Helle of Norway and Voetspore of South Africa Announce Collaborative Knife

Media Contact: 
James Graven
Treehouse Communications 
James@treehousepr.com 
+1 970 420 1409 

Helle of Norway and Voetspore of South Africa Announce Collaborative Knife 

Didi Galgalu knife is inspired and created for overland adventure 

Holmedal, Norway – (July 10, 2015) – Always on the hunt for adventure and inspiration, the Helle design team traveled along the Great Rift Valley with the legendary Voetspore team. The ensuing journey would shape the newest Helle knife – the Didi Galgalu – and cement the bond between designing knives for the outdoors, created in the outdoors. 

In April 2014 Helle traveled to Africa meeting with the Voetspore, an adventure documentary team who has travelled more than 220,000 kilometers on the African continent, making them overland experts in their own right. With the rigors of daily life on overland expeditions in mind, the team identified initial concepts and designs to prototype at the Helle factory in Norway. 

Not one to create from the sidelines, the Helle team returned to Africa the following October and joined the Voetspore team on part of their 2014 Great Rift Valley Expedition. “True inspiration comes from real journeys with people who know and understand the hardships nature can throw at you,” says Anders Haglund, Director of Sales and Marketing for Helle Knives, and team member for part of the 2014 Great Rift Valley Expedition. 

During the expedition each member of the team was given a prototype knife to hand-sand and shape, fine-tuning the design’s functionality. The 16,000 km trip would take the team through what is considered the last frontier of Africa, the remote Didi Galgalu Desert in Northern Kenya. “The goal was to create a knife that matches the beauty, but also meets the demands of the unforgiving nature of the desert it was named for,” adds Johan Badenhorst, Voetspore expedition leader for the Great Rift Valley Expedition. 

At the end of the expedition, the hand-shaped prototypes returned to the Helle factory, where the design team poured over the variations created during the journey. Natural materials like African Kiaat wood were hand selected and paired with the new designs. The final result is the Helle Didi Galgalu, a one-of-a-kind knife made for a lifetime of adventure and outdoor exploration. 

Didi Galgalu 
The Didi Galgalu utilizes a strong, full tang construction. Three rivets reinforce the African Kiaat wood handle and the blade is thin enough to perform as a knife should when cutting or carving. The Scandinavian ground blade, genuine leather sheath and Kiaat-wood handle assure Helle’s renowned rugged beauty. 

Product Specifications:

• Weight: 6.8 oz.
• Blade material: Sandvik 12C27
• Blade thickness: 3 mm
• Blade length: 5.1-inch
• Handle material: African Kiaat and Vulcanfibre
• Handle length: 4.7-inch
• Sheath material: Genuine leather
• Sheath weight: 2 oz 
• MSRP $249

Please stop by Helle of Norway at the 2015 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market tradeshow for more information (Sport Hansa booth # BR 317). Contact Matt Huff (matthuff@sport-hansa.com) or James Graven (james@treehousepr.com) to book a retailer or media appointment. 

About Helle of Norway 
Since 1932, Helle has earned a solid reputation for quality, craftsmanship and producing aesthetically stunning and highly functional knives made to with- stand a lifetime of rugged outdoor use. All Helle knives are handcrafted in Norway to exact- ing standards based on over 80-years of tradition blending form and function. It takes up to 45 manual processes to complete each Helle knife, from sanding and polishing of the handles to forming the Scandinavian ground blades. The result is an authentic, truly one of a kind knife made to last a lifetime of rugged outdoor use. For more information visit www.helle.no. 

About Voetspore 
Meaning “foot prints”, Voetspore is an adventure documentary television series on South African television. Johan Badenhorst and his team started exploring the continent in 2000. Over the past 15-years they have travelled from Cape to Cairo, Casablanca to the Cape, along the Equator, down the Congo River as well as many other expeditions. Currently they are most probably the modern day explorers with the best knowledge and experience of the continent. Few others, if any, have travelled as extensively in Africa in recent times. Please visit www.voetspore.co.za for more details. 

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