Patch Lot

Heretic Knives

"All of our knives are made in the USA and we will keep it that way. When you purchase one of our knives you can have confidence in your tool knowing that it is backed by an American company. Our knives are made in small production runs to ensure you receive a quality knife that has been given the attention other mass produced knives don't receive. In 2015 my wife Jessica and I founded Heretic Knives. As a second generation knife maker, applying the knowledge that has been passed to me, I want to bring designs and certain elements to the craft that haven't been tried before. In closing, I look forward to passing the same knowledge, plus what I've picked up on my own, down to the next generation."

KnifeArt.com

Curtiss Knives

"Curtiss Custom Knives is a veteran owned small business. When I decided to create this business, I had one standard in mind. To make the best knives and give the best customer service possible. I am the only one in our shop. No magic mini shop monkeys or anything. I start with a thought and turn it into a CAD drawing. If I like what I see, I create run files and cut my parts on our waterjet machine. Yes we have a waterjet in our shop. After the materials are cut into the basic shapes, I use our CNC machining center for the secondary processes such as milling, drilling, pockets and tapping. I do my blade grinds by hand on 2″x 72″ belt grinders that I designed and built. Other shop equipment includes heat treat oven, blast cabinet, vibe machine and misc. other machines. Anything else is done by hand by me. I do all of my sharpening on a belt machine I built. All knives receive a 20 degree polished edge. I do currently outsource for some hardware but we hope to make that ourselves soon. So I do not put my knives in a “mid-tech” or “production” classification. I call my knives “CUSTOM”. We own and operate all machinery in house."

Strider Knives

Strider Knives is a privately owned and operated company devoted solely to the development and construction of edged tools designed to survive use in the harshest of conditions. The company was founded and is currently operated by former military personnel. The initial goal was to provide a field service knife constructed with the finest components available, yet affordable to the average enlisted man and within his maintenance abilities. The initial goal having been met, Strider Knives found a ready market for custom-edged weapons and tools with the same component quality requirements as the first highly successful field knives. Many of Striders available edged tools are drawn from customer's specific design requirements. Others are simply the company's ability to look at a potential work environment and design a prototype to be tested and assessed by the workers of that environment. The background of Strider Knives founders enables the company to assess requirements in diverse fields ranging from the average line soldier/marine through special operations, law enforcement and hunting to commercial diving. Various Strider designs have met and exceeded the requirements in each of these fields.

Strider, Mick

In 1988, he began making specialized knives for use by the military. This turned out to be fortunate turn of events, both for Mick and for the knife using world at large. Mick’s approach was to not get burdened by the weight of past designs. He started with a tabula rasa, a clean slate, informed only by his own experiences and knowledge of what a soldier needed in a knife. The knives he made didn’t look like the hunter-inspired knives seen in most PXs; instead they were almost brutish in their functionality: beefy, solid, and with unbreakable ¼” stock full tangs. These knives were the first indication of his innovative approach: in addition to their utilitarian design, the knives carried a subdued finish and subdued sheaths. No one carrying a Strider knife was going to be spotted because of sunlight glinting off of polished steel or a glossy leather sheath. Soldiers, policemen, and other men going into harm’s way couldn’t buy them fast enough. Mick sampled some good ideas, but made them great. For instance, he was not the first to wrap a knife handle with paracord, but he was the first to do it in a way that was tough enough for sustained infantry use. His knife line grew over the following years to include different varieties of fixed blades, all distinctive and many with specialized uses. But constant in all of them was a disregard for convention, and a desire to try new ideas. An example of this was the Ajax – it featured a very wide blade surface clearly designed to inflict damage. It drew on the weapons carried by Roman legionnaires, yet was modern and usable in the 21stCentury battlefield. Mick also worked on his technical skills, always striving to become better at the physical craft. At the 2002 Blade Show, a group of the best tactical knifemakers in the country decided to compete with each other to produce the most innovative and interesting fixed “battle blade” at the show. Mick’s entry, an incredible integral knife made out of ½” titanium stock with a zippered composite blade, gorgeous handles, and integral guard was the unanimous winner, and effectively retired the competition.

Dwyer, Duane

At Dwyer Custom Shoppe, we produce solutions to problems - we think the finest solutions with a wealth of science, patience, and practicality. We work only with the most high-end materials and manufacturing procedures, and we stay at the high end. As a knife maker myself, I am mostly influenced by science. I read a lot of it myself and I really enjoy it and science is in essence what we deliver. Both Mick and I both appreciate beyond measure, and beyond words the people who come to us to have us help them improve their margin of success when they're out there in harm's way. If we do that, then we've done our job.

Stout, Jason

"My name is Jason Burley Stout. I am a machinist / tool and die maker. I use this knowledge in the construction of my knives. Primary blade steels are CPM D-2, D-2 and A-2 Tool steels. For stainless I prefer CPM 154-CM , CPM S30-V and BG-42. All heat treating, sub-zero and cryo treatments are done by me. I use the stock removal method to profile and produce hollow, flat and scandi grinds. All blades are checked on a Rockwell hardness tester for quality. Primary handle materials are canvas micarta and G-10. I also do all the leather and Kydex sheathes. My guarantee is simple - If one of my knives or tools should fail under it's intended use, caused by defect in material or workmanship, I will fix it or replace for free. I build knives that will last for many generations if cared for properly."

Barker, John

"My interest in knives started as a child with my father’s old Case pocket knives. My dad always had a knife in his pocket and he taught me to always have one too. I found myself collecting more and more knives over the years. Then, one day, my friend Will Dutton asked me to go to the Blade Show with him. Will had just started making knives a few months earlier. The Blade Show really sparked my interest in making knives and I built my first knife in August 2006 at Will’s shop. From then on, I knew I had found something special in knife making. I like to build custom fixed blade knives that have a tactical flare to them. I make fighters, hunters and utility designs using the finest steels available in Crucible’s CPM line of knife steels. I like to use CPM 154, CPM D2, CPM S30V and CPM D2. These steels employ Crucible’s Particle Metallurgy technology for superior blade performance. My knives are made for hard use. I hollow grind my blades in a unique way to make my knives as light as possible, but maintain a strong convex cutting edge. I also taper the tang on every knife to achieve a balanced knife that seems like an extension of your hand. I use a variety of handle material, but prefer Micarta for tactical knives and knives that will see a lot of use. The reason being that Micarta is extremely durable and has a good 'grippiness' even when wet. I also make one off custom designs as requested."

Behring, Jim

Jim "Treeman" Behring is a lifelong native of Michigan, and his interest in knives - both collecting and creating them - goes back to his boyhood. Though he was raised in the city, Jim spent his weekends and summers in the country with family. It was there that he came to appreciate the pleasure of being outdoors, learning his way around the woods and honing his hunting and fishing skills. A recognized specialty of Jim's are Scagel-styled knives and camp axes, a reflection of the appeal the outdoors holds for him. However, his work encompasses a wide variety of knives, including his own designs and replicas of time-honored classics.