JEMPOL – A young man abandoned his childhood dream of becoming an engineer to venture into producing high-quality knives and machetes so as to continue his late father’s legacy.
Muhammad Nurdin Rostam Kamal, 24, or better known as Along, said he was confident that the business of making knives has the potential to grow and increase his income to five figures per month just by marketing through the Taamim Handmade Facebook page.
He said his revenue could hit RM5,000 a month through live sales, and he also markets on the social media platform twice a month.
“Before my father died of brain cancer last August, his hope was to see me continue his 13-year-old business of making knives because there are not many who are interested in this field.
“I have been involved in this since I was 16 years old, and during my semester or school breaks I would help my father and learn the trade from him. I do not regret leaving engineering because the business I am in now is more profitable and it involves creativity,” he told Bernama today.
A graduate of Aircraft Engineering Technology, Nurdin was met at his Small and Medium Enterprise booth in conjunction with the Negeri Sembilan Jelajah Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia (AKM) here.
He said he could produce about 20 handmade knives and machetes a week using high-quality metal imported from Japan.
“I have never used recycled metal. The advantage is that the knives are rustproof and easy to maintain,” he said, adding that his products are sold at RM200 to RM900 each depending on the material, design and requests made by customers.
The Jelajah AKM was the best platform for young entrepreneurs to promote their products, said Nurdin, who operates from a workshop behind his house at Felda Palong 3 near here.
“Most of the visitors to my booth are my followers on social media, and they are already familiar with my products,” said Nurdin, who hopes to open a factory later and provide jobs to young people.
Nurdin, the eldest of three siblings, said he was determined to prove that Malaysia is not lacking in experts to produce world-class knives.
“Often when talking about knives, everyone looks at knives made in the United States or Switzerland as high-quality products. I want people to know that even in Malaysia there are artisans who can produce world-class knives or machetes,” he added. – Bernama
