Best Sheepsfoot Blade Knives For Everyday Use

The Sheepsfoot Blade Isn’t The Most Popular Style, But It Is Certainly Quite Useful. This Quartet Of Knives Show Why You Should Try A Sheepsfoot.

I promise there will be no butchering graphics in this article. The sheepsfoot blade is one of many blade styles out there today, but it isn’t as popular as say the drop point or clip point. 

And that might be due to the shape of the blade. Instead of tapering down to a fine tip like a clip point, the sheepsfoot has a large belly and a smooth, usually curved, tip.

The name of the blade is a pretty literal one. It was named because it was made to trim the hooves of sheep. The shape of the blade looks nothing like a sheep’s foot. The use of the blade gave it its name, and it stuck.

Are Sheepsfoot Blades Only On Pocketknives?   

Yes, most sheepsfoot blades are on pocketknives and other EDC knives, but that’s not all. The popular Santoku knife features a sheepsfoot blade. The long dull spine that leads to the curved tip makes the knife great for slicing and chopping, and the wide belly allows it to act as an excellent scoop to get food off the board.

What Are Sheepsfoot Blades Good For?

Thanks to its long, flat edge, a sheepsfoot blade is perfect for slicing and chopping. Need to cut lengths of rope? Grab a sheepsfoot. Have to chop hard vegetables like carrots to drop in the pot over a campfire? Grab a sheepsfoot. 

Beyond slicing, a sheepsfoot is also great for tasks that involve longer knife strokes like opening boxes, slicing through sections of cardboard, and whittling wood. There’s countless uses for a sheepsfoot blade because it is such a basic, straightforward blade style. 

Why Might You Want To Pass On A Sheepsfoot?

The long, straight edge that makes a sheepsfoot perfect for slicing makes it a liability for things like piercing and. There is no fine point like a dagger or a clip point because the dull spine curves down to meet the cutting edge. This means that things like poking and puncturing are difficult with a sheepsfoot. Sure, you could angle it to puncture through a bag or a case, but it’s much harder than if you used something like a drop point.

Best Sheepsfoot Blades

This guide will stick with pocketknives as that is where the sheepsfoot is most widely seen. Classic EDC blades, keychain knives, the sheepsfoot appears across the knife landscape.

Benchmade Griptilian

griptilian

Benchmade makes excellent knives, that is without question, and the Griptilian is one of their best. The knife features a 3.45-inch CPM S20CV steel blade with a flat grind and treated to a 59-61 HRC. The satin finish looks great on it.

The gray G-10 handle scales look clean and provide a great grip. The AXIS lock keeps everything secure and is ambidextrous. Everything about the knife is class all the way down to the deep-carry pocket clip. This knife is a prime example of what a sheepsfoot blade can be.

MSRP: $149.95

Kershaw Copper Cinder Keychain Knife

copper cinder

A tiny sheepsfoot is still a sheepsfoot, and this fun multi-tool form Kershaw is a blast to use. The 3Cr13MoV blade has a 1.13-inch cutting edge with a hollow grind. It looks exotic with the machined copper handle, but this knife is all about practicality.

The small blade is sharp and can easily handle the simple day-to-day tasks that life can throw at you. The large keychain hole lets you easily pop it onto your chain with ease, and the integrated bottle opener will easily crack open your next beer. 

It’s not the biggest or the baddest, but the Copper Cinder performs exactly as advertised.

MSRP: $28.79

Kizer Vanguard Mini Sheepdog

kizer mini sheepdog

A compact, cleaver-style knife, the Vanguard Mini from Kizer is a great blade for someone who spends time camping. Yes, this is a strong EDC blade, and the 2.5-inch straight edge makes it ideal for cutting rope or slicing food to prepare over the campfire. Its versatility helps sell the knife in a major way.

The blade is a satin-finished 154CM stainless meted to a micarta handle. The flipper mechanism makes the knife a blast to use, and everything stays in place thanks to a liner lock. Functional, classy, enjoyable. That’s what the Vanguard Mini is all about.

MSRP: $99

Spyderco SpydieChef

This folder from Spyderco is another excellent model from the company. The SpydieChef is an EDC folder designed to have the ergonomics and feel of a chef’s knife. The titanium handle is light yet robust in the hand, and the LC200N stainless blade is highly corrosion-resistant. That’s to be expected from a blade steel developed by NASA. 

