Rayden’s story

  My knife making journey started at the famed knife company Half Face Blades. While I only worked there 10 months or so, I had made dozens of amazing pieces with the help and oversight of the extremely talented Half Face Blades team. All I know is I was hooked, after parting ways with the company I knew I wanted to stay involved with knife making, so I took my small wood shop in my garage and started stabilizing woods for knife makers.

  As is my nature I took to stabilizing woods obsessively. Reading all I could on the science, chemistry and anatomy of wood and the process of stabilizing. Wood is my passion and that is why my pieces are, and always will be heavily influenced by wood. To me there is nothing more beautiful than well finished master grade woods.

  Fine woods in hand, I started making segmented scales. Woods and metals meticulously assembled for other knife makers utilizing the skills and techniques I learned at HFB as well as developing my own techniques and CNC assisted cut scales and blocks. After many failed attempts I finally had a finished product like nothing I had ever seen and I knew I was onto something, and just like that “Arches” was born. 

  The next black hole of obsession came after I purchased a 2x72 grinder, made my first knife grinding 100% of the blade post heat treat. It was terrible, beautiful, but terrible. At this moment I know I had much to learn. A bad knife is a bad knife no matter how pretty it is. Blade geometry and the science of sharp are a master classes all on there own. One by one I dialed my process and and skills to a point of undeniable form and function. 

The point of my story is this: I have obsessed over every aspect of my knives. I source the raw woods to ensure quality and legality of harvested woods. I stabilize my own materials to guarantee quality and use my own proprietary dye mixes to make truly one of a kind pieces. Meticulously assemble handle materials for structural longevity and beauty while maintaining proper shape, weight and balance. Last but not least I take the utmost care in dialing in my blade geometry and sharpening by hand that makes for some of the best blades on the market. “where form meets function”

 

-Rayden