LIONHEARTED BLADEWORDS

our story

Lionhearted Bladework’s humble beginnings are founded on a strong sense of family tradition that has been forged out in the very beings of co-owners and partners, Johan Leonard and his two sons, Sean and Karl. “Blacksmithing is a profession that has been passed down through four generations,” said Johan.

It all began with “Oupa Charles”, a travelling blacksmith and farrier. Working with a forge, hot steel, an anvil, and a hammer, mixed with plenty of grit and determination on the part of this family, Lionhearted Bladeworks was welded together, culminating in the company as it is today.

Oupa Charles started his profession in the South African Free State, however, his descendants immigrated to the “then” Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).  It was on this wild, and virgin land that they began farming.

The trade of blacksmithing and the art of forging became an integral part of their livelihood, culture and inheritance as tools were made, refurbished and handed down with pride and appreciation from one generation to the next.

However, when the “Bush War” broke out in Rhodesia, the Leonard family were forced to move from North to Central Rhodesia for the safety of the family.  Johan was a teenager at the time, called up for National Service, when Zimbabwe-Rhodesia was formed, and he witnessed the loss of their beloved 3500 acre family farm.

The Leonard’s were forced to move back to South Africa to carve out their lives anew, amidst precarious circumstances.  Fortunately, there was still a seed of hope which sprouted years later when Sean and Karl were born.  Johan, together with his wife, Joan, and the two boys, relocated from Pretoria back to their bushveld roots. The Waterberg Mountain range in the Limpopo Province became their new home, and it was there that their love of the outdoors, passion for fishing, hunting and experiencing the bushveld was resurrected.

Sean and Karl immediately gravitated towards the untamed bush, where hunting and fishing expeditions awakened their senses, and brought them to a place of connecting with raw earthy materials. As teenagers, they found themselves experimenting with leaf-spring steel, making knives and creating tools used in bushcraft. Eventually, these activities surpassed the point of hobby-craft and in 2018, Johan, Sean and Karl found themselves at their first knife show, where the Lionhearted brand was launched, and the company was born.

The Leonard trio still live in the Waterberg Bushveld with their three families on a small farm along the banks of the Mogol River. Now full-time knife makers, with a bladesmithing factory and show room, just a stone’s throw away from their childhood fishing grounds and surrounded by nature, they take great pleasure in the design of blades of all kinds, unleashing their creativity in the everyday carry, hunting, self-defence and culinary spheres of blade smithing.

Their inheritance of blacksmithing now flourishes in the refined art of bladesmithing, which finds itself on international playing fields and is a brand known by respected hunters, farmers, fisherman, general outdoorsmen, and trained professionals. 

Proud ambassadors of the Lionhearted Bladeworks brand, range from anti-poaching units, professional hunters, South African police services, flying squads and tactical units, all of whom represent the true nature of the Lionhearted Spirit!