My History

I am a fifth-generation Montanan, raised in Lincoln, Montana just outside the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Living in Lincoln I was able to enjoy hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, camping, motorcycles, and sports.  My younger sister Sarah and I were raised in a small log house that my parents built almost entirely by themselves. We were lucky to grow up where we did and have such loving and supportive parents.

At age 11, I met Rick Dunkerley when he coached my Little League baseball team. Rick was making hunting knives and had just started learning to forge his own Damascus. For Christmas in 1992, my parents gave me a Dunkerley knife, hand-forged from chainsaw chain. During Christmas break, Rick invited me to his shop to learn about the process of making a knife. He gave me one of his patterns to start with and began teaching me the process of knife making. That February I joined the American Bladesmith Society as an apprentice, and throughout the next couple of years I worked on improving my knives as Rick continued to fit me into his busy schedule. He was always very patient, sharing his knowledge and love for knives.

 

Here is our little league team. That's Rick Dunkerley our coach on the left

Here Rick and I are at my science fair when I was 12. My math and sience teachers bought my first two knives for $20 a piece

At the time I had a lawn-mowing business in which my Mom, Lisa, drove me to my different jobs. I used the money earned from lawn mowing, and working in my parents’ excavation business, to pay for the knife-making equipment I needed for my shop. My dad, Mark, and I enclosed one side of an equipment shed to be my knife-making shop and he built work benches to fit his height - knowing that I would grow into them. Until then, I had to stand on a milk crate to reach the grinder.

Eventually, Rick took me to my first knife show in Eugene, Oregon where I celebrated my 14th birthday. There I met several kind makers who were willing to share their knowledge of the trade.  This helped me in my quick progression of learning the craft.

 

Here I am at Wayne Goddard's shop holding a Bill Moran knife when I was 14..

This is a photo of me forging in my shop when I was 15.

In June of 1996, I passed the Journeyman test in Atlanta, becoming the youngest Journeyman Smith in the American Bladesmith Society at the age of 15. I continued refining my work throughout high school, making time between homework, sports, and work to pursue my passion.

This is a photo of me in one of my dad's backhoes in 2000.

My father, my dog, and I with my dad's backhoes.

I graduated from Lincoln High School in 1999, and that fall attended Montana State University-Bozeman.  Meanwhile, I continued working on my goal to become a Master Smith, and in June of 2000 I passed the A.B.S. Master Smith test, becoming the youngest to do so at the age of 19.

My Grandfather and I examining my Master Smith Set.

My Grandfather was always a wonderful supporter of my knives.

In the spring of 2001 I met Jodi Hinrichs from Fairfield Montana, while playing in a basketball tournament in Lincoln.  On July 6, 2002, we were married at my parents' home, and soon moved to Missoula where I began working work for High Country Excavation.  While building our home in Frenchtown that summer, Jodi and I lived in my boss's shop which was quite an experience.  That fall we moved into our new home and at that point I became a full time Bladesmith.

On July 13th, 2004 we welcomed our first daughter, Demi Jayne Smith, into the world, followed by her sister Sadie Marie on May 13th, 2006.

In 2006, Jodi and I bought a new place with more property.  Here I finished a nice shop where I have all of my equipment.  We are blessed to have a wonderful view of the mountains and the Clark Fork River bordering our land.  It’s here that we host the annual Big Sky Country Hammer In.  A Hammer In is where people go to learn different aspects of the Bladesmithing profession.

Me and my family.