The SpydieChef is multiple things depending on how you look at it. Its size makes it firmly an EDC that is made from high-quality materials. However, the design philosophy makes it look more like the most company kitchen knife on the market. Regardless, it has a steep price but more than makes up for it with its construction.

MSRP: $348.50

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First Look: Case Ruby Mini CopperLock

The Case Mini CopperLock Looks Great And Functions Like A Champ. A Modern Take On The Classic Slip Joint Is Sure To Please.

The classics are classics for a reason. They endure because they are beloved for their style and functionality, and the Case Mini CopperLock is a beautiful contemporary version of a tried and tested style of knife.

The knife opens and closes like butter. It’s so smooth to deploy and doesn’t fight you at all. The 2.72-inch Tru-Sharp stainless clip point looks as good as it slices thanks to a mirror polish. The handle is made from a bright Ruby Stardust Kirinite, and the lockback holds everything securely in place.

This is a multi-purpose knife that’s great for EDC tasks or for keeping on your pack while camping. At just two ounces it’s light and always easy to use. Case knocked this one out of the park.

MSRP: $89.99

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First Look: OKC Old Hickory

The Ontario Knife Company’s New Knife, The Old Hickory, Is A Modern Take On The Classic Outdoor Slip Joint Folder.

The new Old Hickory slip joint folder from Ontario Knife Company is a classy knife. It looks straight out of a classic Western film with its 1075 high-carbon steel blade, walnut handle scales, and brass liners. It may be made in New York, but this feels like a cowboy knife at heart.

And it’s a great EDC thanks to a heat treat that hardened the 2.9-inch blade to a 56-58 HRC. The knife opens with ease thanks to a sizable nail nick toward the tip. At 5.6 inches in total length, the OKC Old Hickory is a compact knife that can serve you well as an everyday carry without feeling too big or bulky.

The Old Hickory is an All-American knife made by an All-American company and stands out from the pack.

MSRP: $39.95

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Shop Dump: Salem Straub & Andreas Kalani

A Pair Of Gifted Knifemakers Show Off The Tools They Use To Turn Raw Steel Into Razor-Sharp Works Of Art.

Simply put, Salem Straub makes art and culinary knives of the highest order. He began forging in 2003 when a previous project introduced him to blacksmithing and, like so many knifemakers, once the bug bit there was no turning back. 

Twenty years later Salem is at the top of his game and all his work is sole authorship.  What’s more, he delighted many knife lovers by competing and winning in the second season of the History Channel’s popular reality show, Forged in Fire.

Award-winning bladesmith Salem Straub makes fine art folders, fixed blades and swords, and added culinary knives out of his passion for cooking.

Salem operates his custom cutlery business under the name Promethean Knives after a passage from noted British writer Zia Haider Rahman: “Is that not the Promethean fable, that the fire stolen from the gods will light men their way even while it burns their hands?” 

Salem built his reputation for making fine art folders and fixed blades, including swords, but he added culinary knives out of his passion for cooking, which in turn led to his winning the Best Integral Award at the 2019 Damasteel Chef Invitational. His forging specialty is extremely fine patterned damascus.

Inside Salem Straub’s Shop

Salem leads off his list of top tools with his bandsaw. 

“The Marvel Model 81 Hydraulic Vertical Bandsaw is the ideal saw for a dedicated pattern welder,” he begins. “It will easily handle all the normal operations that either a horizontal or vertical bandsaw can, but also affords the additional capability of ripping lengthwise with power feed, miter cuts, compound miter cuts and rips. Everything from the table vise to the saw feed and drive wheel is hydraulically powered, and a flood coolant system is integral to the design.”

Marvel vertical bandsaw
Straub’s Marvel Model 81 Hydraulic Vertical Bandsaw easily handles anything a horizontal or vertical bandsaw can, and affords the additional capability of ripping lengthwise with power feed, miter cuts, compound miter cuts and rips.

His lathe of choice is his Pratt & Whitney Model C Toolroom model. 

“It’s a bit larger than might be strictly necessary for knifemaking,” Salem notes, “but affords the ability to create parts for repair of, or modification to, other machines. It’s also very smooth, accurate and convenient for making and threading small knife parts to close tolerances. The P&W ‘C’ lathes are among the truly legendary lathes from the heyday of American machine tool manufacturing.”

His Abrasive Machine Tool Model 3B Surface Grinder features an 8×24-inch capacity automatic table with a magnetic chuck, a 2×72-inch-belt modification by Salem, and a 3-horsepower motor. 

