The Good Ol' Blades Podcast

Arguably R.W. Loveless is one of, if not the most influential knife maker and designer in the last century. Bob's designs are some of the most copied and reproduced in the market today, and you can see his impact on knife making in a majority of knives made as well. Bob was an enigmatic man, as notable for his generosity as his tantrums, and those who knew him personally either loved, loathed...

I find that every time I talk to the old guard of knifemaker, how fortunate I am to be in a time where knowledge is so accessible. For the pioneers in custom and handmade knives, every ounce of knowledge could be attributes to an egregious amount of "want to", in order to get anything done. For the OG knifemaker that's stood the test of time like Jim Sornberger, that want to has bee...

The world of knives has taken me down a lot of rabbit holes, which I just consider paths to a destination I'm not aware of yet. On the road to understanding the universe, I stumbled into Matt Martin, knife maker at Vehement Knives. I've had Matt on the podcast before, but in a much earlier stage, where I think he was just doing me favor to help give the show street cred, but it turned in...

I think sometimes it's easy to look at successful people and think that it was a gift, miracle or privilege that got them where they are. But for every success we see as outsiders looking in, there were thousands of mistakes, roadblocks and discouragements that got between that person and their success. The ones who make it into the stream of our consciousness forced their way into it, like s...

Lewis Carroll once wrote “One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others.” I can't imagine a more fitting way to identify what Bruce Voyles surely discovered at an early age. Sure, a life in knives and his passion for it has garnered him his own freedoms and success, but much like Carroll, Bruce has used his words and life energy to paint f...

Knives run deep in America as the quintessential companion of the avid outdoorsman, working man and woman, boy and girl, every day carrier, and collector alike. In the early 70's, the emergence of The Knifemakers' Guild and American Bladesmith Society captured a boom of handmade knifemakers in America, and with it, came the American Blade magazine, edited by Blackie Collins. In 1982, aft...

Knife makers, as much as they can be celebrities within our industry, are often not well known outside of it. With tens of millions of people seeing him judge on Forged in Fire over the last 9 years of the show, J. Neilson has reached meteoric attention in the public eye, is a household name, and you may think that all of that attention would go to a guy's head. For J, It hasn't. He&apos...

There are few luxuries in life like sharing heartfelt time with friends and family. Even more seldom is when your children connect with you on something, and share your passion and intrigue. I've been blessed that to some extent, all of our children have been interested in knives and knife culture, and championed the work I'm doing myself. We all play a role in how this business operates...

There's a culture inside of knives, and especially knife shows, where we all seem to be fans of our fellow knifemakers. We can meet a knifemaker for the first time, and feel like we're old friends. We can sit and geek out on sometimes the smallest aspects of knives, and fill hours with each other. Companionship, camaraderie, and mutual respect feed great conversations, and build lifelong...

I've had the honor to speak with some of the greatest living knifemakers on this podcast, and pick their brains about their craftsmanship and creativity in the industry. But with all things, I try to expand the collective consciousness of my listeners, and my guest Michael Janich very much does the same with everyone he comes in contact with. As the brain behind Martial Blade Concepts and as...

I have been asked this question a lot, and it's to quantify the role social media plays in the knifemaking industry, and how to break away from reliance on it. Listen to the micro podcast, it should evoke some ideas as to how you'll personally go about this. Remember, a like or a follow does not equal a sale, and social media does not validate your own worth as a craftsman. It's imp...

At the end of April, the Oklahoma Knife Group (Previously the Knife Group Association of Oklahoma (KGA)) will be hosting its knife show. And on the doorstep of that, I thought it'd be great to talk to Shawn Shropshire - President, and talk about the group, their over 25 years of association, and its growth over the past several years after it's rebrand. But, what I really wanted to dig i...

Sometimes I get the opportunity to talk to folks that make me think I don't have a lick of creativity in me. Well...Probably more than sometimes. But that's what's cool about being a podcast host in this particular vein of knifemaking, that I get to immerse myself in the conversations of people that inspire me, at the same time get me introspective. Steven Ramos is one of those guys...

