Germany's youngest cutler comes back to Görlitz for millennia-old craft

From Marc Hörcher

Tillmann Klein loves his craft. The 24-year-old from Görlitz is the youngest master student in his guild of cutlers and grinders - as the job of a "precision tool mechanic for cutting tools" can be casually called. He could talk for hours about making and sharpening knives with waterstones and their various degrees of roughness, about the knives themselves, about the different grinds on the blades - and not least about his private knife collection.

When asked how many knives he owns, he grins mischievously and explains that he has a display case with his collection at home - one, but no more, as agreed with his partner for the sake of domestic peace. Some of the knives are on display in the cabinet, others he uses for the right occasions: for carving on a walk in the forest, for clipping a rope on a climbing tour, as a rescue knife when paddling in a canoe.

He has a knife from every country he has traveled to, he says, reminiscing - six such "country knives" have been collected so far - five bought, one forged by himself during his semester abroad in Finland. Tillmann Klein was born in Görlitz. "I associate a lot with this city myself. Not only did I grow up here, but I also started my career here, which I am very passionate about," he says. In his hands lies not only the craftsmanship, but also, according to the plan, the future succession of a 117-year-old traditional business in the old town of Görlitz. The young man would like to continue running the historic Lattka grinding store at Weberstraße 8, which his master bought two years ago.

How did this come about? "After graduating from high school, I didn't go to university, but instead took the path that is unfortunately chosen far too rarely and learned a craft. Creating something myself, individually, creatively, uniquely - that's how I imagined it," says Klein. So he began the rare profession of precision toolmaker in the cutler's guild with a master craftsman in Pirna. He spent the first year at the Christoph Lüders vocational school in Görlitz. He then started his second year of training, which he continued in Pirna, after receiving praise from teachers and school management.

His tool breathes new life into old treasures

Klein says that the craft "completely captivated him". Why? The young man describes his fascination like this: "I receive tools, mostly knives and scissors, which are often older than I am. For the owner, they are sometimes emotional heirlooms, but also often rust pieces from forgotten drawers that later turn out to be little treasures." He brings them back to light with his own hands. "With the simplest of tools, just like 100 years ago - patience, precision and dexterity are crucial for this epitome of sustainability." Once forged, many an old pair of scissors that was lying on his workbench has been passed on to his children after being refurbished. Incidentally, you could even say that the young man's craft, the making of knives, is even thousands of years old. According to archaeological discoveries, the oldest folding knife in the world was probably made between 600 and 500 BC.

The knife expert then went to Finland in his second year of training. His good grades in his apprenticeship, which earned him an Erasmus scholarship, helped him get there. There he "learned about the craft in its oldest form between anvil and forge from an old master blacksmith", Klein explains. This is also where he created his own personal Finnish knife - forged by himself, of course. Such a traditional Finnish knife is characterized by its massive handle and is "small, almost a bit chubby", he describes. The handle is made from birch bark, "almost hundreds of layers" of it on top of each other. A "typical working knife, incredibly practical" - with a very special feature: "The wetter the knife gets, the better grip it has."

Meanwhile, back home, his master craftsman Maik Zenker, owner of the Zenker grinding shop in Pirna, was thinking aloud about buying up the Lattka grinding shop in Görlitz after his death and breathing new life into it. As the SZ already reported, these thoughts turned into concrete action and that's exactly what happened. "It was a great idea for me, as it meant that we were going back home a bit," says Klein.

But first he continued to work in Pirna and did what he had hoped to do with his craft. "We are one of the last craft businesses to produce knives in countless different shapes, 100% in Germany and almost exclusively by hand," says the young man. The final phase of his apprenticeship remained exciting for him. After completing his exams, he was recognized for his achievements throughout Germany in the German craftsmanship championships. He points to the certificate with pride. Furthermore, the "Foundation for Vocational Training" recommended him for an educational scholarship, which he received and is very happy about. Shortly afterwards, he founded his own company in order to be able to produce even more individual workpieces as a semi-self-employed person.

He uses a 3D printer to produce his own grinding aids for knives, which allow the knives to be aligned according to standard angles. This is not his only creative idea. Klein has also designed a Görlitz city knife, which can only be bought there, for the Zenker grinding shop. The name: Görlitz "Nausche", which simply means "knife" in Silesian dialect. And: "The handle is made from elm - the same wood as the natural monument in the middle of the city's park," explains the craftsman.

However, the knife itself has to be manufactured in Pirna. After the last renovation, the Lattka successor's workshop in Görlitz no longer has its own workshop. The young craftsman explains that this is due to structural and monument protection reasons. He himself still lives in and around Pirna, but commutes to the Zenker store in Görlitz on average once a month. For example, to take knife sharpening courses in the traditional to give. Anyone who wants to can take part without much prior knowledge.

He sees himself as an ambassador for his craft

Despite all his joy in making and sharpening knives - sometimes Tillmann Klein is almost disappointed, he describes. He realizes "how unknown our craft is", and that "at a time when sustainability and regionality play an important role." Just how unknown is also illustrated by this figure: in his year, there are two apprentices in this trade - across Germany. But Tillmann Klein is not giving up. After all, preserving tools over many generations is what he has made his own mission - and what he would like to stand up for. And the spark seems to be catching. An editor of a trade magazine recently wrote in a portrait of him: "If there was a declared brand ambassador for this trade, he would be it" - a role in which Klein also likes to see himself.

Website with an overview of the content and dates of Tillmann Klein's knife sharpening courses: www.tactical-knives-and-more.de