The new Didi Galgalu in 14c28n updates one of Helle's most popular bushcraft knives - with a fascinating story that bridges continents and knife cultures.
The original Didi was developed as a collaboration between the Helle team and Voetspoere: a team of South African adventurers led by Johan Badenhorst that have explored several continents in their 4x4s.
Anders Haglund from Helle travelled with the Voetspore team from Pretoria in South Africa to the end point that gave the knife its name - the Dida Galgalu desert close to the Ethiopian border in Kenya.
The Didi is a big knife made for big adventures. It was designed to handle anything you can throw at a knife under the toughest of circumstances. It was tested in the field in very different climates - both during the travels of Voetspore in Africa and by the Helle team in the Nordic countries. And since all of the makers were relatively burly men, the handle was designed with hands to match in mind.
The first generation of Didi knives carried this cross-continental combination into the materials selected. The steel chosen was Swedish - 12c27, while the wood was a traditional African hardwood - Kiaat (or Muninga).
Growing steadily in popularity, by 2020 the model had gained a following in Bushcraft circles. We therefore decided to switch the handle to a stabilized wood - kebony.
By 2022 we wanted to upgrade the knife further. The natural next step was to use our new "go-to-steel" for bushcraft knives - 14c28n - and our favorite nordic handle material - curly birch. The result was made available in Japan from late 2022, and has been a big success. We are proud to finally be able to bring it to the rest of the world as well.
