Scale Release

Johnson, C.E. "Gene"

C.E. “Gene” Johnson was born in 1933 and began his “second career/hobby” of knife making in 1975. He passed away a few years prior to 2013 Johnson’s knives are known for their quality and craftsmanship. He made knives as big as a Bowie knife down to a pocketknife with an eighth-inch blade. It takes about two weeks for him to make a knife, and he only works on them for three hours a day. It takes 40 to 50 hours to finish one. Here is an excerpt from a New York Times article by Gloria Reed, published on April 26, 1996: Gene Johnson has a really sharp hobby. He makes knives from scratch. “The first thing I tried to make 20 years ago was a knife out of a saw blade,” Johnson said. “Then I found out they made metal for making knives.” Johnson’s first knife is a mere piece of metal now compared to the rest he has made over the years. “About 11 years ago, I retired from U.S. Steel on disability after 33 years,” he said. “I laid around on the couch so long, I had to come out of the house and do something besides cut the grass.” That’s when Johnson began taking knife making seriously.