As Facebook and Instagram continue to limit the reach of accounts like mine, I will work harder to find alternate avenues to reach my customers. I will do more blog posts like this to post news and "what's happening" type stuff while also giving more attention to my fledgling YouTube channel that I started over 5 years ago and have largely ignored since then.
The biggest thing I am working on right now is getting my newsletter set up. It is almost complete and the first emails will go out shortly. I plan on having a lot of cool content about knifemaking and use along with early notifications of sales and knife drops. So if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe (sign up is at the bottom of the home page)!
Along with that, I will no longer be taking custom orders for the foreseeable future. My knife drops and the occasional show will be the only way to get a knife. My order books filled up for the whole 2023 calendar year in December and the idea of "owing" anyone a knife longer than a year out was more pressure than I want to deal with. So while I continue to complete my current orders I will also being doing periodic knife drops. These will always be on Friday night and usually around the 1st and middle of the month. The email newsletter will be the best place to keep notified on these.
I have a lot of exciting builds and projects coming up so hope that you follow along! Despite the limitations, I still post the most about projects on Instagram (Wheelis_Forge) and those posts are shared on my Facebook page (although my ability to see comments and reply on FB are severely limited).
If you ever have any questions please feel free to reach out!
Happy New Year!
]]>When I started making knives 5 years ago, I worked in the shop by myself and used the stock removal method almost exclusively (taking bars of knife steel and removing everything not shaped like a knife) and made just knives, no other tools. After my wife, Alaina, started working in the shop this year forging jewelry I made use of the heat and tried my hand at forging knives to shape and making a couple of tomahawks. I had wanted to get into making other tools for a while and after getting some tips from Mark Hopper (goatandhammer.com) this past fall I was hooked!
The art of forging has been refreshing and rejuvenating. I have really enjoyed bending and moving the metal to shape versus being limited to a design in bar stock and grinding it away. (BTW, the only difference between stock removal and forging a knife to shape is how the blade is formed. A properly heated treated stock removal knife is just as good as a properly heat treated forged knife. The idea that hand hammering out high carbon steel makes it somehow harder is a myth). Since forging involves moving metal it allows to me to make other tools like hawks, axes, and hammers which would not be feasible with stock removal.
The addition of Alaina to the shop allows me to work on bigger projects where I needed an additional hand and makes it a much more enjoyable place to be. She will be helping me with my projects and making her own tools under the Wheelis Forge brand. She will continue to make her own unique handmade jewelry and offer it under her brand: Thistle Fire Designs.
With all that in mind, "Wheelis Knives" just wasn't fitting where we wanted to go in 2021. I will continue to make knives, both forged and stock removal, as it is truly a passion for me. Alaina may even get in on it and make her own knives in her style! So no worries, the knives will still be here, just expect to see many more hand forged tools to go along with them.
We are very excited for this new path and hope you follow along in our journey!
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