These days, Wayne Walker is a full-time knife maker, but the journey to this point was a long one, and as his knives begin to reach more dealers’ shelves and users’ collections, he took some time to share his origin story with us.
Walker’s career began when he was just 12 years old – but of course it didn’t feel like a career back then. “Growing up, my neighbor was in his 90s but still made knives, and I would go over to his house and just watch him work,” Walker says. Some aspiring makers study with professional bladesmiths, but for every known name in the custom world there are dozens of weekend craftsmen in it just for the love of the game, working when the can and with what they have. Walker tells us his neighbor worked with old school found materials: deer antlers for handle slabs and reshaped saw blades for the live edges. “His stuff was crude, but it had my interest from then on.”
I love this series from KnifeNews. If you don’t remember, or never knew in the first place, KnifeNews is the “advertainment” arm of Knives Ship Free. I share so many of their pieces precisely because they are light on the sales pitch, and heavy on the “tainment”
Read the whole thing at KnifeNews.com
Shop Talk: Wayne Walker on His Path from Old Saws to Full Customs