“The table feeds are mechanically powered and relatively quiet and very reliable in operation,” he explains. “This machine is MVP in the shop, especially on many damascus production days. The belt modification allows for much faster removal of stock, making billet and tiling work much faster and more precise.

“Another piece of equipment I can’t do without is my Beaudry Champion #9 300-pound power hammer. I bought it from the late Larry Langdon, who gave me quite a deal as it needed lots of work to restore, and some difficult parts had to be made. After I took seven months to overhaul and install it, this hammer has become the cornerstone of my operations in making composite damascus billets and blades. The large flat die surfaces and excellent control make it ideal for forge welding, and it has plenty of power to forge large cross sections efficiently.”

Straub Knife
Straub’s chef’s knife sports a 9-inch blade of a stunning herringbone/mosaic composite damascus and a Japanese-style wa handle. (knife image by Abe Shaw of Eating Tools, Inc.)

Next up Straub extols the virtues of his rolling mill. 

“My 10-horsepower rolling mill with 6×6-inch rollers is probably a tertiary forging machine for most hot shops to have—after a hammer and press—but it’s very handy indeed for cleanly drawing billets to bar stock, welding san-mai, and sizing pattern elements before tiling or four-way welds and the like. It was built to spec by a fab shop for my friend Mike Blue, whom I bought it from. I consider it a very good working design, and for production damascus it’s a huge help.”

Last but not least, Salem mentions his 1960s-era Deckel GK21 Pantograph. 

“This is a machine quite unlike the others. Its use is quiet, contemplative, technical, and its mode of use is more artistic than one of brute force. The GK21 is a machine that pretty much defines its class—very smooth to operate and fascinating in its potential. I’ve been learning to use it for a few years and so far I’ve been mostly doing inlays for handle work, but I’m branching out into engraving designs onto handles with it, too. I look forward to decades of finding out new cool ways to use it.”

Andreas Kalani

Andreas Kalani
Andreas Kalani specializes in mainstream and culinary fixed blades and also folders.

Andreas Kalani spent 30 years in the corporate world, but once he discovered knifemaking he knew he’d found his calling. Now, nearly 10 years after leaving his former occupation, the Iranian-American is a full-fledged U.S. citizen grinding steel and making the knives of his dreams.

Kalani is an American Bladesmith Society apprentice smith currently working on his journeyman smith designation on the way to his ultimate goal of master smith. The versatile maker builds fixed blades—both mainstream and culinary—and folders. 

Among those pieces are some top-shelf art knives. Meanwhile, he also makes a point of offering affordable fare for his customers. He markets his cutlery under the AK Custom Knives label and also instructs budding makers with a separate division called AK University. Needless to say, Andreas keeps himself busy with a full plate of cutlery interests.

Inside Andreas Kalani’s Shop

He leads off his knifemaking go-to equipment with a lightweight wonder. 

“One of the most valuable tools in my shop is my Dremel 4000 Rotary Tool,” he reveals. “I use Dremel for engraving, polishing, sanding, cutting and much more. Dremel was my shop’s first official tool before I became a knifemaker. I used to make small and miniature swords and knives for my wire sculpture, and I could grind and shape the blades and handles with my Dremel tool. You can use various tips and bits for multiple uses such as carbide tips for steel and alloys or diamond tips for clay, woods and other materials. The possibilities are endless and you can be super creative with this tool; you can either mount it on the table, make a stand for it, or get an extra pen cable to do much more.”

Next on his list is his Evenheat Kiln. 

Everheat Kiln
Andreas not only uses his Evenheat Kiln for heat treating his blades but also for lost-wax processing.

“It is generally used for the blade heat treatment to have better steel structure and accurate Rockwell hardness,” he states. “However, sometimes I use it for lost-wax processing as well. Before I got the kiln I had to send out all of my blades for professional heat treatment and it was time-consuming and costly, especially when I wanted to work on one custom project. Therefore, I had to get my own. With this kiln in the shop I can now heat treat various steels from high carbon to stainless, and know I have a good grain structure and a suitable heat treatment. An Evenheat kiln is one of the must-have tools for any knifemaker in the shop.”

According to Andreas, finishing tools play multiple roles in his operation. 

“They are the most used on every project in my shop,” he observes. “From the finishing stones to G-10 sanding blocks, I use them for various sanding and polishing. Gesswein® EDM Blue Stones are made from premium aluminum oxide. EDM Blue is a more complex formulation of EDM stones specially designed to handle the high-speed back-and-forth motion of a profiler or ultrasonic machines, and are superior for polishing the most challenging scales. The stones are designed for use on hard surfaces at high speed and hold their shape very well.”

