Hi I’m Wilko Verboom.
My story began with a great passion for forging, sharpening and craftmanship, and even as a child I drove my parents crazy with collecting knives and tools to make them.
At the age of thirteen I had built and welded my first own forge. and used my mom’s hairdryer to blow air into this makeshift forge. I melted the front of the hairdryer. One could imagine that my mother was not very amused by this… That was also the first time I discovered what it’s like to have welders eye.
I started to sharpen the tools from family and friends by using my dad’s old bench grinder. I had no idea of the hardening concept of steel so my work was far from perfect, But my 13 year old me had great time doing it.
When I was 19, I met a great guy named Ferdinand Balvert who is now a dear friend of mine. He gave me the opportunity to open my own workshop in the back of his company. I still use the same workshop today. I never realised I could really make a profession of forging and sharpening, so I started to study engineering (industrial product design). Later on I also worked as a mechanical engineer but it never felt quite right.
We had to design amazing things but when the designing was done other people would build it. So when the pay check came all the money I earned was invested in the workshop so I could build things myself. I quickly realised I lived for the weekends and that is not how I want to live my life.
Then the switch in my life came and I decided to follow my heart and start my own business! Because of my background and education I am able to help my costumers to design and create the Knives and tools of their dreams. Since I love to cook, I decided to focus the most on making kitchen knives.
I was (and still am) verry grateful of this opportunity and that I have made the right decision for me. So choosing a name for my brand and company was not a hard decision to make.
Grateful Knives was born, and that’s where my story began.