Awards

I have been debating about calling this page the “Awards” page or “Accomplishment” page. I thought I would group them all on one page. It isn’t a long one but I felt a need to let others know a little more about some of the goals that I have set and finally met.

My goal setting started after I found out that there were organizations that had a set of standards for knife making levels of quality. I joined the ABS in 1997 and set my goals on being a Mastersmith by 2003. It took till 2005 and was a lot harder than I had anticipated. I did reach it and because of the journey, was a better knife maker. I now understand more of what others look at to determine the value of a knife. The one major reason that I made it was that I searched out and asked lots of questions of people that were recognized as being very good. After all the information was gathered, I used what I needed and did the best I could to achieve my goal. I am very glad as it was a very stressful journey.

My Awards should actually be “Award”.

It was the Dee Daniel Boone award that is presented to some one for the preservation of the art and history of the forged blade in Oklahoma. It was presented to me by the Knife Group Association of Oklahoma in November 6, 2004. Of this I am very proud for several reasons. One is that it was the first one ever presented and two, it is a goal that I continue to be active in.

My accomplishments have to do with cutting. I have always been a believer that the blade should be the ultimate cutting tool first, comfortable second, and look good last. It is possible to have all these qualities in one blade and the size will depend on its cutting duties and the requirements of the owner.

  • First Place Hunting Knife (5″ blade) cutting competition. Spring hammer in at Washington, Ar. 2001
  • First Place for 10″ cutting comp. Batson’s Symposium at Tannehill, Al. April, 2001
  • Second Place Open division cutting Fall hammer in at Washington, Ar. 2001
  • First Place for 10″ cutting comp. Spirit of Steel show in Mesquite, Tx. Sept., 2002
  • Fifth Place 10″ cutting comp. First World Championship, Blade Show June. 2003
  • Second Place 10 “cutting comp. The last Scagel Hammer in, Ravenna, MI. Aug. 2004
  • First Place 8″ Tactical knife cutting comp. Batson’s Symposium, Tannehill, AL. April, 2006.
  • Second Place Cutting Comp Mid America Hammer in, Topeka, KS Oct, 2012
  • Second Place Cutting comp. Branson Hammer in / Knife show Branson, Mo. Sep 20015
  • Vernon Hicks Memorial Award by the Arkansas Knifemakers Association for 2006. Presented in recognition of unselfish devotion and distinguished service in promoting the Arkansas Knifemakers Association.
  • Dee Daniel Boone Award by The Knife Group Association of Oklahoma for 2004. for preserving the art and history of the forged blade in Oklahoma.

As you can see, I enjoy the cutting part of making knives as much or more than most. It is definitely an educational experience and has helped in the design of the blade profile of my knives.

At the present time I am the Sec/Treas of the the KGA and am promoting the Knife Group Association of Oklahoma.   I feel this is one of the steps needed to help promote knife making and to educate the public on hand made knives. We sometimes think that others are exposed to the same information that we are and they definitely are not. Even relatives that have been around us have a hard time understanding a lot of what we take for granted. This is one of the goals that I think will take a long time to reach and will be a continuing project.

Hopefully, this list will not end here and will be added on later as they are acquired. Thank you for taking the time to visit here and read what I have written. If there is something that I may help you with, please email or call and I will try to answer your questions.

In May of 2015, I inquired about a knife making contest for the history channel. It was called “Forged In Fire” and I was accepted for the competition for the last episode. There were only 8 in this first season and feel very fortunate that I was able to be in it. It was a delightful experience and I truly enjoyed competing against my friends. From my point of view, we were all winners just for being there and leading the way to a truly great TV program. I did go home in the second round. My good friend, Mace Vitale of Connecticut ended up the winner with his mora kris. From what I have read, there was 1.4 million viewers for the weekly show. That is a lot of people that were able to enjoy seeing what I enjoy doing. Looking forward to seeing the new season as it has been renewed.

I was able to go back on the show, Forged in Fire, for a fan favorite show.  Chad Osborne, Robby Bowman, and Josh Weston, along with myself met to compete against each other.  Josh and I got to come back to our home forge to make a Panabas, a large blade used in the Philippines for clean up after a battle.  We tied on performance and Josh had the prettier blade so he won, and I got my knife back.  They kept his.  The FIF experience has been nothing but wonderful for me.  I have met a lot of great knife makers and we meet in Pigeon Forge in September now for a Grudge Match.  This is for our fans to come and see us hammer out something in person and have a chance of going home with it.  We give all the forged items away by drawing a ticket that the audience gets when they come to see us, no cost.  We do have just a little bit of bragging rights that lasts till the next match.  A great time to get together and even sell a few of our knives to those that attend.  This year 2018, it will be the 21-23 of September at the Iron Mountain Metal Craft forge of Robby Bowman in Pigeon Forge, TN.  There is no charge to watch.

This year, 2019, looks to be a bigger and more exciting event at the Grudge Match in Pigeon Forge, TN.  It will be held for 3 days, Sept 27-29, 2019 and have over 20 former FIF contestants in attendance.  Looking forward to seeing every one.

Last week was the 4th annual Grudge Match that is held in Pigeon Forge, TN. at the shop of Robby  Bowman, Iron Mountain Metal Craft.  This year there were supposed to be 33 FIF contestants show up and hammer it out against each other in a grudge match.  There was a lot of people in attendance and on Saturday, they held a cutting competition.  My wife and I enjoyed the week end tremendously and hope that everyone will get to come back next year for an even bigger event.