Helle Harding Rubin

The Harding is a modern Helle classic. The beautiful handle that combines light and dark materials and the highly polished, drop-point blade have contributed to it being one of the most popular models throughout our 94-year history.

This year the Harding turns 40 and celebrates its Ruby anniversary. To mark the occasion and to honor the success and legacy of the Harding, Helle dedicated the 2026 limited edition knife to the model originally created by Helle worker Erling Opstad.

The Harding Rubin (rubin being the Norwegian word for Ruby) plays on the history of the Harding but changes the visual aspects of the knife in ways that are quite striking. First, Helle incorporated the ruby-color in both the handle and the sheath, adding red leather to the handle and to the stitching on the sheath. This plays to this being the 40 year anniversary edition – and adds new flair and visibility to the design as well.

Second, the handle pattern from the traditional Harding has been changed to incorporate more layers, adding complexity and changing the visual profile of the knife.

Third, Helle dived into the wood-storage and found spalted beech from 1986 – the year that the first Harding was made. Spalted wood is wood infested with fungus. This fungus in turn changes the structure of wood, altering the color and complexion in the process. This creates beautiful, patterned, multifaceted wood. Helle then stabilized it and cut it into two cross-sections (x-cut) that fit perfectly between pieces of newer, stabilized beech (Kebony).

The result is a handle on the Harding Rubin that still plays with the dark and light tones of the original Harding, but in a distinctly different way than the original. The complexion of the Harding Rubin therefore carefully mirrors the original, highly-polished, H3LS blade.