The Tar Heel Hurricane turned lives upside down, but North Carolina knifemaker Winkler Knives has proven resilient.

Hurricane Helene devastated parts of Western North Carolina, East Tennessee and other states this past fall. Among those damaged was the Winkler Knives shop in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

Daniel Winkler estimated the monetary loss to his business from $500,000 to $600,000, though the biggest setback was the death of one of the company’s long-time employees, Steve Limbacher.

“He could not handle the stress and his heart just gave out,” Winkler wrote. “Steve is missed every day at Winkler Knives.”

Up to 15 inches of water flowed through the Winkler shop from a creek adjacent to the structure, leaving behind one to 6 inches of mud. The company lost several machines, computers, printers, cabinets and shelves, carts and other daily use tools. Materials for handles, sheaths and other shop supplies were destroyed. Four large garage doors were damaged, as was all the flooring in the office and breakroom. All the office doors were lost.

For cleanup the Winklers bought a track hoe, dump truck and small skid steer, and also numerous hoses, pressure washers, wet vacuums, mops and scrubbers. In all, it took the full staff 2 ½ weeks to clean up the mess.
“However, compared to others in our area, we were just inconvenienced,” Daniel noted.

“Many others were devastated with lost buildings, vehicles and many lives. We are truly blessed.”

To aid those in one of the most severely damaged areas in North Carolina, through its fundraising efforts Winkler Knives presented a check for $13,018.75 to the Mitchelle County Development Foundation. The company also raised money for its own recovery efforts via tent sales of Winkler knives, tomahawks, axes and sheaths at Winkler Knives Actual on Nov. 30 and Dec. 2.

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