All my life, I have enjoyed knives.  A fancy pocketknife made a young man feel invincible.  Being able to open packages due to an instrument in my pocket came with a tangible sense of impact on my surrounding world.  The man who gave me life has always been an artisan of beautiful woods.  My earliest memories of the “shop” were of beautiful chunks of oak, birdseye maple, or walnut.  It is because of his passion in that arena that mine exists – thanks, Dad!

As the technological side of the world continued to advance, I was able to use platforms like YouTube and Facebook to observe true artisans of steel and wood….in real time. To be able to learn from their skill, expertise, and passion.  From the first knife I saw made by hand, I was hooked.  My first attempts were pitiful.  Mistake-ridden, unattractive, and ineffective.  And yet, each provided tangible lessons – what not to do, what to do differently, what doesn’t work, and what does.

Was truly a humbling thing the first time someone asked me to build something unique…something just for them.  It was a filet-shaped knife made out of an industrial bandsaw blade with handle scales of Purple Heart wood from my father’s shop.  The client told me it was “by far the sharpest knife” on his wall.  The sense of accomplishment that came with that was intoxicating.  Ever since, I have been striving to advance my understanding of the nature of quality steel, the pairing of exotic beautiful hardwoods…..and marrying those things with the desires of the client. I can lose an entire day in the knife shop….even an entire weekend.  Red hot steel quenched in oil.  Imported olive wood sanded to a glass-like feel and then oiled.  Testing sharpness by shaving hair off my arm.  All these things provide profound satisfaction to my soul.

It has been a true honor to assist a handful of pupils along their journey of making their first knife in my shop.  Watching them create something beautiful and functional with their own hands is one of the best feelings of my journey on this earth.  Helping them discover the artisan within feels like a true contribution to humanity.  It is the deep desire of my soul that each blade that leaves my shop is slightly better than the previous, that each fulfills the needs and desires of the client, and that it bestows joy by its existence.

If I can help you in any way – as a client, pupil, or friend – I would be honored to do so!

Much love…

 L