The 1980s

Here I am, a young man in my early twenties, behind the grinder. I removed my respirator for the picture. Note that I was a garage maker, you can see the garage door behind me! This is how most makers start out, innocently enough. Note the clean quench bucket, the clean coveralls, and the thin, younger form of your favorite knifemaker! Ahh, to be young again...

The 1980s

Here's a view of the inside of the one car garage. I started out with just a few tools, and some modest ideas. It was pretty crowded back then, but I didn't have to move far to the next workstation. Note the bench on wheels, so I could move it around and work on all sides.  You can see the heat treat oven just behind the drill press on the right. Note the big 18" rock saw in the foreground left, with a chunk of petrified wood ready to cut. I've been cutting rock a long, long time!

The 1980s

Here's a shot of the small works bench from back then. I've got tools stacked to the ceiling, hung on hooks, under the bench, and in every cubbyhole I could muster. Working in a small space requires some ingenuity. This picture was taken in the mid 1980s.

The 1980s

Here's a group of knives from the 80's. If you have an old Jay Fisher custom knife, you might even see it in this group! A popular style at that time was the Aunkst trailing point (four in this pic), the Prairie Falcon, and leaf-bladed New Orleans daggers. There are even a few fillet knives in the photo. Lots of gemstone and lots of exotic wood handles. Of course, each and every knife here is long ago sold and in someone's hands, which is neat to think about. Also, they're worth far more than they were sold for back then.

The 1980s

Here's a picture of me in the late 80's in Farmington. The silly flowered welder's cap was a necessary feature of the times, needed to protect that long hair. Hey, everybody's young once!

The 1990s

I moved to Magdalena, New Mexico in 1992. I bought the old original Post Office, built in about the 1860s. this old building had a common wall with the police station and another vacant building. I was the only artist with a storefront in the town of 1000, in the southwest mountains of New Mexico. This is an early picture, before I changed the storefront name to Enchanted Spirits Studio. It was a great little shop, about 1200 square feet, and some very fine works came out of that little building.

The 1990s

Here I am working at the grinder inside the Magdalena shop. When I arrived, after working for years in a one car garage, I thought I'd never run out of room. Within two years, this is how it looked. In later years, the shop was even more crowded: stacked to the ceiling with materials, supplies, and equipment.

The 1990s

A closer view of me at the grinder. Still have the cap! Note full face protection and apron. Proper safety gear is what has allowed me this career by protecting my lungs, eyes and body. The hands often remain ungloved, because close tactile contact and feel is required.

The 1990s

Here's a picture of me holding a rapier blade and matching parrying dagger. Quite a piece of grinding!

The 1990s

Here's the inside of the Magdalena shop looking toward the front. This is a later shot; I can tell because the supplies are stacked to the ceiling. Note large rock saws, lap machine and table saw in the foreground. The pressed tin ceiling and the oak hardwood floors were the most endearing features of this very old building. This picture was probably from the late 1990s.

The 1990s

This is me in about 1998, in the Magdalena studio.

The 1990s

 Another shot of me with a friend. Spoiled shop cat has a tough life! 

The 2000s

In 2003, I relocated to my home town of Clovis, New Mexico, after living in various other parts of the state and country for 27 years. Since I can live just about anywhere there is a phone line, electricity, USPS and UPS, I wanted to move closer to my family and my roots. This building was a sign company when I was a kid, and it's about 3000 square feet. I worked about eight months on the plumbing, electrical, drywall, and grounds before getting back fully into production. This is an early picture of the shop, and it looks kind of barren!

The 2000s

Here's a view of the front of the Clovis Studio, taken in summer of 2006. With 11 and 14 foot tall ceilings, it is a sizeable space to fill with fine art projects. This is my professional business storefront.

The 2000s

Here's a view of the inside of the shop front from about 2003. It must be winter, because of the barren trees outside the window. A nice sunset to end another day.

The 2000s

A view of the lobby of the Clovis studio. Note the hundreds of knife patterns on the rotating rack, and the small amount of inventory. I stay pretty deep in custom orders these days, so my inventory is always small. Gone are the early days when I would take 60 knives to a show!

Shop Tools

I thought you might get a kick out of this. When new machine tools arrive in the studio, they are in many parts packed in many boxes. Here's my new mini vertical milling machine, controller, and assembly parts. Quite a little mess, but after a few hours of work, some careful tuning, adjustments, and squaring with the world (machinists understand this term), the mill is ready to work!

Click on pictures!