Monday Close-Up: Young entrepreneurs create beautiful, handcrafted knife handles
Austin Blanch of Imperial Armaments creates a knife handle out of zebrawood in the team's workshop Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, in Sandy. Blanch, who lives in Orem, is half of the duo that creates handmade knife handles out of different assortments of high-quality wood and animal bone. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Austin Blanch of Imperial Armaments creates a knife handle out of zebrawood in the team's workshop Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, in Sandy. Each knife takes over an hour to craft, not including the blade, which is ordered from another vendor. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Austin Blanch of Imperial Armaments creates a knife handle out of zebrawood in the team's workshop Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, in Sandy. Each knife takes over an hour to craft, not including the blade, which is ordered from another vendor. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Andrew Harless (middle) and Austin Blanch of Imperial Armaments make bullet pens in the team's workshop Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, in Sandy. The bullets are from .308 shells and are usually polished by the team to ensure quality. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Andrew Harless and Austin Blanch first met on their LDS missions in Ohio in 2013. Little did they know that their friendship would grow strong, and that they would become business partners together.
Harless and Blanch both shared many common interests, but after their two-year mission they decided that, even though they loved their day jobs, they wanted to create something. And something was handcrafted, high-quality knives.
Just four months ago, they were able to acquire the tools, material and time it takes to make an intricate knife, and took their business off the ground. Their new company, Imperial Armaments, is only a few months old but is already gaining traction in the local community. With their first major vending event being last week at the Utah Valley Gun Show, there was a lot to learn in not only crafting knives, but in selling them as well.
“It’s definitely been a huge learning experience,” said Harless, who is also a student at the LDS Business College in Salt Lake City. “From honing your skills in woodwork as well as learning how to price things out fairly, it’s no easy feat.”
Being one of the few knife vendors at the gun show, as well as being on the younger side of the vendor population, there’s a lot to learn. Harless and Blanch are 21 and 22, respectively, whereas many of the gun vendors have years of experience. But Harless and Blanch say that’s part of the fun.
“We want to start a business, and be successful,” Harless said. “There’s a lot of fun in that. We have a lot to learn for sure.”
They start off with a completely blank slate; a piece of wood, usually about the size of a pack of gum, that is completely untouched and blank. After some time with the machines buffing, grinding, smoothing, sanding and cutting, a knife handle is done. For the most part. Then the duo has to fit the handle around a blade (which they get from various dealers, as well as from a friend in Ohio who does custom metalwork), and attach the handle to it, and then make sure it’s glued in place.
“It definitely takes a lot of precision,” said Blanch. “The wood can cost a lot… If you mess up, it can be $50 down the drain.”
The knives usually take about an hour or so to create, and after fitting the handle with a blade, they have to carefully place brass pins into holes that they’ve precisely drilled in the handles.
They work with more than any old wood, however; the duo has made artisan blade handles with camel bone, buffalo horn, zebrawood, ebony and all assortments of different woods.
Blanch and Harless both have day jobs — Blanch trades stocks on the side and Harless is working at a law firm while studying at the business college — but both want to put more time and effort into Imperial Armaments in hope of creating something more than just a passion hobby, and into a legitimate, thriving business.
“I don’t want to say that I’ll do this forever, but I certainly want to see where this goes,” Harless said. “We’ll be going to lots more events in the coming months, including some gun shows in Salt Lake.”
For more information on the new company, as well as inquiries on custom handles and vendor information, contact Andrew Harless at Austin.blanch89@gmail.com.