Whitley, Weldon G.

Weldon Whitley began making knives for the public in 1965. At that time he was in Odessa, Texas and recently married to his wife Doris. Shortly after their marriage he went to work in the natural gas industry and remained there for the next 36 years. His occupation during that time was that of a machinist during which time he applied many of the skills learned there to the trade of knife making. During his tenure with the gas industry he lived at Jal, New Mexico, El Paso, Texas and took early retirement in Odessa, Texas. He has knives bearing all of these locations through the years. All of his knives showing the Odessa mark are representative of when he started knives as a full time occupation. He has made a series of knives for the 40th and 50th anniversary of the New Mexico State Police as well as a limited edition for the Shriners in Illinois in honor of the Crippled Children's Hospital's 60th year of operation. Weldon has also worked in the mediums of bronze and leather. On his knives, he now does his own embellishments to include engraving, scrimshaw, and file work in an effort to be the sole artist on his work. Weldon has made many knifemaking instructional DVDs.