Don Cowles was born in California. He has lived in Washington State, Oklahoma, Illinois, Massachusetts, Venezuela, New Jersey, New York, and currently resides in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Don has been an engineer, teacher, policeman, paramedic, bartender, therapist, guitar repairman, winery manager, and a technical writer, among other things. He made his first knife in 1963, and a number of knives in the following decades. In 1995, he bought a Burr King belt grinder, and has never looked back.

In the last few years, he has devoted much time to the craft of making cutlery of his own design, focusing primarily on smaller straight knives as elegant alternatives to folding knives. He is a member of the Miniature Knifemakers Society, and the American Knife and Tool Institute, contributes as a moderator to online knife discussion forums, and writes the occasional article for knife magazines.

Don insists on using his own hands for each operation involved, without the use of fixtures or jigs. The workmanship of Don’s knives is guaranteed for life. He has a well-equipped shop, but virtually all of the effort expended in the making of a knife is hand work. In this way, he develops a measure of intimacy with the materials and processes involved that allows him to deeply understand the way things are coming together, and to compensate for things like variations in natural materials.

Don is an avid fly fisherman, an accomplished singer and guitarist, and is active in his church. He loves to talk knives, and share the experience and knowledge that was so generously shared with him by others.