David Johansen

I have had an interest in knives for as long as I can remember. When I was about 14, I had a cheap survival knife and decided it needed a double edge. It was hardened steel but I filed an edge onto the back. It took several months but I did it. That was my only experience actually doing any work on a knife for many years. Until a few years ago, in my mind knives "came from the store" and I was not even aware of custom knives. 

Once I found out about custom knives I was totally hooked. I have been making knives now since December 2003. My first knife was a nine inch double edged blade, beveled entirely by filing. It took me three months but it was worth it. I began getting orders from people who saw this first knife and things have progressed from there. I have received lots of help from the guys at Knife Network as well as visiting the shops of as many other knife makers as possible. My thanks go to them for without these resources I would not be where I am today.
This is where much of my enjoyment of this business comes from. I love making knives and get immense satisfaction out of seeing the end product and knowing that it was made exclusively through my efforts. But even more than this is the satisfaction that comes when I see the excitement and appreciation in the eyes of a customer who just purchased one of my knives. I also value my fellowship with customers and other makers, many of whom are truly like family and are a joy to be around. For these and many other reasons my plan is to be a fulltime knife maker as soon as possible. As soon as I have a 2 year backlog of orders I will go fulltime.

I am continually striving to make my knives better. In order to avoid spreading myself too thin by trying to learn too many things at once, I currently pick two main areas I want to focus on every six months or so. I dive into these areas and learn as much as I can. For example, one thing I have focused on recently is dovetailed bolsters.

I graduated with a Bachelors in Accounting with a minor in Finance in May 2002. I have enjoyed learning how businesses work and am putting this knowledge to use with my knife business. I am also a member of the Professional Knife makers Association. I love making knives and plan on doing this for a long time to come.