A Brief Biography
I work as a behavior analyst for developmentally disabled persons as my day job, and do knives as a weekend job. My knives are at the same time tools and works of art. A pretty knife that doesn’t hold an edge isn’t much of a knife. On the other hand, an ugly knife isn’t any better than what can be bought at the store for much less. I try to make every knife both functional and beautiful.
After 12 years in the Abilene area I moved to Wolfforth, TX in October of 2017. I’m married with four boys, ages 16, 15, and 3 1/2 year old twins (As of Nov 2020). My knife hobby supports a full schedule of fishing, hunting, church work, and playing with my kids.
I am a voting member of the Knifemakers’ Guild, an Apprentice in the American Bladesmith Society, and the president of the Texas Knifemakers’ Guild. I am the author of Knifemaking Hacks, published by Caribou Press, the company that publishes BLADE Magazine, and the editor of Next Level Knifemaking, coming soon.
Some Interesting Details
How I got started and why I stuck with it.
I have hunted and fished since before I can remember, and have had knives around my whole life. I ground out my first blade in high school, from a file, but never finished it. In 2003 while trapping furbearers, I got to skinning so many raccoons that I couldn’t keep a sharp knife around. I needed more knives, so I put a handle on that blade from high school. I consider that knife #1. Memorial Day weekend 2008 I went to my first gun show, in Ruidoso, NM. I saw a table full of custom knives, picked up a few, and thought, “I think I can do that.” I made my first 19 blades with files and sandpaper, then got a grinder. Since I mostly write paperwork and “help people” for a living, I love knifemaking because it gives me the chance to produce something tangible. I can see knifemaking progress on a daily basis, and I love it.
My Knifemaking Process.
I make knives using both stock removal and forging techniques. I most often heat treat my own blades in a digitally controlled kiln and use dry ice for cryogenic tempering. Steels I use include 1080/1084 carbon steel, D2 tool steel, CM 154 and AEBL stainless steels, and occasionally files or other “found” or historic steel. I have a home-built power hammer and make my own Damascus steel out of 1095 and 1084 and 15n20. When it comes to history, I like using materials with a story connected to the past, particularly artifacts from Texas.
Join the mailing list.
My mailing list gets an advance look at every available knife, before I post the knife for sale on the internet. This is the fastest way to get your hands on a Fry Custom Knife. Emails come about once a month.