Hello everyone, my name is Bob Ohlemann. I am 48 years old and I retired from the Army (20 years) back in 2008. I've been making knives for about a year now and I can see it is absolutely what I am meant to be doing. I got my start in Johnny Stout's Beginner Knifemaker class and things have taken off from there. To date, I've completed about 60 knives, all stock removal. I attended Johnny Stout's Guadalupe Forge Hammer-In this winter and I was amazed at the skills and knowledge of Harvey Dean and J.W. Randall. I went away from that experience knowing that I was going to be forging blades and making pattern welded steels. Because I am still so new in knifemaking, I've been trying not to jump into too much too fast but, it is obvious that some planning is important. I have set earning my Mastersmith stamp as a goal. It is obviously a long term goal that will require a lot of work to attain so I figure I can't start too soon. I look forward to learning from all the talented makers here and hope to meet as many of you as possible at the various shows and events in the upcoming years.

Bob