"I prefer steel to people."
The headline sums it up best. I spent over six years working for a large shipping company and tinkering in other odd-jobs before realizing that the corporate ladder just wasn't for me. Hard heads, thin skin, and fiery emotions make for a career that just isn't palatable to me. My joke is that steel is easier to work with than people, and I'm sure a lot of crafters of ALL variety can empathize with that sometimes.
I've spent the past few years now knee-deep in love for metal, blades, and everything to do with both, but I never would've pursued turning my passion into a potential for income without the support of my wife, who often has more faith in my work than even myself. Every time her and I are working together in the shop or the forge, all I can think of is that scene from Conan the Barbarian, where Conan's mother and father are working together on a sword, stoking the fire and wrapping the hilt.
Our blades aren't fancy. They're not machined to flawlessness. They're not ornamental, and they're not "art" beyond the sharp tips and beautiful curves. I like to think of our knives as the best friends you could ever ask for during hard times; nothing "perfect" or fake about them, with a sturdy temper and unwavering reliability.
All of the metal we use for our products is specially ordered by me from a very specific steel vendor. All of our heat treating and tempering is done personally. All of our shapes were drawn up in our shop, and I never know whether I'll make one of a kind, or a hundred.
Money and business are both great, but at the end of the day, the best pleasure comes from knowing that people enjoyed your product, and I hope that every Broken Dharma knife we sell goes to a good home, and to good use.
