Behnke, Matt

I’m Matt Behnke, a blacksmith and knifemaker from northern New Jersey. I began blacksmithing at the age of 13. I didn’t know much, but had the willingness to invest whatever time and money I had to progress in the craft. I still learn something new everyday, and continue to invest in myself and my tools to create the best product I possibly can. Each knife I make begins as a raw piece of steel, sometimes up to 1.5” thick! I use various tools to get the desired shape, varying from different styles of hammers to my 25 ton forging press. After forging, I move onto profiling the knives on my homemade 2x72 belt grinder. This refines the shape of things, and allows me to get the edge thinner before heat treat. After heat treating the knives, I finish grind the blades and start the handles. I can only refine things so far on the grinder, so must complete the process by hand using various files and grits of sandpaper. A hand finished knife can range anywhere from a 400 grit satin finish, up to a 1500 girt polished hamon! The last part of the process is to hand tool and stitch a custom fit sheath for each knife. I use high quality American made cowhide (7-9 oz), and put forth the same level of craftsmanship that’s represented in my knives.