Born
and raised in Gatesville, Texas, Avery had two older brothers
who collected pocket knives. His interest wasn't in collecting
someone else's knives, but in creating them himself, from raw
materials.
Life
led him to the paint and body business where he spent the majority
of his career. He worked first as a body repairman, then as a
painter. Then in more recent years, he was shop manager for a
while. Restructuring in the business where he worked led to a
demotion to parts manager. Knowing the insecurity of his position
with this company, he finally began to learn how to handcraft
pocket knives using books, videos, and questioning professionals
who had made a living at it.
In
the winter of 2009, he was given the choice of either another
drastic demotion or quitting his job as parts manager. He chose
to quit, and to become a fulltime builder of handmade pocket knives.
Each
knife takes many hours of work, starting from cutting the individual
pieces out of the metal. Grinding the blade is a labor intensive
process, as is the detailed filework that is hand-filed onto the
spine of the blade. But it is a labor of love.
Every
knife pattern is drawn by hand. Every single knife is numbered.
Every single one of the metal parts is cut by hand. They are fired
in a kiln. The handle material sometimes starts as a block of
wood, sometimes as an antler. It ends up as part of the pocket
knife.
His
shop is located in the Heart of Texas - a little north of Gatesville.
Give him a call. Let him know what you're looking for, and he
will do his best to make your dream a reality.
Thank
you for looking!
