FLANDERS FORGE

A little history...
In the fall of 1993, I was 21 years old embarking on a career of welding! The first four years were spent going to college and working at a welding/fabrication shop.I became fully certified and gained and incredible amount of knowledge and experience in the welding/fabrication trade.

1997 became a memorable year for me as I was walking down the railway tracks on my way to work one day when I came across a railway spike. I showed the spike to an older coworker named Gary and he told me that I could make a knife out of it! My curiosity was captured instantly and I had to learn more!
That night after work, I started collecting and purchasing some basic tools and a book on how to make knives. After some time, I transformed that railway spike into a knife! It was very basic and simple but it was what I had set out to accomplish. I showed the knife to Gary and he said "it looks good but..." Gary picked that knife apart because he knew that I could do better than that and he wanted me to do the best that I could! Over the course of that year, I made many knives and each one would be criticized by Gary until one day he brought a large Bowie knife in to show me. He had made the knife some years earlier. It was very nicely crafted with an ebony handle and silver/nickel pommel and bolster! In a bag he gave me were some slabs of exotic hardwoods from around the world. He said to keep the wood in exchange for a knife. I spent the next week in my spare time constructing a knife for Gary and when I was done I felt very humbled with my accomplishment and was hooked from then on.
I continued welding for many years and became a ticketed pressure and structural welder. Throughout the years I have dreamed of owning my own welding business. Still working on knives in my spare time, continually getting better and better. Gaining experience through trial and error, researching and applying the metallurgical knowledge I have gained throughout the many years I have served in the welding trade. I have often thought about establishing a custom knife making business, I enjoy the artistic expression, original character and the useful properties of the hand crafted custom made knife. The knife is an expression of one's personality and that is why I do not make two knives identical.
Sharpening my knives used to take a lot of time but one day in 2015, I was talking to a fellow named Chris and I told him that I was a welder and that I make knives. His eyebrows lifted and he asked if I sharpen knives too!? I told him that I sharpen my own and he commented that there are no sharpening services around here and he would like to get his wives kitchen knives sharpened. He told me that maybe it wound make a good business and that maybe I should think about it. I went home and told my wife about Chris and his suggestion and we took it to heart. We looked up professional sharpening machines on the internet and within two weeks we had found and purchased a sharpener out of Calgary, Alberta. After I sharpened all of our knives and all our friends knives, I approached Chris and offered to sharpen his wife's knives. He brought me the knives and I went to work! He was very happy with the quality of work that I had done! This machine can sharpen many kinds of tools and blades and because there seems to be a demand for this service, we have also purchased another machine that can sharpen larger items such as circular saw blades, planer blades etc. In conclusion, I have started my own welding, sharpening, and knife making business.