Mark of the Maker

Ricky Ray and Neal Punchard join us to  talk Boker history and walk us through the timeline laid out in their book - Boker: Two Centuries and Two Countries Representing One Name in Cutlery Excellence.  150 years of cutlery is quite a haul, so there's plenty for us to talk about to better understand the Boker family and the complex history of this brand.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Inst...

Just in time for America's Independence Day, we bring you a new picks episode, dedicated to what is probably the knife most synonymous with America.  Regardless how you pronounce it, this one's a googler (yeah, we made that word up), you'll want your search engine handy or hit the Facebook group for pics of some of these great knives from great makers.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Insta...

Mark, Sean and Tom chat about Blade Show 2021 and some of Tom's experiences and goodies from the show.  Always great to see friends and makers we enjoy winning awards so we spend a few minutes talking about some of the great custom pieces that makers brought to Blade this year.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conve...

We've talked in previous episodes about Dave Brown's work under his mark Vasana Bladeworks, and this time Dave took the time to chat with us about his life and his work.  Great insights into his background, this knifemaking process and why his work covers lots of territory and multiple genres.  Dave was a pleasure to chat with, we think you'll enjoy the conversation. Check out our Patreon and foll...

Mark, Sean and Michael chat about the 2021 Nashville Tactical Invitational (TKI) show and how it went in the new calendar slot and location.  We talk makers, special knives and some fun projects we've seen in the last week or two.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

Dr. Rachel Parikh joins us again, this time for a deep dive into her favorite category of South Asian weapon - The Katar.  You'll want to have a web browser handy as Rachel gives accession numbers for each of the pieces she talks about and there are details you won't want to miss.  A fun and informative discussion, just like when she joined us last. Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram...

It's almost here, and who doesn't love summer?  We put together a "picks" episode for a few categories and as usual, end up taking the long way around the barn.  Customs, production, obscure - we're all over the map.  What would YOU pick for each of these summer knife categories?  We'd love to hear your picks too, we always miss a few good ones!  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @m...

Dr. Larrin Thomas, author of Knife Engineering and the Knife Steel Nerds website joins us to talk about his life and his studies in metallurgy.  Larrin brings some interesting insight and a technical perspective to an area that is often steeped in tribal knowledge.  We also talk a bit about Larrin's new steel CPM-MagnaCut and its design specifically for the knife industry.  Check out our Patreon a...

Mark and Tom get together to talk about the recent ICCE 2021 show in Fort Worth, TX.  Tom tells us about his experience at the show and at the Stockyards.  We also talk a bit about the "elephant in the room" with shows restarting around the country.  Great chat about what sounds like a great show.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Fac...

Rick Hinderer joins us again to continue our conversation about his knifemaking journey and going from a converted chicken coop to the factory he's in today.  That journey isn't always easy, and sometimes it doesn't look like you thought it would when you get there. Another great chat with Rick, hope you enjoy it. Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discuss...

Rick Hinderer joins us to talk about his life and his knifemaking journey.  In the first part of our discussion, we talk about Rick's early life, challenges he faced growing up, and his long path around to becoming a knifemaker.  We only scratched the surface, so this one will continue in Episode 62 for more of the story.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join ou...

We revisit a theme from an early episode and pick some knives and makers that we think may be under-appreciated or or lesser known to chat about.  Historical knives, art knives, modern knives - you name it.  Give it a listen and hit us with your own picks, we'd love to hear about them.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for mo...

Dr. Rachel Parikh joins us to talk about her own personal journey and some insight into the world of arms and armor from the perspective of curatorship.  Really fun chat that we think you'll enjoy.  We've talked about her before, but be sure to check out Rachel's excellent Instagram feed @rachel.parikh for fantastic details and insights on some special pieces of arms and armor from collections aro...

With the help of special guest and Friend of the Show Grace Horne, we take a deep dive into the history of Sheffield, UK and Sheffield knives.  Grace lays this history out for us in the context of eight objects in her collection.  We will share the bibliography for this one and photos of the objects in our Facebook group.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join ou...

This is part two of our interview with Derrick Obatake of Steel Flame.  We talk about the challenges that creative people face in business, the real root and meaning behind "HGR," the origins of the Killbox, and Derrick's own journey into knifemaking.  A great wrap-up to a fantastic interview that will hit hard with people who create things for a living.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Ins...

Our first guest of Season 4 is jeweler, craftsman, artist, knifemaker and all-around badass, Derrick Obatake of Steel Flame.  Derrick explains the core of Steel Flame and the community around it.  We chat about how he got into the industry and some of his perspective on growing a small business.  This one was long enough that we split it into two episodes, so stay tuned for Ep.57 where we finish o...

Whew, what a year!  We kick off Season 4 of MotM with a bit of reflection on 2020, talk about some makers and projects that got our attention, and give some thought to what we are looking forward to for 2021.  There was no shortage of things to talk about with a bit of an introspective from the crew.  Hope you enjoy it!  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our...

We check in with Sean on what may be the last of the Back to School Minisodes...or is it?!?  Sean tells us about his most recent classes and things coming up, as well as how he's been able to use some of what he's learned.  We spend a fair bit chatting about some cool things we've seen around the 'net and folks we wanted to point out.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemak...

We always have fun with "picks" episodes, so with the holiday season upon us, we put one together around road trip essentials as well as some gift picks for one another across a few price ranges. We share some very cool things we spotted since our last episode and pay some respects as well.  Fun conversation as always and ended up turning into our longest episode to date.  Check out our Patreon an...

Richard Rogers joins us for a chat about his knifemaking journey and some of the challenges he has had to work through both in life and in knife making.  Richard and his wife Sally are friends of the show, so it was a pleasure to have him take the time to chat with us.  You can find Richard in his Facebook group Richard Rogers Knives or on Instagram @richardrogersknives Check out our Patreon and f...

Our latest knife history installment is on W. F. "Bill" Moran.  We were honored to have Jay Hendrickson join us for this episode, an ABS Master and legendary maker in his own right.  We walk through the Moran timeline together with Jay and after this one, you'll have a clear understanding why many consider Moran to be one of the greatest makers of our time. Check out our Patreon and follow us on I...

Traditional knife maker Luke Swenson joins us for a conversation about life and knifemaking.  We talk a bit about the South Texas slipjoint scene, his move to Idaho and how Luke came to be a traditional slipjoint maker.  You can find Luke in his Facebook group Swenson Handmade Knives or on Instagram @swensonknives Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discuss...

To celebrate our 50th (wow!) episode, we take you on a journey into the wild and wide-ranging world of Fantasy Knives.  We did this "picks" style, and each selected some examples from a few different categories.  Get your inner knife geek on and join along with us!  Be sure to share your own picks in our FB group or via IG and tag us.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemak...

Grace Horne joins us for a chat about her work and how she came to be part of the Sheffield cutlery world.  We've talked a few times in previous episodes about Grace's work and her fantastic scissors.  She tells us about her personal history and her path from other forms of metalwork to knives to scissors and why she finds them fascinating.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markof...

It's been a weird year, so we check in with Sean for an update on his journey back to school.  Sean gives us an update, we pay our respects to damascus and knife maker Chris Marks, and we chat about some very cool and interesting stuff that we've come across lately. Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.