(Broad-banded water snake, Louisiana)
I work full time pursuing one of my other passions in life, the natural world. My work as a Wildlife Biologist keeps me very busy as I am often off hiking somewhere in remote areas of the Pacific Northwest chasing critters for extended periods of time. (Actually there is a bit more to it than that…)
My wife, son and I spend time working on and around the house and the land we own, the small farm we have. We also enjoy traveling.
(Sharpening machetes in coastal mangrove jungle, very northern west coast of Nicaragua)
All these things have meant that, at this time, I sharpen/repair, and craft, knives on a case by case basis. I seem to be more of a “knife tinkerer” these days.
But if you are interested, I would love to talk with you about knifemaking, or anything else, for that matter. I enjoy questions so feel free to ask about anything you see (or don’t see) here. I don’t believe in knifemaking secrets. Someone was good enough to show or tell me, so I will do the same. Just don’t get cross if it takes me a few days to get back to you.
And if you have a knife in need of some TLC, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email.
Use the contact form to send me an email.
A snapshot of my life up to now
(Chopping a water hole through ice in the crest of the Cascade Mountains, Oregon)
The abridged version of my life goes something like this:
I was born at home in Berkeley, CA, but celebrated my first birthday in Oregon.
I grew up on a small 70 acre farm in the western foothills of the Cascade Mountains near Myrtle Creek, OR where we grew much of what we ate, hand-milked cows, cooked and heated with wood, raised pigs, chickens, Brown Swiss cows, geese, an occasional duck and many mice and blacktail deer.
I spent almost all of my free time as a younger person exploring the natural world around me in the forests and streams where I lived.
I grew up without television, and still have not grown to fully appreciate it.
I was home-schooled until I entered public school in the latter half of the 5th Grade.
After graduating from high school I went on to get a degree in biology at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. After finishing my Thesis in Animal Behavior and Conservation Biology at Reed, my fiancée and I needed a break, so we had a public celebration of our union and joined the Northwest Service Academy (Americorps) and moved to Trout Lake, WA. We both had a wonderful time over the next two years, and learned a great deal, as well as feeling that we did something significant to help our country and world. We then moved back to Oregon. I pursued my “career” as a scientist, and my wife obtained a license in Early Childhood Special Education, going on to teach for a local ESD.
We purchased a little bit of land with an older home on it near Albany, OR, and our son was born several years after that.
(Prepared to cut trail, central Willamette Valley, Oregon)
Various interests
I can be obsessive/compulsive and opinionated at times.
I try to love life and enjoy the small and simple aspects of the universe and how I interact with it. That is not to say there are not days when I get frustrated with Life, The Universe, and Everything. But I do try and be optimistic and enjoy my time here without intentionally causing others undue pain or suffering, or being in a hurry to get to the end. So far, that approach seems to work for me. I am not perfect, and I hope I never am.
I have many other interests and pursuits. Some of these (at this time) include just about all aspects of natural history, ethnobotany, primitive living skills, outdoor photography, small-scale homesteading and all that it entails, and discussing and implementing ideas and methods for increasing our positive impact on the world and people around us.
Hey, at least I am never bored…
(Western toad, Northern Great Basin, Oregon)
I have a deep appreciation for the natural world; all aspects of it fascinate me, and the outdoors is where I feel the most at home, at peace.
It is a very big part of who I am, how I spend my time.
Although I think I would be considered friendly, and enjoy socializing and spending time with others, I truly relish my alone time in the outdoors. Scouting, foraging, or just looking for the opportunity to share time with a critter in its daily life. Be it in the forested mountains, open shrubby valleys, along streams, it is a blessing.
My knife and tool designs almost all come directly from my experiences outdoors, and how I can create a tool that will work well there. When I am working on a design, I am often impatient to get out and test it in the field to see if it will meet the need I imagined.
(Preparing a hot beverage on a misty morning, Cascade Mountains foothills, Oregon)
Umpqua National Forest
Mt. Hood National Forest
Ocala National Forest
Parque Nacional Tikal
Elliot State Forest
Yellowstone National Park
Parque Nacional Valcon Masaya
Everglades National Park
Big Cypress
Lago Atitlan
Three Sisters Wilderness
Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve
Redwood National Park
Semuc Champey
Banff National Park
Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve
Olympic National Park
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge
Reserva Natural Atitlan
Crater Lake National Park
Jasper National Park
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
Laguna de Apoyo
Bull of the Woods Wilderness
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Reserve Nacional Padre Ramos
Drift Creek Wilderness
Valley of the Kings
Joshua Tree National Park
Mountain Lakes Wilderness
Opal Creek Wilderness
Midland Provincial Park
Steens Mountains
Bogue Chitto State Park
Lassen National Park
Anza-Borrego State Park
Lava Beds National Park
Rock Creek Wilderness