Knife River Customs

Knife River Customs Premium Custom Crafts. Craftsmanship and usability in our work, are both highly important to us.

There's a particular kind of satisfaction that comes from a well-made object meeting the hands that'll actually use it. ...
09/10/2026

There's a particular kind of satisfaction that comes from a well-made object meeting the hands that'll actually use it. On Saturday, September 26th, from noon to five, I'll be setting up a table at The Mermaid Entertainment & Event Center for the Unlimited Fall Market — bringing along a modest collection of chef's knives and hunting knives, each one shaped the slow way: steel, fire, stone, patience.

I can't promise you fireworks. I can promise you an edge that'll outlast your patience for cheap cutlery, and a handle that fits your palm like it was grown there, because in a sense, it was.

Come by Knife River Customs' table. Bring your hands. We'll talk wood, we'll talk steel, and if you're lucky, I'll let you hold something sharp.

Saturday, 9/26. Noon–5PM.
The Mermaid, Mounds View.

08/11/2026

I’m working on a brand new set of Western European style chef knives. And grinding is on the schedule for today!

08/10/2026

I finished up a hunting knife today, and I’ll admit I stood in the driveway looking at it longer than a reasonable person should. This one’s got a random, ladder-pattern Damascus blade in black and silver. I ground, shaped, and finished the thing by hand, and I’m proud of how it came out. The handle’s a composite piece in orange and black that happens to echo the blade pattern almost too well, which I’d love to take credit for planning, but mostly I just got lucky and then acted like I meant to do that all along.

It’s headed out to its new owner sometime this week, and I hope it earns its keep — whether that’s field dressing something in the woods or just sitting on a shelf looking sharper than anything I own. Building knives is a strange way to spend your evenings, but there’s something honest about it: good materials, a lot of patience, and enough mistakes along the way to keep you humble. Thanks for looking, and thanks for supporting the kind of work that still gets made by hand, one stubborn piece of steel at a time.

Well now. Every so often you finish a piece of steel and wood and you sit back and think, “huh, look at that, I did not ...
07/23/2026

Well now. Every so often you finish a piece of steel and wood and you sit back and think, “huh, look at that, I did not entirely ruin it.” This is one of those times. What you’re looking at is a nagiri-style vegetable knife — 6.5 inches of blade, 11.5 inches nose to tail, ground from 80CrV2 carbon steel the old-fashioned way, by stock removal, which is a fancy way of saying I took a bar of steel and stubbornly removed everything that wasn’t a knife. Twenty-five hours of that stubbornness went into this one. The blade wears a full flat grind, taken down to roughly ten-thousandths of an inch at the edge, which is thinner than most men’s patience and considerably thinner than my own. Over that thin, hungry little edge I laid down a deep mustard forced patina, the kind that turns plain steel into something that looks like it’s been through a war and won.

The handle is where I let myself have a little fun — cherry burl up front, paired with black and white spacers, a striking red resin inlay, and a slab of paduk wood, all shaped into a traditional Western European handle that sits in the hand the way a good handshake ought to feel. This one’s built to earn its keep in the vegetable patch of your kitchen — onions, carrots, cabbage, whatever needs a thin, sharp, patient blade behind it. It has, I’m pleased to report, already found its person; this one’s sold. But rest assured, there is more steel in the shop, and more stubbornness left in me yet. Wash it by hand, dry it like you mean it, and never — never — let it anywhere near a dishwasher. Some things are sacred.

07/16/2026

Now, I’ve handled a fair amount of wood in my time, but Rosewood burl is a different animal altogether. It’s a rare thing—burl itself is a rare thing, a tree’s stubborn, beautiful reaction to some old wound or stress, and Rosewood burl in particular doesn’t show up often, and when it does, it doesn’t look like anything else on God’s green earth. That grain swirling through the handle of this Santoku style chef’s knife looks like something you’d find in a jewelry box, not a kitchen drawer, and yet here it is, built to be picked up and put to work. Twelve and a quarter inches overall, six and a quarter inches of blade, and every bit of it made by hand, start to finish, by one fella in a shop who cares more about getting it right than getting it done fast.

And then there’s the blade itself, which got the acid oil etch treatment—a process that isn’t common, isn’t easy, and isn’t something you’ll find on most knives out there. It leaves behind this deep, textured, almost topographic finish, like you’re looking at a landscape instead of a piece of steel. Between that etch and the Rosewood burl, you’re not looking at a knife so much as you’re looking at a rare and singular object that happens to be exceptional at cutting vegetables. It’s handmade, it’s one of one, and it’s available right now, for whoever’s ready to own something that won’t ever be made quite the same way twice.

Available
$330

07/09/2026

There’s a moment in this process that never gets old — running the finish over a slab of monkeypod and watching the grain wake up right in front of you. Monkeypod isn’t a wood you see every day here in the Midwest. It grows fast and wide in the tropics, which means it throws off some of the biggest, most dramatic slabs out there — deep chocolate browns bleeding into warm gold, sometimes streaked with black or a hint of green, with grain that swirls and moves in a way that makes every board completely one-of-a-kind. It’s a wood that doesn’t disappear into a room. It wants to be the centerpiece.

That’s exactly what’s happening in this video — bringing out that natural depth and chatoyance without burying it under a finish that’s too heavy or too glossy. Whether it ends up as a dining table that anchors every gathering or a smaller accent piece for a kitchen or living space, monkeypod brings a warmth and presence that’s hard to match.

07/08/2026

Well, here is a new set of etching patterns that I’ve been working on. I’m not sure if I love them or not, they’re very unique and interesting looking. I would love your opinion on this if you would be so kind to give it! 

07/06/2026

Finished up this 80crv2 6” Chef Knife. Fitted with a exquisite Cocobolo handle sculpted from a cross cut section. This one is sold and on its way to his new home in central Montana.

07/04/2026

Well, folks, I just finished this chef knife forged from W-2 high carbon tool steel. It’s a water-hardening steel with a good dose of carbon that lets you hit 62–65 Rockwell hardness, giving it excellent edge retention and the ability to take a frighteningly sharp edge. What really makes her special is the beautiful hamon line—a natural wavy pattern that forms during differential heat treatment with clay. It marks the transition from a hard, keen cutting edge to a tougher, more resilient spine. Like a fingerprint from the fire itself, no two are ever exactly alike, and this one turned out particularly handsome.
The handle is made from a rare piece of double-dyed box elder burl I’ve been guarding in the shop for nearly five years. Box elder is known for its wild, swirling grain and those vivid red, orange, and turquoise mineral streaks that pop dramatically when dyed and stabilized. It’s a soft, approachable wood that works beautifully under the hand, full of character and depth. Nothing flashy about the whole package—just honest materials and careful work. If this knife speaks to you, she’s available to the public. Reach out if you’d like her to find a home in your kitchen.

Available

Address

Saint Paul, MN

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Knife River Customs posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Knife River Customs:

Shortcuts

Share