Mark Of The Maker

We decided we needed to spend a bit more time talking with Billy Cho about some of the challenges newer makers face in today's custom knife world, and Billy was gracious enough to join us for some additional conversation.  This one turned into a 2-way Q&A, so there should be something in here for just about everyone.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

Knifemaker Billy Cho joins Mark of the Maker for a discussion about his life, his knives, what inspires his work and his perspective as a newer knifemaker.  Billy has a pretty wide-ranging personal story, which helps paint yet another version of the story about where a knifemaker can emerge from. Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

The incredibly talented Nick Rolfe joins us to chat about knives, his life, and his own journey from collecting knives to using them in Search and Rescue.  We have a very frank and open conversation about people of color in and around the knife world and Nick shares his own picks for a Three Knife Collection.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

If you could only keep three knives from your collection, which would you keep and why?  We chat about this as well as the fun version of it - if you could add three knives of unlimited budget or attainability, what would you pick and why?  We'd love to hear your own picks, please share them with us!  Tag us on IG or use the hashtag #threeknifecollection to share your own pics.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

In Episode 29, we welcome David Sharp back to Mark of the Maker.  David was kind enough to help us with our Loveless history episode and this time we talk with David about his own knifemaking journey. We talk about David's background, his unique path into knifemaking, his preferences in design and style and a bit about what makes him tick outside the knife world.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

We chat about our Blade Show 2019 experience and some differences in the show this year.  Some good, some not so good, but always a fun time overall.  Like last year, we share some sound clips from the floor and some words from some Friends of The Show Jeremy Marsh, Brian Efros, Billy Cho, Chris Taylor and Luke Swenson.  Check out our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

In the second installment of this minisode series, we talk with Sean Kendrick about how his first semester of college wrapped up and what he's taken away from the experience so far.  Follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

Blade Show is coming up fast, so we wanted to revisit the topic of show etiquette.  Knife shows are a great experience, both for knives and for the social aspect.  The first 30 minutes of this episode is new content and the addition of some topics we didn't catch last time.  The remainder is a remastered version of Episode 11, dedicated to show etiquette.  Follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

The crew digs into the history and work of one of the world's most influential knife makers, Bob Loveless. Special guest and knifemaker David Sharp joins us, a student of the Loveless Knives style and a friend of Jim Merritt and the Merritt family. David shares some additional insights into the "how" and "why" behind the Loveless Knives formula, as we walk through the timeline together.  Follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

With the solitary world many custom makers function in, sometimes the need for a bit of maintenance goes beyond the machines and into the mind. Michael and Sean discuss some of these challenges and how they try to deal with them. Many of you may find similar things rattling around upstairs, knifemaker or otherwise. This one gets a bit personal, hope you find it enlightening or helpful in some way.

In this minisode, Tom talks about his love of hatchets, axes and tomahawks.  We chat about both traditional and tactical styles and discuss a few great makers and designs out there today.  This minisode ran a bit longer than usual, but we expect it's one you'll enjoy.  Did we miss your favorite axe or tomahawk maker or design?  Let us know!  Follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.  

We are joined by knifemaker Chris Taylor of Taylor Made Knives in this episode.  Chris tells us about his life, his work and how he came into the knife making world.  Although he isn't a really a new maker, he's new to the "big show" scene and we discuss some of the challenges that newer makers face as their work becomes more well known and in demand.  We touch on what the guys are working on, the fancy new tool Tom has incoming and some MotM merch we've got coming.  Follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

In this minisode series, we'll talk with Sean Kendrick about how his experience going back to school later in life is impacting his knifemaking.  Sean talks about what got him motivated to head down this path and a little about how it has already influenced his perspective.  Follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

We had questions for one another, about life and about knifemaking - so we asked them.  These turned into discussions that we thought you might find fun, interesting or helpful.  Topics range from music to back pain to knife making processes and belt selection and even a conversation about cars.  Definitely a ramble and one that ran longer than any of us expected.  We enjoyed the chat, and hope you will as well.  Follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

Custom knifemaker Jeremy Marsh joins us this time on Mark of the Maker.  Jeremy is a toolmaker by trade and he explains how his experiences as a tool and die maker helped him gain the skills to form the basis of his craft.  As seems to often be the case, his background has some common touchpoints with our own but for sure, Jeremy's story is unique.  We talk knives, knife shows, and about how the pursuit of perfection is a common thread between craftsmen of all types.  Follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

The Crew rejoins after a long winter break.  We discuss happenings over the last few weeks, review our own 2018's, talk resolutions and trends for 2019 and point out some makers to watch as we roll into the new year.  Just a casual, wandering conversation to get back into the groove and a look ahead into 2019.  Sean's got news, Tom's got a surprise and as has happened on more than one occasion, Michael ends up astounded.  Follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

We are joined by knife collector Justin Laffer for another Collector Spotlight episode.  Justin shares his perspective with us on a variety of topics relevant to the knife community and the current state of the custom knife scene.  As always, Justin is eloquent and well-spoken as we hit some key touchpoints facing both collectors and makers today.  It's a fun, rambling conversation and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  Follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook.

You know you've seen them before - knives that have "that look" and give pause to even the casual observer.  We dig into the topic of scary knives, whether from horror movies or designed with specific scary intent.  This one's a bit of a ramble that we recorded on Halloween.  Do you have a favorite scary knife?  If so, sound off on our Instagram @markofthemaker or join the Mark of the Maker group on Facebook for some conversation.  

The crew faces a challenge: What knife would you buy if you had $25 to spend?  How about $100 or $300?  We won't pretend our choices are the "best" for the money, but each has a reason why they were chosen.  A fun episode for us and some choices you might not expect.  Join us in our Facebook group "Mark of the Maker" and let us know what your picks are!

In our second Minisode, Tom talks about the Crossada and how James Keating and his iconic fighting knife design have influenced his own work.