Jerry Hossom Knifemaking Biography

 

After 35 years in corporate America, working in the field of biomedical instrumentation, I’d finally had enough of politics and regulation and decided to turn a long time and enjoyable hobby into a full time profession. In 1997 I went from successful business executive to struggling knifemaker, quickly learning you don’t do this for the money. You become a knifemaker because you’re passionate about knives and believe you have something to contribute to the craft - or you keep your day job and make knives as a hobby. Fortunately, like many other full time knifemakers, my wife had a pretty good job so she and our four children didn’t have to live on the modest wages I was earning back then. Thankfully they still don’t.

When I began professional knifemaking, like most, I struggled to find a niche to call my own. What kind of knives did I want to make and what would distinguish my knives from those of other knifemakers who were already established in the trade, many of them far more gifted than I would ever be? Based on personal experience, both as a civilian and in the military, I first focused on hunting, general utility and survival knives. I’d used such knives and knew what was needed of them. With these knives I learned the craft, and how to make knives that were utilitarian and durable. I learned about steels and their qualities. I learned about light weight, strength, balance and ergonomics. I learned about edges, how to make them both sharp and lasting regardless of the steel used. I cut, ground and destroyed a lot of steel in those days, but for every blade trashed there was a lesson learned, an experience I didn’t need to have again. The next one was better.

On September 11, 2001 everything changed, for me as well as our country. In the week following 9/11, I created four tactical knives that became the foundation for most of the knives and knife designs I’ve crafted since. I’d found my spot in the knife universe, and with ongoing help from many friends in both the military and martial arts communities my designs have evolved to meet the unique challenges that face someone whose very life may depend on the quality and performance of the tool you place in their hand. There are no compromises in that world; there are none in mine. There are no limits on materials or construction techniques, no shortcuts, no economy, no “good enough”. There is only the purpose for which the knife is intended, and that purpose may be anything circumstances demand. Since 2001, my knives have been carried by many of our nation’s finest warriors. They’ve been used for the purposes they were designed and for many they were not. They have never failed.