Hi KKF,
I need to talk to you about Stefan Keller, "Das HandleMeister"
Some information about Stefan....
Stefan came into our community around the time (15 yrs ago - ish?) that Fish n' Poi (the man who brought us the re-handling Japanese knives business model) was at the height of his handle making game so Stefan wasn't the first to do rehandle work yet he picked up where Fish left off and began making his own style of handle, the style that we've come to know (and love) as the western style wa handle. He was, as far as I know, the very first person in the world to make wa handles in this style and certainly the first to standardize the look/shape/size (of both the octagonal and D-shape) and to sell them to the public. You can't turn on Instagram, Facebook, or any knife forum anywhere today without seeing an example of his designs being copied and emulated, which speaks volumes to both his genius and craftsmanship. He has literally given birth to an entire cottage industry and this is something worth being known for! This all done outside of his normal day job where he's a college (psych) professor, most recently living just outside of Philly while teaching at Temple University.
Stefan has been a long time member here at KKF (apicius9), and before that KF, also a vendor (here at KKF) and avid kitchen knife collector for many years....and has quite the collection to show for it! He's been a good friend, as well as colleague/supporter, of mine for as long as I've known him.
Now for the bad news......
Stefan has unfortunately been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer that has metastasized and is ineligible (because of liver condition) to receive chemotherapy. He was diagnosed late and has been given only a short time (as in months). Just a couple of weeks ago his friends made it possible for him to return to his native Germany to be with his parents and brother. Currently he is in hospital with plans to move into hospice shortly. We remain hopeful that a miracle becomes available for him soon.
To the point of this post....
Being that Stefan and I have a good relationship, one fostered through working together on handle sales/installs for many years, he asked me to manage the sale of some of his possessions, most notably his knife collection & accessories. We both agreed that KKF would be the best place to get the maximum exposure to the people who would appreciate the gems he has gathered as well as to get the maximum amount of $$$ possible to go towards his care and then ultimately to his family.
I've spoken to the mod team about this matter and they've given us the approval to sell Stefan's collection, but since it's a one off special case that has many items to be included, they've come up with a system to make this go smoothly.
Stefan's good friend Dianne, a local Philly lady, is his estate's executor and will be handling all financial matters where I will be handling the knives directly.
His collection is made up of many old hard to find and unique knives mostly all having custom handles of either his own making or commissioned work by several great knifemakers. As many of you may know, Stefan was a HUGE fan of koa (being a resident of HI for years helped this along) so expect to see this reflected in the handle materials used.
So for now I'll leave this here and we can discuss the details of the sales in the weeks to come.
Thanks to the mods/admins for their help here, it's greatly appreciated!
Dave
I need to talk to you about Stefan Keller, "Das HandleMeister"
Some information about Stefan....
Stefan came into our community around the time (15 yrs ago - ish?) that Fish n' Poi (the man who brought us the re-handling Japanese knives business model) was at the height of his handle making game so Stefan wasn't the first to do rehandle work yet he picked up where Fish left off and began making his own style of handle, the style that we've come to know (and love) as the western style wa handle. He was, as far as I know, the very first person in the world to make wa handles in this style and certainly the first to standardize the look/shape/size (of both the octagonal and D-shape) and to sell them to the public. You can't turn on Instagram, Facebook, or any knife forum anywhere today without seeing an example of his designs being copied and emulated, which speaks volumes to both his genius and craftsmanship. He has literally given birth to an entire cottage industry and this is something worth being known for! This all done outside of his normal day job where he's a college (psych) professor, most recently living just outside of Philly while teaching at Temple University.
Stefan has been a long time member here at KKF (apicius9), and before that KF, also a vendor (here at KKF) and avid kitchen knife collector for many years....and has quite the collection to show for it! He's been a good friend, as well as colleague/supporter, of mine for as long as I've known him.
Now for the bad news......
Stefan has unfortunately been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer that has metastasized and is ineligible (because of liver condition) to receive chemotherapy. He was diagnosed late and has been given only a short time (as in months). Just a couple of weeks ago his friends made it possible for him to return to his native Germany to be with his parents and brother. Currently he is in hospital with plans to move into hospice shortly. We remain hopeful that a miracle becomes available for him soon.
To the point of this post....
Being that Stefan and I have a good relationship, one fostered through working together on handle sales/installs for many years, he asked me to manage the sale of some of his possessions, most notably his knife collection & accessories. We both agreed that KKF would be the best place to get the maximum exposure to the people who would appreciate the gems he has gathered as well as to get the maximum amount of $$$ possible to go towards his care and then ultimately to his family.
I've spoken to the mod team about this matter and they've given us the approval to sell Stefan's collection, but since it's a one off special case that has many items to be included, they've come up with a system to make this go smoothly.
Stefan's good friend Dianne, a local Philly lady, is his estate's executor and will be handling all financial matters where I will be handling the knives directly.
His collection is made up of many old hard to find and unique knives mostly all having custom handles of either his own making or commissioned work by several great knifemakers. As many of you may know, Stefan was a HUGE fan of koa (being a resident of HI for years helped this along) so expect to see this reflected in the handle materials used.
So for now I'll leave this here and we can discuss the details of the sales in the weeks to come.
Thanks to the mods/admins for their help here, it's greatly appreciated!
Dave
Last edited:
