Growing up in an age when there were no computers and very little television, a good deal of my time was spent playing in the woods, where a knife was a necessary tool. My grandpa helped keep me supplied with knives and taught me how to use them properly . This caused me to develop a love and fascination for knives that I’ve never gotten over. In 1966 I made my first knife out of a industrial rec
iprocating saw blade while working in the ship building industry. This experience got me hooked, and I continued to dabble in knife making throughout my working career. After spending over 30yrs., in the commercial and industrial air condition field, working for the Carrier Corp. Retirement was nearing, so I started gearing up to make knives full time. The challenges of designing are what I enjoy most about knifemaking. Going from an idea to a finished product gives me great satisfaction. Customers tell me, through sales, whether it was a good idea or not. You win some and you lose some, but as a knifemaking friend, Paul LaBatard, likes to say, ”every mistake is an opportunity”. I have the same attitude. You can change the handle, finger guard or blade shape to make it more desirable, in most cases. Because I do this for the love of it, making the same knife over and over would be boring. This is why all my knives are different in some way, be it a file worked blade, wire inlaid handle, handle material, blade finish or grind (convex, concave or flat). Since I do my own heat treating and Rockwell testing, the steels I use run the gauntlet from stainless steels ATS34, 154CM, CPM154, CPMS30V, CT-XHP, Takefu’s VG10 and clad metals, to non-stainless 1080, 1095, 52100, 01, 5160 and W2 (with or without hamon line) depending on use and customer preference. The Damascus steel I use is in various patterns made by Brad Vice, Bob Eggerling, Chad Nichols, Ponze, Chris Marks, Devin Tomas or any maker with an unusual pattern and good quality. My handle materials are wood, ancient Ivory, stag, ram horn or bone. G10, phenolic, and leather are my choices for tactical knives. Being a hunter and fisherman I’ve made hunting and fishing styles my bread and butter, with Bowies, tacticals, daggers, kitchen knives and folders to round things out. My prices range from $130.00 to $1000.00. A number of knifemakers and collectors have told me that I give my knives and sheaths away. The way I look at it , if I sell more I get to make more, which makes me happy. What more could I ask for? My knife sales now range from 50 to 100 a year depending on how many shows I make a year. Over all I am not sure how many knives I have made having only started using serial numbers three or four years ago, but the total serialized stands at 391 as of today. As a Knifemaker Guild member, I stand behind my knives for as long as I’m able to make them. My ultimate goal is to make a knife that I’m completely satisfied with but as my friend Paul says” the only difference between a good knife maker and a bad knifemaker is how well he hides his mistakes.” Most knifemakers are the most giving of time and information of any of the artists I’ve met. I plan to do the same with knowledge I have gained or been taught. Short of hands on experience, knifemakers can learn a great deal by going to other knifemakers.
