Hell

History Company Helle

1932 : Holmedal (Askvoll, Sogn og Fjordane), west fjord. Brothers Steinar (1904) and Sigmund (1910) Helle, son of the village blacksmith. Unemployment of the 1930s: they take over the forge of the farm Myra / Kleppeneset.
Steinar returned from the United States in the late 1920s. Founding idea: a farm knife and beautiful enough to go to church on Sundays.
First local sales. Steinar goes by bike to Oslo (boat to Bergen, then ~600 km, passes) with a tolleknivar bag at 40 øre. Electricity in the village only in 1941: the brothers already had a dam and a turbine.

1943 : moved to the former Flora margarine plant at the wharf. 1948–88: covered stainless steel (table cutters, forks, spoons) = core work. Around 1975: back to sportskniver. Covered in 1988.
1966: merger S&S Helle + Stangfjord Staal (Odd Gisle, son of Steinar) → A/S Helle Fabrikker.

1967 : patent for triple rolled steel with a Norwegian steelworks. It's still the signature.
Factory in Holmedal (~500 inhabitants). ~20 people today (sometimes cited as 50 in the 1980s). No relocation 90s. 3rd generation: Svein-Erik and cousin Jan Steffen. Possible factory visits. Land : Viking burial (« Lady in Black ») under an extension.
Export strong (Canada, USA, ~25–30 countries). Collab Les Stroud since 2010: Temagami, then Mandra, Wabakimi.

Highlights / weak points

Forces

• H3LS steel (rolled strip) stainless steel Patent 1967): hard heart ~58–60 HRC, soft skin stainless steel. Bright wire, little rust, sharpening Simple. H3LC variants (carbon 12C27, 14C28N, Sleipner.
• Until ~45 hand gestures. Visakoivu + wax/lin. Leather stoves often better maintained than at Roselli.
• Beautiful and useful — It's assumed. Scandi clean. Semi-full tang Temagami: silk on the back and cheek, wood on the finger side (cold). Usual lifetime warranty. Made in Norway, village.

Weakness

• Not a super steel powder: good wire, not extreme. Soft skins = sometimes mediocre back to the firesteel.
• Many partial bristles: less « tank » a full tang (except Utvær, etc.).
• Premium price. Handle Oil wood. Finishing / occasionally uneven adjustments according to batches. Wide catalogue: we get lost. Less « Forging crude » than a Roselli.

In one sentence
Helle wins over l stainless steel cutting, wood and sheath ; It is neither the hardest nor the cheapest.

Better sales

Three models. In this order: the classic, the bushcraft, the intermediate format.

1) Eggen. The Helle « to understand the mark ». Drop-point blade ~101 mm, ~3 mm, H3LS (sometimes 12C27). Visa ball sheath Pocket. Hunting, camp, off-road. First purchase if you want a Norwegian outdoor.

2) Temagami. World best seller. Design by The Strouds, 2010. Blade ~110 mm. Semi-full tang (cold). H3LS or H3LC carbon. Bushcraft, wildness. Take it stainless steel first; carbon If we accept the interview.

3) Wabakimi. Stroud (2018). Between Temagami and Mandra. Blade: ~84 mm, width: 3 mm, ~135 g. H3LS or Sleipner. Size + small game. Well, if the Egggen is too much « hunting » and Temagami too long.

Three more models that also matter.

• Harding: traditional Norwegian look (apparent laminate).
• Mandra: neck, blade ~69 mm.
• Utvær (Voxnæs): full tang, hard use.