First let me introduce myself. I am a 20 year old college
student. I've been making knives out of my home for
the past six years.
My interest in knifemaking began with a knife kit I purchased
and assembled when I was 12, followed two years later
by a course in general blacksmithing. With some time spent
blacksmithing, I found that my interests lay towards the
hand-forged blade and I have pursued that art ever since.
In the past year my work has been influenced by Larry
Harley of Bristol, TN, and Daniel Winkler of Blowing Rock,
NC. Both of these smiths have allowed me to visit their
shops and pick their brains for their general knifemaking
knowledge. Larry in particularly has been instrumental
in developing my skills in this craft.
When I'm not making knives or studying I'm usually playing
music (fingerstyle guitar, mandolin, bagpipes, uilleann
pipes . . . I love music), hunting, trapping, flyfishing
and outdoor photography.
The types of knives I have to offer are shaped by my experience
in the outdoors. I forge, harden and temper all of my
blades in my shop. This allows me to produce knives with
a differential temper, i.e. the edge is harder than the
spine. Blades tempered in this manner are much tougher
than those that are hardened throughout the blade. Each
knife I sell is tested in my shop for proper edge hardness
to ensure quality. Almost all of my blades are made out
of 5160 leaf spring steel, a tough high carbon steel that
provides good edge retention. I do not use stainless steels.
Each of my knives comes with a fitted, hand-sewn sheath
of oak or vegetable tanned cowhide. Some of my sheaths
have a covering of buckskin or rawhide sewn over the cowhide.
The buckskin I use is made here at my shop using a variation
of the brain tanning method. The hides are gathered from
deer harvested by myself, my friends, or my family.
If you like what you've read, please follow the links
to look at some of the knives I have available now. Thanks
for your interest!
