Former stockbroker Matt Lucarnus at the pointy end of defending Australia

A decade ago Matt Lucarnus turned his back on his stockbroker career and founded knife manufacturer Zu Bladeworx. Today he supplies combat knives to the Australian Army.

Matt Lucarnus with some his product destined for the Army.

A bayonet used by his grandfather as an Australian soldier in the jungles of Papua New Guinea in World War II holds pride of place in Matt Lucarnus’s small Brisbane factory.

The 48-year-old former stockbroker is continuing the family legacy of serving the Australian Defence Force after turning his back on his finance career and founding knife manufacturer Zu Bladeworx a decade ago.

After winning a defence contract in 2016, he supplies thousands of combat knives to Brisbane-based munitions firm NIOA as part of a combat kit upgrade for the Australian Army.

Bladeworx is part of a growing ecosystem of smaller firms supplying equipment to larger companies as Australia boosts its defence capabilities in the face of rising regional threats.

“I’ve always been interested in knives and both my father and grandfather were veterans,” he said. “I haven’t personally served but I’ve always had an interest in military type weapons.

“I was always into bushcraft and after school we’d go in the bush camping and make contraptions and whatever. We were always sort of encouraged to have knives for field craft.”

Mr Lucarnus said the supply of his knives to the army was all about the modernisation of the infantry soldier.

“They have three weapon systems: the primary weapon system is the main battle rifle, the secondary system is the new SIG pistol which has been purchased under the same contract, and the third is the knife,” he said. “It’s expected that all Australian soldiers will receive this knife over time.”

Mr Lucarnus said that despite the advent of hi-tech weaponry, including drones and laser-controlled bombs, the knife was still an essential part of a modern soldier’s kit.

Zu staff member Cassie O'Connor

“The blade is always a personal thing to a soldier and he maintains it and keeps it in good order,” he said. “It’s just part of the whole soldier-combat mindset.

“The Commonwealth government has designated this as a hand-to-hand combat weapon although in our industry we always refer to knives as a tool because they have a utility function.

“It is a weapon system for them because they’re actually trained to use it in that way, whereas a civilian person wouldn’t be trained that way.”

Mr Lucarnus said originally every soldier would have been issued with a bayonet when they deployed, but the army was believed to be phasing them out.

“The last bayonets they purchased would have been for the first Gulf War, back in 1991 and they haven’t ever been replaced,” he said.

“They’ve gone back in time almost to World War II-type training, with lots of hand-to-hand, up and close and personal fighting skills.”

The knives, made from locally sourced materials, are designed with a ring at the end that allows the soldier to grip it with his fingers and not lose control.

“There was one reported incident in the Ukraine conflict this year where neither soldier could access their firearms so one of them pulled a knife out,” Mr Lucarnus said.

“The other person was able to disarm the first one, take the knife and he killed him with it.

“So the ring allows you to have some retention and helps to prevent it being taken from you. The design is based off a Japanese kunai, which is an old-style knife.”

Mr Lucarnus said that without the guidance and support of NIOA, a small company such as Zu Bladeworx would not have had the ability to tender for a defence contract. NIOA itself started as a small firearms company near Maryborough before expanding overseas.

“(NIOA chief executive) Rob Nioa is in the trenches with small businesses like ours,” he said.

“He is a big advocate for Australian capability in manufacturing and helped us punch above our weight. Without them it wouldn’t have been possible for small businesses to deal directly with the Commonwealth.

“NIOA have supported us … with all the paperwork, documentation, working on us with timelines and quality assurance, everything like that.”

Rob Nioa said this year that Australia needed to be able to defend itself in a world marked by both political and technological disruption.

Originally published as Former stockbroker Matt Lucarnus at the pointy end of defending Australia