I have been fascinated with knives and swords for as long as I can remember. Shortly after I completed my undergraduate studies in philosophy, I followed my instincts into an Introduction

to Blade smithing class taught by JD Smith. That’s how I found my calling.

I took that class back-to-back eight times, eventually becoming JD’s apprentice and teaching

assistant. I earned my ABS Journeyman Smith stamp in 2012 and established my own studio in

New Hampshire, where I reside today. Later that year I also earned my acceptance into the

prestigious League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, one of the oldest craft organizations in the

country, and an organization whose Board of Directors I now chair.

I have spent the last fifteen years of full-time work honing my skills and seeking diverse

influences and inspiration to feed my artistic growth. In addition to American blade smithing, I

have studied Japanese blade smithing, Japanese metal carving, engraving, and medieval sword

smithing, among other things. I earned the rank of ABS Master Smith in 2019, an honor I see as

a starting point rather than a destination.

Blade smithing is incredibly rewarding for me. It is a never-ending source of satisfaction for my

need to learn, as each project provides new challenges and further informs my own unique

aesthetic vocabulary. I am drawn toward the fusion of Western techniques and aesthetics with

those from Indo-Persia and East Asian traditions. I enjoy using historical examples as a source of

inspiration, but I revel in the exercise of reinterpreting traditional forms into my own style.

For me, a knife becomes art when to say that it is a knife is to miss some of what is most

interesting about it. Craft may tell the whole story of a piece. It offers no mystery beyond how

it was made. Art asks questions that invite us to tell stories about ourselves. Art stimulates

inquiry when it resonates with something internal, reflecting