John Horrigan is one of those men that makes you better by being in his presence. A true blue God fearing American, that holds his knife art in humble regards, but his reverence for the craft of knifemaking with great esteem. Maybe at first I thought John was unapproachable because of this, but he's one of the kindest and most thoughtful people out there, and really shines bright in our indus...

Kelly Vermeer Vella is a rare bird, because as high as she soars, she still seems to have two feet firmly planted on the ground. In every success, award, and other achievement I see her get, I am always rooting for her. Probably because she represents the underdog in her demeanor, and also embodies the superstar. This kind of enigma in knife culture is what drew me to her work, and wanting to have...

The cat's out of the bag, and in the inaugural FIRST PODCAST for Dellana...EVER, I got to sit down with her and talk about some heavy-hitting ideas in how to conjure up the stuff that mesmerizes and enchants us all. Dellana has made an international name for herself in both her jewelry and knife art for the last 48+ years, and is still busy creating some of them most gobsmacking artwork in th...

I've always admired the military man because of the regimen and order that encapsulates the service.  Neal Green embodies his career in the U.S. Army in his knives in a way that follows a structured and clean look, but also gives way to his creative eye by allowing him to play with themes and materials, to juxtapose order in an otherwise chaotic medium. His knives and leatherwork are some of...

Part of this vocation of podcasting is really being able to nerd out over my heroes. The other, of course, is to act as an archivist for what will assuredly be some of the few conversations the world will get with legendary figures in knives. Though I hope that in every conversation, there stems more and more, and we get to keep national knife treasures like Bob Terzuola for a long time, the reali...

In this world, it's easy to get lost in the fact that people don't often get the opportunity to share a connection of passion or desire. But within art and knives, there is a common thread of self expressionism that weaves its way through the medium, and binds us as people, in ways that is often surprising. In talking to Andrea de Leon about her own journey through art, and her applicati...

Alex Harrison from Night Watch Knives is a constant companion of mine, in that we commiserate about knives, a lot. There's always some new challenge, problem, or idea that forces us to put on our thinking caps, and he's a go-to for me to get feedback, especially the brutally honest kind. That's what I like about him. Alex is constantly evolving, and whether its days, weeks or months...

In probably my most ambitious attempt at a show, I sat down with not one, but SIX knifemakers, who are also Texans, at the Lost Pines Knife Show, to talk about knives. Though most would expect the punchline of "What do you get when you put six Texans in a room together?" to be "a lot of blah blah how great Texas is", what I got was a very humble, proud and thoughtful group of m...

It's said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and especially in knives, ones ability to garner the eye of the community, is sometimes intrinsic to the knife design itself. Whether you appreciate art for the sake of itself, or consider functional art such as Keanison Knives' creations that way, it's really up to you. For me, I have spent quite a bit of time ogling Bryan and Wi...

I've thought a lot about how to speak of my experience with Grace in a way that is not just fanboy'ish, but I find myself coming up short while writing, every time. The reality is, Grace Horne represents a rare breed of artisan that just...inspires. It's not just her knife and scissor work that fascinates me, but her entire outlook on life and her innate ability to make you feel at...

In 1982, Bruce Voyles and Jim Parker did something spectacular - they started Blade Show. Bruce and Jim co-owned Blade Magazine at the time, and decided to start a show that was originally advertised as 'The Blade Magazine 1982 Knife Show', per Steve Shackleford in a May 25, 2021 online article for Blade Magazine. Within a few short years, Bladeshow became the largest knife show ever, an...

I'm reminded constantly of the duality of the human condition within knives. As diverse as the knifemaking community is, at it's core, we all share a common bond, not of knives, but of our experiences that lead us to create, knifes being the creative medium we choose. This is no truer than for Tony Severio, a real Louisiana renaissance man. Whether it's his humble beginnings in the...