Patton, Rob

"My father has been making custom knives for about 30 years. With an academic background in physics, he taught high school for many years and then was engaged in small business pursuits. In addition to his talents as a knife maker, he developed skills in Neolithic technology and in building traditional muzzle loading firearms. After moving from North Carolina to Southern California, he then focused his attention and talents to making knives professionally, full-time. In 1993, he came to Boise, Idaho and continued his craft. As for me, I went from college into local government, where for ten years, I served the good folks of the ski resort town of the Village of Sugar Mountain, North Carolina. My wife Gina, and I, had wanted to move "out West". And, in 1996, after a protracted, three month dialogue with dad about going into business with him making knives, we moved to Boise in October and began Patton Knives. Idaho is the perfect place for living your work as a knife maker. As avid outdoor enthusiasts, we are constantly engaged in real-life testing of our work where it counts, in the field. We hunt, fish, cycle, canoe, hike, backpack and ski. Whatever the season will allow, we confront the biggest problem of which knives to carry and how many! It's not only us, but our customers are out there too, all across the country, letting us know what they think. In 2004 I passed the test for Journeyman Smith."