Who do you look up to? Who inspired you most?

Tom Lewis said:
Bob Loveless. I learned how to make knives from his book, "How to make knives". Back in the late 70's there was very little information on knifemaking. No YouTube videos, etc.
I never met the man, but I learned from his book.
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I read the book, but his video was so much much more. Very interesting process.
 
I'm revisiting this thread with a more detailed post. I am older and tend to wax poetic, so bear with me.

I will truly say my greatest influence was my grandfather - Leland Johnson Stacy. He never made a knife, and probably knew nothing about blacksmithing.
He had an unratable IQ, and was a physicist by age 16. Einstein was one of his friends. He introduced me to Einstein when I was 2 years old, but I don't recall him more than a smiling face with crazy hair.
Grandpa Stacy started teaching me math at age 2 and by age 5, I could do algebra. He made his extensive library available to me anytime I wanted to pull out a book off his shelves. When I took a book that was far beyond my comprehension, he would explain the subject in ways that I could understand, then he would start to teach me the way he taught the same thing to other physicists. Eventually, he didn't have to dumb it down at all. When I took an 1890's book on "Shop Formulae and Practices", I found a section on forging and it had drawings and info on the equipment as well as procedures for shaping metal. I took tools from his garage, made a forge, and then made a knife (1961). That was the beginning of my knifemaking life. He couldn't teach me anything about forging, but he told me what metallurgy he knew. He encouraged me to read what I could find at the public library, and then took me to The Norfolk College of William and Mary (now ODU), where he was a professor emeritus. They had a good library with books on metallurgy and blacksmithing. I read them all. Sadly, he died in '65. I still have his slide rule in my shop.

As to knifemaking influences:
When I started making knives, there were no known knifemakers ... well, none anyone ever met unless they lived in the same county. Even then, there probably were only 20 custom makers in the whole USA. Bill Moran had just started as a full time knifemaker the year I made my first knife. No one had written a book on knifemaking. The first knifemaking video was 40 years away. I had to teach myself. It was slow, and I didn't know good from bad. An old gentleman from South Carolina gave me blacksmithing tools and showed me some things. I guess Mr. Jones was my first knife instructor.

Fast forward to the 90's and I met Bill Moran. He was kind and always friendly. Around the same time, I met Ron Frazer. A true renaissance man with so many talents. He could make anything by hand. He didn't own any machine tools besides a grinder and a small table saw. Like Bill, Ron was self taught. I think that was a common bond between us.

About 30 years ago, I met Dave Catoe here in Norfolk. He is a quiet man but very talented. We both say we learned a lot from each other. I think that is true.

Kevin Cashen was a big source of information and lively discussions ... online, by email, and at Ashokan. He put up with me even though I wear a cowboy hat.

65 years after my first knife ... I am learning from people I never met, or only met at a show briefly. I credit Bladeforums for my most influential source. There is so much information here. Even a Newbie who asks a question that is completely off is a source of learning, as I may spend hours reading up on a specific thing before answering him or her. It was here I learned no one has called the structure in a hamon Troosite since 1940. Larrin and Hoss have been a great source of technical info to me.
 
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Mike Snody is such a huge influence, his high energy style and unique knives really got me into knifemaking.

My Dad - he made a knife as a kid and I always wanted to from a young age
 
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Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I'm revisiting this thread with a more detailed post. I am older and tend to wax poetic, so bear with me.

I will truly say my greatest influence was my grandfather - Leland Johnson Stacy. He never made a knife, and probably knew nothing about blacksmithing.
He had an unratable IQ, and was a physicist by age 16. Einstein was one of his friends. He introduced me to Einstein when I was 2 years old, but I don't recall him more than a smiling face with crazy hair.
Grandpa Stacy started teaching me math at age 2 and by age 5, I could do algebra. He made his extensive library available to me anytime I wanted to pull out a book off his shelves. When I took a book that was far beyond my comprehension, he would explain the subject in ways that I could understand, then he would start to teach me the way he taught the same thing to other physicists. Eventually, he didn't have to dumb it down at all. When I took an 1890's book on "Shop Formulae and Practices", I found a section on forging and it had drawings and info on the equipment as well as procedures for shaping metal. I took tools from his garage, made a forge, and then made a knife (1961). That was the beginning of my knifemaking life. He couldn't teach me anything about forging, but he told me what metallurgy he knew. He encouraged me to read what I could find at the public library, and then took me to The Norfolk College of William and Mary (now ODU), where he was a professor emeritus. They had a good library with books on metallurgy and blacksmithing. I read them all. Sadly, he died in '65. I still have his slide rule in my shop.

