Nano

Perrin, Fred

Fred Perrin makes fixed blades and folders of every kind; Forges Damascus steel or uses stock removal techniques. In any case, he always does his own heat treatment and tempering. As far as his background in the martial arts, Fred has spent two years in the French Army Commandos and worked as a bodyguard. He was a national Tae Kwon Do champion and a European full contact stick-fighting champion. He has trained in Kali, and God knows what else. His weapon of choice is the butterfly knife, in which he excels. Aside from being France’s most famous and controversial knife maker and tactical writer, Fred runs a school where he teaches a very unique blend of knife, stick, and empty hand techniques. He is often contracted by France’s elite police units for seminars. He also provides some agencies with custom-made weapons for ballistic testing.

Max Knives

Burch (Burchtree Bladeworks), Michael

"I’m not sure where my love for knives came from – but it’s always been there. I started collecting knives from flea markets or garage sales. I even built a few blades in my father’s workshop when I was about 12. I had no idea what I was doing, but it was fun nonetheless. As I grew, so did my collection. After high school, I joined the United States Marine Corps as a reservist and went on to play soccer and attend college. I settled down in Springfield, Missouri and started working as an editor and writer for the internet department of a large outdoor retail company. Around 2002, the bug to build knives hit me hard. I spent hours upon hours reading the internet asking questions, and talking to as many knifemakers as I could. My first “adult knife” turned out about as well as the knives I built when I was a kid, but I kept at it and have been a full-time maker since 2007. I build most of my knives out of 1095 and W-2. I also use CPM-154 if a customer requests stainless and I use Chad Nichols’ stainless damascus. I also make my own damascus with my friend and fellow knifemaker Jody Muller."