Welcome, Guest
Sam lives and works just south of Seattle, WA, and made his first knife in 2008. He was looking for a new and challenging hobby, and as a collector he found that making knives was the next intuitive step. His work follows in the artistic vein popularized by Mastersmith Wally Hayes, Gil Hibben, and Mike Snody, all of whom make original and inspired tactical fighters with a heavy Japanese influence. Sam now works full-time making knives, turning out about 125 pieces a year. He spends between 15 and 20 hours on each of his fixed blade knives, taking the most satisfaction at the moment a knife takes shape for the first time. Sam works exclusively with stock removal, with 154CM stainless being his favorite steel – he loves that it is both easy to work with and takes an excellent finish. He enjoys experimenting with variations on traditional Japanese handles using modern materials.
Sam started out as a self-taught maker, but he met Todd Begg soon after he began his new hobby. He had brought the tenth knife he had made along to show his friends at a small party -- a party that Todd attended as well. Sam found Todd to be very knowledgeable and generous with that knowledge. With Todd’s feedback, Sam was able to significantly improve his knifemaking in a short period of time. Sam has a lot of respect for the design and construction work of both Todd Begg and Mastersmith Kirk Rexroat, and like them, he hopes to create pieces of functional art that are a joy to use.
There’s an element of the fantastic in Sam’s knives, with stylistic references to both feudal Japan and the contemporary military. His most popular knife to date is the tanto dashi – he enjoys the look of a tanto style blade and this is evident in his interpretation of bowie knives as well as his neck knives and larger fixed blade pieces. His design process is organic – he’ll sketch many ideas before making a scale model and the design continues to evolve as he begins the work in steel.
Armor Piercing Tanto with Black Rayskin |
click to see more |
Black G10 Flipper (IKBS) |
click to see more |
Karambit with Sculpted, Anodized Titanium |
click to see more |
Karambit with Sculpted, Anodized Titanium |
click to see more |
Mini Tanto Necker with Hologram Rayskin Wrap |
click to see more |
Mini Tanto with Damascus and Black Rayskin Wrap |
click to see more |
Mini Tanto with Dragonskin Damascus and Purple Rayskin |
click to see more |
Mini Tanto with Dragonskin Damascus and Red Rayskin Wrap |
click to see more |
Mini Tanto with Mirror Polish and Black Rayskin |
click to see more |
Mini Tanto with Red Rayskin Wrap |
click to see more |
Modified Tanto Kiridashi with Red Rayskin |
click to see more |
OD Green G10 Flipper (IKBS) |
click to see more |
OD Green G10 Flipper (IKBS) |
click to see more |
Push Dagger with Carbon Fiber, Dark Acidwash |
click to see more |
Recurve Bowie Neck Knife with Rayskin Wrap |
click to see more |
Recurve Bowie Neck Knife with Rayskin Wrap |
click to see more |
Ring Dagger (Kunai) with Black Rayskin Wrap |
click to see more |
Ring Dagger (Kunai) with Hologram Rayskin Wrap |
click to see more |
Ring Dagger (Kunai) with Teal Rayskin Wrap |
click to see more |
Street Scalpel |
click to see more |
Street Scalpel, Dark Acidwash |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with White Micarta |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Black Rayskin and Stonewashed Finish |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Blue Rayskin |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Burgundy Micarta and Stonewashed Finish |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Canvas Micarta |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Carbon Fiber |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Dark Green Rayskin |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Dark Green Rayskin |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Emerald Rayskin |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Green Canvas Micarta and Stonewashed Finish |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Red Rayskin |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Red Rayskin |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Red Rayskin |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Red Rayskin and Stonewashed Finish |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Red Rayskin and Stonewashed Finish |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Toadskin and Skull Menuki |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with Toadskin and Skull Menuki |
click to see more |
Tanto Dashi with White Rayskin |
click to see more |
Thunderstorm (IKBS) |
click to see more |
Wharncliffe Utility Fighter |
click to see more |