For the sanding blocks, Andreas created different G-10 paddles for such various uses as flat, concave or convex sanding. 

“I add additional leather or plastic backing to each paddle to have more give on a harder surface when sanding,” he notes. “By combining these tools, I can achieve a beautiful finish on all of my blades.”

The Milwaukee Portable Bandsaw 6232-20 is another must-have machine in his shop. 

“It’s precise when you want precision cuts or to create an intricate geometry—for example, when you want to make a guard for a knife, you can outline your guard on whatever [steel/alloy] you use and then quickly cut it to the shape. Afterward, you can go straight to the grinder to shape the final form,” he states. “You can purchase different types and styles of the blade for this machine to have a better cut and precision for other materials. It’s portable and I purchased a stand for it separately, which is made specifically for this machine by SWAG Off Road.”

Another invaluable tool in Kalani’s shop is the 25-gallon Sandblaster cabinet, which helps remove material, clean, and applies the final finish to blades. 

Kalani knife
Kalani’s14.5-inch Lagertha Middle-East chef’s knife features a blade of 1095 carbon steel with an electro-pattern mirror polish. The Natural Galaxy handle is a combo of Middle Eastern turquoise and flowers. (SharpByCoop knife image)

“You can achieve different results on other materials using various media types from the walnut shell, glass bead, aluminum oxide, steel bead and so on,” Andreas explains. “There’s a learning curve and trial and error at the beginning. For example, if you want to sandblast titanium and be able to anodize it, you cannot blast it with aluminum oxide or steel media. The pressure will infuse the titanium and prevent it from anodizing. Based on my trial and error I found out that glass beads not only give a good matte surface to titanium but also keep it clean—­­and I am able to anodize it.”

He calls the 2×72 TW90 Grinder “the mother of all the machines in the shop.” It has a multi-position setup and various speeds, giving him limitless capability for different styles and types of grinding. 

“I own at least five other attachments for this machine, including an 8-inch wheel, a 4-inch wheel, a modular switchable small wheel, a surface grinding attachment, plus flat and slack-belt platen,” Andreas observes. “One best modification I applied to it was adding an earth magnet on my work rest to use for different sizes and styles of work. It’s helpful for a different kind of grinding. For example, if you want to grind a sword, you need a more extensive work rest to run your blade over it, and this is super helpful.”

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First Look: SOG Aegis AT

The New SOG Aegis AT Is A Clean, Sleek Assisted Folder That’s Great For EDC Or More Intense Outdoor Use.

The new SOG Aegis AT is bright, colorful and fun. The knife immediately catches the eye with its bright indigo and acid design. The indigo GRN scales are textured for a better grip, and the electric yellow accents pop in a big way. 

The features are solid starting with a Cryo D2 tool steel blade boasting a titanium nitride finish for added durability, and a powerful assisted opening mechanism. Just give the thumb stud a little nudge and the blade deploys in a flash. SOG’s new AT-XR lock, similar to Benchmade’s Axis and Kizer’s Clutch Lock, keeps everything secure.

The blade is 3.13 inches long and the whole piece weighs in at 4.4 ounces so it will feel robust in the hand. A large lanyard hole accepts a thong for easy carry.

The safety on the back of the Aegis AT, which is easy to see thanks to the red accent dot, easily locks the knife closed and acts as a thumb backstop when deployed to aid in using the knife. Overall, this is a fine folder, especially considering it comes in at under $100.

MSRP: $94.95

First Look: Zero Tolerance 0762
First Look: Boker Gnome
First Look: Kershaw Interstellar

First Look: Zero Tolerance 0762

The Folder From Zero Tolerance Knives Looks Ready To Attack Tasks Big And Small Thanks To A Sweeping Blade And Carbon Fiber Handle.

Innovative and durable, the 0762 from Zero Tolerance Knives is packed with features to help it stand out in the EDC market. For starters, the knife looks fun to use. The reverse tanto blade appears both classy and aggressive. The two-tone stain/stonewash finish on the CPM 20CV stainless steel blade helps with that. It flows and screams out that it’s ready to slice into whatever you put before it.

Beyond the steel, the 0762 features a carbon fiber handle with blue anodized accents. It provides a great grip without feeling heavy or bulky. 

The tuned detent system allows you to adjust the detent how you like it. This means you can flip the knife open even when pressing down on the lockbar. The ZT Sub-Frame Lock is in the same anodized blue as the other accent pieces and confidently secures the knife in place.

