Hey everyone! I know it’s been a long time since my last post and I apologize for not being more diligent and more consistent with my entries. However, I have a lot of great news to catch everyone up on! So, working in chronological order, I’ll start with finishing the first portion of filming. Any and all footage needed of me working on the knife production process has finally been captured. I owe a debt of gratitude to Tyler Seick for allowing us to make a mess in his shop while shooting the process of me making my prototype. And to Chris Sharp, continued gratitude and a very big pat on the back for his patience and great effort that he’s already put into this project so far. The photo with this post is a still shot from our video session of me sighting down the blade as I’m working on the profile.

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Secondly, as part of my effort toward building a fire-arts studio, I’ve been accumulating the materials necessary for building my own vertical belt grinder. As of right now, any and all knifemaking I’m doing right is taking place at a fellow knifemaker’s shop up in Seattle, but more on that later. A big SHOUT goes out to my friend John G. for his help in making this homemade grinder a reality.

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Thirdly, I mentioned earlier that I’ve been working up in Seattle at a fellow knife makers’ shop. This particular gentleman goes by the name of David Lisch, Master Blacksmith, ABS Journeyman Bladesmith, owner of both Dragonfly Studio and Studio 4 Forge and one of the most talented craftsmen I’ve ever met. David and I have been collaborating to create a truly beautiful piece of functional art. The knife started as a rough forged blank of Damascus steel that David had made days prior through a rigorous and meticulously thought out process of stacking, welding, forging, drawing, grinding, cutting, re-stacking, etc. until his desired pattern had taken form. When I got to his shop, he handed it to me and said, “Do what you like.” So, I began grinding and profiling the steel to match my Kingfisher cutlery design that I’ve been working on for some time now. The photo of this knife is featured as my cover photo for the website above. As you can see, the blade and bolster area are all made from one piece of steel. This specific design element designates this knife as an integral bolster chef’s knife.The handle is made out of one solid piece of Big Leaf Maple burl. The small spacer between the bolster and handle is made from cooper-nickel and micarta. The overall length of the knife is approximately 15 inches with a cutting edge of 9 inches.

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Last but most certainly not least of all the updates, I am engaged to the most incredible woman I know, Sarah Thompson, and I couldn’t be more fired up about spending the rest of my life with her!

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Again, I apologize for slacking on the updates, but I am also thankful to all of you for your patience. I hope this entry wasn’t to much of an overload. Fortunately things really are beginning to gather momentum which means there will be a lot more news updates as well as some very useful information to read about in the coming weeks.

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great.” -Zig Zagler

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All my best,

Mareko Maumasi