A need unmet



8" Cleaver in 1095 HC etched blade, because I can.



It's always about the money, except when its not. As an ardent capitalist and business student this is an equation I struggle with constantly. As an American the bottom line is always on my mind, especially with my precious free time. But my equation into the value of tool making was broken, I was only looking at ones and zeros, red and black. The most important piece of the equation was missing until just recently.

My friend was relating an ambitious project he has in the works and stated, "It's not about if I want to make this happen, I have to make this happen." This project of his is so important that he has to get it out into the world and make it work. It isn't just a balance sheet, it is much more than that. How often do we approach an idea this way? That we feel it is up to us to turn concept into reality and not for economic value but for our own experience. If profit is the result, so be it, but the success or failure is not in the money, it's in the experience of creating.

This resonated deeply with me and I knew the minute he said it, it was what I had been failing to account for. Currently making tools is something I have to do. Could I simply buy equivalent tools? Yes, but you can't purchase the experience of honing your own skill and increasing your knowledge through hard work. To awake in the middle of the night with an idea that needs to be produced and following through from blank page to useful implement is a value far beyond a few dollars.

Turning theory into reality is what separates arm chair cowboys from bronc busters. It's not always about the money, sometimes it's just to know you can.


Destructive testing a KoM cleaver with a 4" blade in 1095 steel, so far it has resisted destruction.