Since retiring, my wife Sandy and I are able to devote more time to our Beets Handmade Knives business. I make the knives and Sandy makes the custom hand-stitched sheath for each knife. We currently strive to attend a number of shows a year and also support knife organizations in our area.

I was born in Missouri, lived in Georgia for a while after my Dad returned from overseas at the end of WWII and grew up in Arizona. After working one summer in Oregon and one in Colorado, I had an itch to see some new country and decided to move to British Columbia. I recently returned after working 29 years with the BC Fish and Wildlife branch as a biologist and Fish and Wildlife manager for the Cariboo-Chilcotin region. Sandy was born and raised in Chilliwack, BC.

I will always be grateful to my Dad for teaching me how to hunt and use a knife. I am also thankful to my good friend and previous working colleague, Bob Lay, for helping me make my first handmade knife back in the mid 1980s. After improving on my knifemaking knowledge and craftsmanship my first knife was sold in 1988.

All work is done in our shop, including heat treating and tempering. Because each knife and sheath is handmade, we do not make a large number of knives each year. Our knife designs have been successfully field tested.

Each style of knife w make is named for a site or geographic location in the area surrounding where we live. We have hunted, fished, or worked in these areas for many years and these names are special to us. We strive to use quality material, making a knife that is functional, feels good to hold, and looks aesthetically pleasing.