Growing up in New London before serving his country in the United States Army after high school, Tyler Hackbarth said his path to becoming an American Bladesmith Society (ABS) Mastersmith was a bit unconventional.
After being medically discharged from the Army in 2011, Hackbarth – Owner of the custom knife shop, Wolf River Forge – said he eventually made his way to Weyauwega to begin his life post-military.
“By that point, I’d already been married for five years and had two kids – I just needed to find a job to help support my family.”
Hackbarth – the only ABS Mastersmith in the state of Wisconsin – said after getting a job at a CNC machine shop in town, he went from machine operator to plant manager within three years.
“I worked there up until 2020, but in the meantime, as I was working full-time as a plant manager, I began bladesmithing in 2018,” he said. “I remember watching Forged in Fire on TV, and I thought to myself, ‘I can do that.’ That sparked my interest.”
Cool feature in a local Wisconsin news site. I am glad you all are likeing the increase in “human interest” knife stories.