He studied bow making in Markneukirchen under his uncle, Christian Knopf.
[1] He also supplied bows to German shops such as Bausch, R. Weichold and the Russian Nicolaus Kittel.
"[3] — Kenway Lee "His bows are exquisite, showing mastery in technical as well as stylistic aspects.
His son, Heinrich Richard gen. Knopf (1860–1939) (known as Henry) became an excellent bow & violin maker who established what was to become a very important and successful shop in New York City (from 1879–1931)."
Auction World Record: Tarisio Berlin October 2021 Lot 80 Violin Bow Nikolai KITTEL made by Heinrich Knopf (c.1865-70) €94,400 = US$109,500