious part of our national heritage.

ecause of my strong belief in the skills handed down by my ancestors, the Vikings, my professional

training and more than 30 years making knives one at a time in the time-honored Danish tradition of producing quality, each knife I make carries my personal guarantee that HLA knives are crafted with a lifetime of service firmly in mind.