Aldrich, Marc

My name is Marc Aldrich. As a young boy, I can remember being fascinated by knives. My first knife, a Swiss Army knife, was a Christmas present from my parents. I carried that knife everywhere and still have it. I grew up in a suburb of New York City where knives were not exactly a necessity. There were no knife classes or custom makers in the area that I was aware of so knives remained a dormant interest. After I left home I rented a variety of apartments or houses. But propane tanks, glowing metal and flying sparks are not the things that landlords want anywhere near their properties. So I eventually bought my own place. It was finally time to try my hand at making knives. Over the years I would attend knife shows and talk to the makers and purveyors. I would tell them of my plans to make knives some day. In our discussions one name kept coming up, Joe Szilaski. I was told that if I wanted to make knives I should take classes with Joe. So I did take a few classes with him. It was time well spent. I have been making knives since 2013. I am an Apprentice Smith with the American Bladesmith Society and working towards my Journeyman Smith rating. My degree is in Illustration from Pratt Institute and I currently work as a photo retoucher in the NYC area.