My name is NEIL OSTROFF and I am the proprietor of TRUE NORTH KNIVES. I was born in Montreal, Canada in the 1950's and have lived in eastern Canada for most of my life.

In the early 1970's I entered into my father's business working for his International Trading company. We traded in many different items and commodities, specializing in cutlery and clothing. By the time I turned 18, I was traveling around the world as my father's protégé and assistant.

In the beginning we concentrated on Japan, China and western Europe. During the 1980's our business exploded in growth as the World's economy was escalating. Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and the eastern Europe became additional important commercial partners, along with Africa and South America in the 1990's.

My passion for knives was apparent early in my life. My first experience in handling a knife was while on fishing trips with my grandfather- starting when I was only 8 years old. He used to take me away for wonderful weekends; fishing for speckled trout on those beautiful crystal-clear lakes in the Canadian wilderness. He would hook the fish and pass me the rod to reel them in. Then we would clean and cook the fish right there on the shore- fresh speckled trout- pan fried!

My grandfather introduced me to 3 kinds of knives. A fillet knife to clean the fish; A large fixed blade knife for the campfire area; and my favorite one- a 3" long folding clasp knife that had a fur covered handle. From those days onward I was hooked on knives. I collected and traded them as a youngster; I dealt with cutlery in my family business; and for the last few years I have been a PURVEYOR OF HIGH QUALITY CUSTOM HANDMADE KNIVES AND SUPERIOR PRODUCTION KNIVES.

I love this business!