Greetings folks.

It’s a pleasure to officially be an ABS member (May 2019). As requested, here’s a brief intro. I must caution you, though. Brevity and I have never been friends.

I’ve been a wood and metal maker/hobbyist on and off for most of my life. Well, since my teens anyway, and I’m comin’ up on 50. Knives and blacksmithing came along later in life, and are my primary focus these days, as I am teaching the basics to my nearly-16 year old son. I didn’t start bladesmithing until about a year ago. I am a member of the CBA (California Blacksmith Association), as general metalwork has always held my interest.

Side note...I’m a single dad, and raised two kids by myself. My daughter attends college in Northern California while my son and I live in Hemet (about 20 miles west of Palm Springs). We relocated here from Northern California in July of 2017 to help care for my ailing parents.

My primary knife builds are hidden tang construction, but I do build some full and 1/2 tang pieces. I only do fixed blades, as I just never got the bug to build folders or flippers of any kind. My favorite build is likely a fighter, as they are an elegant looking knife IMO, but I’m a sucker for a nice drop or clip point Bowie as well. I love Damascus, but can’t forge it as I’ve had 5 spinal reconstructions and am permanently disabled. If I had a power hammer I might try it, but I ain’t complaining. As it stands, I am only able to hit the forge once a week (give or take a little) due to my physical issues, but use my time wisely, not to mention doing a lot of hand sanding in bed!

I hear a lot of makers say the handle is their least favorite part, as they would rather be forging, but for me, I enjoy it all equally. The handle making might actually have a slight edge over the blade (no pun intended) as I can take my time, work as my body allows, and really let the creativity run amok. Love working with hard woods (eg Afr Blackwood, cocobolo etc) especially as the grains are often deep but prominent. I also really enjoy burls, as the patterns can be truly spectacular and you never see the same one twice. The first knife I forged (I don’t do stock removal) was an 8” blade-length hybrid fighter with eight piece handle and s-guard construction - African Blackwood, alumilite, stainless, and G10 - PICTURED BELOW. I finished this about 6 months ago and have completed 3 or 4 more, each illustrating improvements (and learning) over the last.

Unrelated, I have degrees in mathematics (UC Davis) and systematic musicology (Cal State Univ @ Fullerton), and worked in the music industry for the better part of 20 years, then as the chief finance dude for IKEA, until my 5th spinal reconstruction rendered me unable to work. Now I’m just a crippled single dad who enjoys learning about things that interest me!

Loads more, but that’s me in a nutshell. I look forward to “meeting” some of you and am always happy to answer questions, especially since I enjoy asking them!

Cheers,

Mike “Little Mountain” Tausig