As to knifemaking influences:
When I started making knives, there were no known knifemakers ... well, none anyone ever met unless they lived in the same county. Even then, there probably were only 20 custom makers in the whole USA. Bill Moran had just started as a full time knifemaker the year I made my first knife. No one had written a book on knifemaking. The first knifemaking video was 40 years away. I had to teach myself. It was slow, and I didn't know good from bad. An old gentleman from South Carolina gave me blacksmithing tools and showed me some things. I guess Mr. Jones was my first knife instructor.

Fast forward to the 90's and I met Bill Moran. He was kind and always friendly. Around the same time, I met Ron Frazer. A true renaissance man with so many talents. He could make anything by hand. He didn't own any machine tools besides a grinder and a small table saw. Like Bill, Ron was self taught. I think that was a common bond between us.

About 30 years ago, I met Dave Catoe here in Norfolk. He is a quiet man but very talented. We both say we learned a lot from each other. I think that is true.

Kevin Cashen was a big source of information and lively discussions ... online, by email, and at Ashokan. He put up with me even though I wear a cowboy hat.

65 years after my first knife ... I am learning from people I never met, or only met at a show briefly. I credit Bladeforums for my most influential source. There is so much information here. Even a Newbie who asks a question that is completely off is a source of learning, as I may spend hours reading up on a specific thing before answering him or her. It was here I learned no one has called the structure in a hamon Troosite since 1940. Larrin and Hoss have been a great source of technical info to me.
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That is awesome!!!!!!
 
Tom Krein and Scott Gossman helped me a lot. Stacey right here helped me a lot. Carl Rechsteiner was and is a great friend and huge help.

And I learned a LOT from teaching knifemaking and have been blessed to have had a bunch of great apprentices.

AND I also feel blessed to have been mentioned in this thread. Thank you.
 
This is a good thread. I started making about two years ago. I live in NW Arkansas and have to be one of the most fortunate people around. I met Bob Dozier early on and he has taken me under his wing and taught me an immense amount of knife making information. We have built machines (belt grinder, variable speed disk sander), he has given me some things (an old Square Wheel, drill press), and has gone with me to look at machines I bought (Bridgeport Surface Grinder, Deckel Pantograph). He has helped me set up my shop in my garage. I have a key to both of his shops though I don't go as much as I used to because I have most of what I need at home now. I take him to shows and see him at least once a week, was with him and his on this morning. I owe so much to him.

Also, Chris Taylor has been a tremendous help and a great friend. I have spent almost as much time at his place as Bob's. He taught me my first slip joint and has taught me different blade finishing techniques and ways to do things that sometimes are the same as Bob's way and sometimes different. I also have had the opportunity to visit Jim Dunlap and make a slip joint with him in his shop. Tom Krein is local and while I have not built anything under his eye, he has critiqued and given me countless tips to become better at what I am doing. Also, Tom Upton, he's quiet but part of what I call Bob's Crew and has helped me quite a bit.

From Bob, I have learned the hidden tang and full tang techniques, from Chris the modern slipjoint, and from Jim the traditional slipjoint. I visit makers whenever I have the chance and have spent time with Stanley Buzek and Grayson Jennings to see their shops and setups.

I am fortunate that I make my living doing something else so I can pursue knife projects that I love as opposed to having to fill an order. As Bob has said many times, I have learned 20 years of knife making in a year and a half.

This is the most fun hobby I have ever had and I love spending time making new things.
 
