Mahomedy, A.R.

Visit this maker's website: ARM-KO Knives. ABDUR- RASHEED MAHOMEDY, who prefers to be called just MAHOMEDY,by his friends, commenced Knife making some time in 1992. A time when his Country was getting ready to experience some dramatic changes.An avid collector initially, he travelled over 600 Kilometres to thoroughly acquaint himself with the craft of Knife making, which he new absolutely nothing about from a technical aspect. It must be made known that at that time there were no Clubs, nor any institutions where one could go in and learn "The CRAFT". To further compound matters, he was coming from a background where even his ancestors had absolutely no technical expertise, partly due to their merchant aspirations and to the then archaic law of "Job reservation" where men of colour were prohibited from even learning or practising "THE TECHNCAL TRADES".However, his dream was not to be relinquished to some "technical" obstacles. He relentlessly pursued this by attending an after- hours course at a Technical College to thoroughly acquaint himself with the different types of Steels, their properties and the divergent family of Stainless steels. Thereafter he attended another course, also part-time, in Jewellery Making to develop his embellishment skills. About this time, an experienced Knifemakers Guild of South Africa Member decided to commence a Club in Durban to teach and encourage other aspiring individuals about CUSTOM KNIFEMAKING.Mahomedy was one of THE DURBAN KNIFEMAKERS CLUB's inaugural Members and he has contributed tremendously to its progress both in an administrative capacity and in encouraging other tyros get on track.He first exhibited at the DURBAN EASTER KNIFE SHOW where he sold his first knives, a pair of Hunters beautifully finished in indigenous RED IVORY and Kudu Horn, to the same Collector. Given the speed of this initial transaction, the apparent immense appreciation of quality, effort and hard endeavour, the total absence of any wrangling, doubt or haggling and finally the prompt acceptance of individuality, all of this set a niche market for him to specialise in "COLLECTOR GRADE" KNIVES. The following year he won an award in the novice section for THE BEST BIRD and TROUT Knife.