Kopp, Todd

"I have always had a great interest in knives, even when I was a young boy growing up in Wisconsin. My dad gave me a knife that my grandfather made. I never got to meet my grandfather so that knife is very special to me. I first got started making knives in 1988 when a co-worker gave me a piece of tool steel from a saw to work. My brother told me that the knife that I made out of it looked like something made in a prison. I enjoy knifemaking because you are starting out with a chunk of steel and a chunk of ivory, and you hopefully end up with something of beauty. These are a few of the many makers that have inspired me: Buster Warenski, D'Holder, Dennis Freidly, Tim Hancock, and Don Norris. I prefer using Damascus steel because of the wide variety of beautiful patterns available. I like using natural materials for handles such as fossil Walrus, Mammoth ivory, and Mammoth teeth."