HP Klötzli is a person with strong links – to the past through the family business he inherited, to his métier of which he is a passionate advocate and to the cutlers community itself, where he is known for innovation and for his dedication to the continuation of this timeless skill.
As the fifth generation of a knife dynasty, HP’s destiny was clear from the start. Along with the Belignés of Langres (1610), the Elseners of Rapperswil (1761) and the Lorenzis of Wien (1835), the Klötzli Messerschmied (1846) is one of the oldest cutlers still being run by the same family in Europe. He completed his apprenticeship at Victorinox from 1961-1964 before taking over the family business in 1972 and there has always been a strong partnership between us.
But it is in his role as longtime president of the Swiss Cutlers Association that we owe our greatest debt to HP. In 2017 he handed over the presidency after 18 years in the role and 40 years as a member of the board, during which he has done much to preserve and foster our craft.
He has also done much for the knife fan community - in 1981, he and German knifemaker, Wolf Borger, launched Europe’s first knife magazine: “European Blade” and he also organized the first European knife exhibition. In addition, he has acted as an advisor to the federal committee responsible for weapons legislation and was therefore in a position to be influential during the drafting of new regulations.
The training of apprentices is particularly dear to him and he has also worked tirelessly to ensure accurate documentation of annual purchasing and sales figures. As part of the revision of federal education regulations in 2012, he and the other members of the Swiss Cutlers Association worked hard to ensure that the federal government officially recognized the profession of cutlery in Switzerland. It is partly thanks to him that we have our first apprentice cutler in 50 years, currently in his first year of training. All of these achievements go to show that he is an extremely influential figure in the Swiss knifemakers community.
The Elsener and Klötzli families share not only the quest for quality in craft, but also a long-standing relationship which extends beyond pure business. Both families are proud to belong to the remarkable history of knifemaking in Switzerland, as well as playing our part in shaping its future.