Wow! Thinking back-I got into knives when I was just a kid. There was a custom maker very close to my home. John T. Smith invited me to his shop and taught me a few things about making knives.
This was around 1972. The custom knife scene was just getting big. I worked for local government and ran into an auditor who made knives. Pat Crawford was obsessed with knifemaking. He set up a shop at his home in West Memphis, Ar. and invited me over. Pat became one of the really hot makers of the 1970s and beyond. He let me use his shop to make miniature knives. Pat's son Wes has taken over the Crawford knives helm.

I was getting heavily involved in collecting vintage automatic knives during this era. Pat and I attended a big show in Dallas. There, I met a gentleman named Andy Russell. Andy (later A.G. Russell) was a very enterprising young man. He saw my switchblade collection and I became his "go to" guy on automatics. He reprinted the 1926 Schrade Cutlery Co. catalog and asked me to do the automatic prices in the current price guide for the book. A.G. and I remained friends until his recent death.

During this time there was a gunsmith in my neighborhood who helped me and advised me on gunsmithing and knife repair. Ed Hagstrom was a great man.

In 1975, I ran into a jeweler who admired my work. Virgil Hays let me work my own hours and gave me full use of his shop. He showed me the intricacies of jewelry work and hand engraving and was a mentor in many ways.
Last year I did a podcast with Bladeology that chronicles the later aspects of my cutlery career. It's pretty long- over an hour, but I hope it's interesting. Here is the URL:
 
I have a Crawford Kasper in my collection, it's a cool knife I dig his style.
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Broadly speaking, I look up to makers who befriend me and vice versa- moreso on average than with regular friends. I am inspired by creation, so to me, those who create are inspirational- even if I don't like them, lol. What follows is my story of a bunch of people who have made an impact on my progression as a maker.

Just thinking about this after I read Bill's post, Nick Wheeler came to mind. The first two knives I made were made using a file that he sent to me- I still have and use it. He heat treated them for me as well, and generally helped me figure out some things. We communicated a lot when we put together that epic WiP thread- https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/wheelers-steel-stuck-in-the-metal-with-you.808140/

One of the first two knives I made went to Israel, as a gift for David Darom- who had a huge impact on what I understood knives could be, both through his books and in person when he invited me to AKI in 2011, where I met some of the toppest top knife makers on the planet. https://aki.show/former-aki-galleries/
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Stuart Branson is a good friend, and we live close enough to visit and work together in his shop, and he went to Seattle for a class with Jason Knight at Dave Lisch's school. I tagged along and paid for the trip with an article I wrote for Blade. I learned a lot, and was inspired by what I observed as a fly on the wall.
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I've been to the Seattle show a couple of times, the first of which was at Dave's shop under the overpass. Dan Keffeler brought a Super Assassin which he said was flawed, and we were chucking it at the tomahawk targets. I still feel bad about it. Dan's a wonderful guy, he's really helped me out a lot in so many different ways.
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I also got to meet one of my best knife making, (and non knife making) pals, Bruce 'Bing' Bingenheimer at that Seattle show, were he gifted me a folder that I designed. We worked together a lot- he produced a lot of my folding knife designs and helped me refine my work so much. Mike Quesenberry called me with the news that Bing had died, and I was shook for months. At that point we were talking on the phone every other day or so, and I really had begun to rely on his friendship in a way that is rare for me.
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Around that time, I got to know Nathan Carothers, and started working with him a little bit. It's turned out to be quite the thing, and I'm so proud of him and Jo and inspired by them and what they've built.
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Before I started making knives, I was more into the collecting scene and spent most of my time in the C&H forum. I sent a lot of designs to various makers and it was a great way to test out my concepts. Ryan Weeks was probably one of the first, and we had a great run working together. He made a lot of my designs and I was happy to get some and test them out, that really leveled me up a lot, that feedback is so helpful.
Magnus Axelsson is a good pal and we was always game to go a little wild with designs.

man, the list of names is actually pretty long and I haven't really put this stuff into words before...there may be edits lol!
 
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