This piece is pricier than many others on the market today, but with so many features and style touches it’s easy to see why.

MSRP: $352

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The Rise And Growth Of Women Knifemakers

Women Bladesmiths Thrive And Continue To Shape The Knife Industry.

Women’s pocketknives? Can’t anyone buy any type of pocketknife?

Sure, but knives designed and marketed specifically for women are few and far between even among the big knifemakers.

Enter Brighten Knives, a small, upstart knife company based in Utah. Founded by Diane Carver and her daughters Kristy, Katie, and Kimi, Brighten has grown into a successful maker thanks to a strong vision and some good luck.

“We worked with [the Salt Lake Tribune],” Diane said. “They wrote an article about us because aside from being women’s knives, which is kind of a cool product, it was also a human-interest story where it was a mom and three daughters starting a knife company.

“It was unique and different. They put an article out and it kind of snowballed from there. A radio station picked up on it, and our Utah Senator Mike Lee even sent us a letter.”

All that good press, along with a Kickstarter that raised almost $14,000 (almost triple the initial $5,000 goal), and Brighten has been on a roll ever since. 

Brighten’s Inspirational line of knives all come in bright, bold colors.

The company is built on Diane’s decades of experience in the industry. She was the knife product manager for Browning for 17 years and has worked with Fox Knives, along with marketing* household cutlery for companies like Traeger. 

Diane’s experience in the industry is complemented by her daughters’ work. Kristy created all the original designs and colorways of the company’s knives. Kimi has worked in product development and sales, and Katie has a background in sales and writing as well.

As the quartet designed their knives the hard question to answer was: What exactly does a woman’s pocketknife look like?

“Being in the industry for so long I know that most women, and I don’t want to generalize because there are a lot of women that carry it in their pockets, but a lot of our pants are made where they can’t even hold a knife,” Diane said. “The one thing that we did that kind of separated us was including the case. The case comes with all of our knives no matter [the product line] so that you can throw it in your purse or your glove compartment.”

Brighten has two original lines of knives: the Inspirational line and the Not So Heavy Metal Series. They all come with a case that’s roughly the size of a wallet that is easily portable. Additionally, all of the knives are available in a smaller keychain variety. 

All of the blades are made from 8Cr13MoV stainless steel. For the larger varieties, the blades are between 2.5- and 2.56-inches long, and the keychain knives are between 1.6- and 1.65-inches long. The knives open with a thumb stud and feature a linerlock. 

The Inspirational line is the company’s original line of knives. Each blade is married to an aluminum handle resplendent in brightly colored designs. The blades all also have a different inspirational word on the steel, words like “Faith” and “Hope” and “Brave.”

“All of the designs on the knives and cases are originally designed by my daughter Kristy,” Diane said. “I know it’s kind of unusual to see words like “laugh” and “faith” and “love” on knives, but we wanted it to be something fun. On the packaging, there’s a quote that goes along with each one. One thing we’ve seen is people like purchasing them for specific things. Our Hope knife is a breast cancer knife, and the quote on it is ‘When the world says give up, hope whispers try one more time.’”

Diane’s market research showed there was a large segment that wanted more muted colors and streamlined designs. Enter the Not So Heavy Metal line. Every color is named after a popular rock-and-roll band or song. 

Brighten Blades Green Day
The knives in the Not So Heavy Metal line come in more muted, monochrome colorways with a steel bolster.

Diane laughed, mentioning the generational differences as her daughters recommended Green Day while she mentioned names like Purple Rain and Blue Oyster Cult.

“There was about 25 percent [of women] that said they were more of a minimalist and wanted more plain, solid-colored things,” Diane said. “We want Brighten to be the premier knife company for women and so we wanted something that would appeal to everyone. That’s how we came out with our Not So Heavy Metal line. We had a ton of fun naming the colors.”

The full-length knives retail for $29.99, and the keychain knives sell for $19.99. 

As Brighten Knives has continued to expand, the press and publicity around it has swelled. YouTubers such as Neeves Knives have reached out and produced content about Brighten, as have other digital creators. 

Carver said the goal is to make knives that are women-forward that take care in their design and construction rather than just slapping some pink scales on the side and calling it a day. She did speak positively about the Kershaw Chive and some of Spyderco’s knives but that she hadn’t seen any marketing directly for women from those factory makers.

There is also the Femme Fatale line of women’s pocketknives from Defense Divas which are marketed as spring-assisted self-protection knives. 

femme fatale knife
The Sneakerhead rescue folder is an example of the types of knives, both in terms of utility and style, made by Defense Divas.

