Hand made with love in the Pacific Northwest
Mission
I create one of a kind art pieces from wood and metal. I enjoy forging out custom order knives and bringing someone’s vision to life. I make one piece at a time, and I give everything I make the attention it deserves.
I thoroughly love making things with my hands, and I enjoy every moment in the shop. I hand forge knives for everything from mountain survival, to filleting a fresh caught salmon from the Puget Sound. My goal is that with every product I sell, it finds a home where someone smiles whenever they use it. To know that my products are well used is the greatest compliment. The engineer in me also loves iterating on the design of a particular style of knife until I feel that it’s become the perfect tool for it’s intended use.
About Me
I grew up in Ellensburg, WA, and graduated in 2002. Following the 9/11 attacks in New York, I decided to put my education plans on hold and joined the United States Marine Corps infantry. I immediately deployed to Iraq after completing boot camp and the School of Infantry. I returned home eager to further myself, and earned a spot in the 3rd Battalion 5th Marines Scout Sniper platoon. I deployed two more times as a scout sniper with 3/5 in 2004 and 2005.
I was honorably discharged in December 2006, and came back to the Seattle area where I went to school at the University of Washington. I graduated with a B.S. in mathematics in 2011. For several years, I was a stay at home parent to my two kids while my wife worked as a Foreign Service Officer. Her job took us to Washington D.C., Hyderabad, India, Vancouver B.C., along with tons of travel to Singapore, Thailand, Germany, and many more places.
While overseas I did volunteer work where I built bicycles that generated electricity from a car AC blower motor, and LED flashlights from PVC pipe. The bicycles were used in government schools where many children did not have access to grid power in their homes. Students were able to take the lights home with them, and charge them in class with the bicycles. This volunteer work inspired me to pursue a more technical form of working with my hands, and I began working towards a second bachelor’s degree in computer science. In 2017 I completed a B.S. in computer science from Oregon State University.
As always, my passion for being hands on with my work led me to robotics. The stars aligned, and I was given the opportunity to intern at Fetch Robotics in the SF Bay Area. Working at a small robotics start up was like a dream come true. Shortly after starting, I received a full time offer as a test engineer, and I’ve been hacking away at making robots do what they’re supposed to ever since.
While working with robots, I found myself drawn to the physical work from my youth to somewhat counter the technical nature of my day to day. I started with woodwork and spent some time exploring furniture and larger pieces, until I finally found a niche in cutting boards. I think there is something so beautiful about a perfectly made, handcrafted, cutting board constructed of various hardwoods. Even after making hundreds of cutting boards, I still get excited about finishing a new board and revealing the intricacies of its grain.
My passion for woodwork eventually evolved into forging and bladesmithing. I was on a work trip in Texas, and there happened to be a Forged in Fire marathon on TV in the hotel room. I started out watching in awe at what the contestants were creating, and it slowly morphed into an attitude of, “I can do that.” I got home from that trip, built a small forge, and made my first stock removal knife from an old circular saw blade. It was awful, but this new craft was so addictive that I found myself designing knives in my head as I tried to go to sleep. I progressively got better, sold more product, and was able to invest the money into better equipment. Once I was able to purchase a proper forge, anvil, and hammer, I was convinced that this was going to be a lifelong passion.