Hi. I’m Gene Baldwin. I come from a long line of artists. From gunsmiths to engravers.

I believe everyone has a little artist in them. The only difference is the medium used in expressing that art.

Who am I? I’m a student. Of anything. Once I learn something, I add it to my playbook.

Background: I started with knife making by putting a handle on a knife in January of 2021. By July of that year, I had built a forge. By August, I’d roughed out my first blade–a giant heavy thing. In September, I procured my very first belt grinder. And by the same month in 2022, I’d sold my first blade.

“Be brave to suck at something new.”

Why did I start?
The real answer would bore most people. The short version is I was bored with my full time job. My brother sent me a meme that read “Be Brave Enough to Suck at Something New”. I took that as inspiration. I’d been searching for a way to challenge myself, and the rest is in the crayons I used to draw up a plan.

After the initial discovery, the passion came along steadily. I was learning at a rate I was comfortable with. What I began to realize is that I had to completely let go. I had to just let my hands work as they will. The first time I tried it was probably the coolest moment of my entire career path. I was amazed how easy it was to achieve the look I was after. Letting go is all it took.

Why make the blades I do?
I see inspiration in everything I see and do. I’ll see a cool mountain range and take a picture–even if I never use it for anything. I love inspirational quotes. I see a sick looking rock or tree. It’s really quite amazing that the world has so much inspiration in it. It’s all around me and all I have to do is look. And once I look, sometimes the inspiration to make a certain knife just flows.

Once that inspiration takes hold, the creation of the knife begins. I really try hard to get a good heat treat on these blades. I follow that with tempering. Careful grinding and sanding makes each blade strong without sacrificing durability and strength. While not indestructible, each blade weighs ounces–not pounds.