While all of Brighten’s knives have a story and purpose behind their design there is one question Diane and her team get regularly: Can these knives be used in self-defense?”

“We have a lot of questions about whether these are self-defense knives,” Carver said. “Obviously, any knife can be used for self-defense in a pinch, but that’s not what these knives are designed for. They’re in a case in your bag. We are coming out with some designs for self-defense but that’s another story.”

That “another story” will feature self-defense videos made by the company featuring self-defense experts with military backgrounds. Everything is one step at a time as the company looks to grow and sustain itself going forward.

For now, the company started by a mother and her three daughters continues to grow and thrive, and make fun, exciting pocketknives for women.

Female Knifemaking Standout Audra Draper

Few women in the field are as accomplished as Audra Draper. The Wyomingite was the first woman to earn master smith status in the American Bladesmith Society back in 2000. Since then she’s made pretty much everything and, along with her husband Mike, taught countless new makers the craft of making knives.

“Back in the day it was hard to get people to acknowledge that yes, a girl can do this, too,” Draper said. “But now it’s not a big deal, people don’t react so crazy anymore and that helped, because if you’re a young girl and walk up to a knifemaker’s table at a show and tell them you want to make knives, you need them to react like ‘Sweet, what can I do to help you?’ which everyone does now.”

While Draper is as experienced as it comes, one thing has both eluded her and caused her very little concern: making knives specifically for women. She said that she just wants to make beautiful, functional knives that people will want.

She said the only key difference can be making knives with a smaller handle since a woman’s hands are usually smaller than a man’s.

draper turmoil
Audra Draper’s Turmoil is a beautiful damascus fixed blade. (Image: SharpByCoop)

“Most women that are interested in knives don’t want a woman-specific knife,” Draper said. “They just want what the guys are carrying. I’ve made some knives that I was so certain would be purchased by a woman, and a man buys them 99 percent of the time. The women are usually hunters and fishers or they want it for the kitchen. The only difference if you’re a woman or a man is maybe a smaller handle.”

She laughed thinking about the times she’d made knives designed for women utilizing materials like turquoise, and when they hit the table the piece was scooped up by a man. She stressed that knives are neither feminine nor masculine–they just are. 

And for young women interested in learning the craft she had one simple bit of advice–reach out and ask people to help.

“Just ask questions. Talk to people,” Draper said. “There’s plenty of info our there now and plenty of courses to take. I would highly recommend before buying expensive equipment to take a course with an established maker because that’s going to tell them right away if this is something they want to do.”

Young Women Shining In The Knifemaking World

Raegan Lee and Karis Fisher are two young makers establishing themselves in the world of bladesmithing. Lee, an Idaho native, is just 21 years old but has been making fixed-blade knives for years from CPM 154 stainless. Are these specific knives for women? No, but having an enthusiastic, creative woman making knives will help craft what a “woman’s knife” becomes.

“I want to get into folders, specifically slip joints,” Lee said when we talked at BLADE Show West. “That’s where I’m heading. To be one of those makers that can bring three knives to a show and sell out on a lottery is a great feeling. To really be known in the community would be a huge, huge thing.”

Raegan Lee’s “Cow Poke” with red fiber Micarta® handle. Her price: $200

Lee went on to say how important it is to have female makers creating knives and being mentors and examples for young artisans entering the field. She said Audra Draper was an inspiration for her.

“I think it’s extremely important,” Lee said. “I do knives most of the time, but I’m also an aluminum welder at an off-road company, and that’s also a male-dominated world. I just think there has to be one of us, and the rest of us can see [what’s possible]. The more we have the more it’ll be great for us.”

Fisher is the daughter of ABS master smith Josh Fisher. Even though just a recent high school grad, her fixed blades are stunning and show off her skill in the forge and with the hammer.

Karis Fisher hunter
A hunting knife with an ironwood handle made by Karis Fisher

For Fisher, the biggest way to grow the base of female makers is simply by exposing more people to the craft of bladesmithing. TV shows and numerous YouTube channels have certainly helped a lot in bringing knifemaking more into the mainstream in recent years, and Fisher said that can only help.

Fisher even said that if her dad wasn’t a successful smith she probably wouldn’t even know about knifemaking.

“I think not too many people really know that knifemaking’s out there,” Fisher said. “If more people knew about it, it might be more [popular]. Forged in Fire does quite a bit for it.”

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