There are some people who come into your life and leave a mark. And then there are the rare few who help shape who you become—not just in what you do, but in how you think, how you carry yourself, and how you treat others.

Ed Fowler was one of those rare few.

In January, we lost Ed. And while words will always fall short of capturing a man like him, I feel compelled to share what he meant to me—and to so many others.

A few years back, when knife making was a simpler task and did not involve forging steel and power hammers, I offered to repay a favor with a stock removal knife, the only method I knew at the time. The favor was picking up and delivering a Bridgeport mill to my knife shop. That was two years ago!

Working with ball bearing steel will wear out a young arm in no time at all, and I’m not young! Extending the useful life of an “older” arm that seems to relish aches and pains for no apparent reason requires equipment. Sadly, that generally requires money. A power hammer would be my salvation.

Daman Products Co., Inc. wanted to present their top distributor salesperson with a unique and fitting gift. They commissioned me to build a custom knife, which was a great choice since this particular distributor is located in the heart of Texas, where hunting and fishing are a way of life.

“Mistakes are the growing pains of wisdom.” ―William Jordan If Jordan is correct, I developed a lot of wisdom over the weekend! Half tang knives require the finger guard to slide over the butt end of the tang and come to rest just before reaching an interference fit at what will be the final resting place for the guard.

I’ve had the Atlanta Blade Show 2012 on my calendar since the 2011 show, and I’ve been looking forward to the trip from northern Indiana just as long. For a number of reasons I gave in and came to grips with the reality that there would be no return trip to Atlanta this year. Life’s unexpected twists would not allow it.

My interest in steel and fire dates back to 7th grade metals class and my cold chisel project. As we all know, artisan crafts of this nature were being shelved all over the country in the 70’s and 80’s. Finding artisan craftsmen to help further my interest seemed impossible. That all changed in the late 90’s with access to the Internet.