Ed Caffrey, ABS Mastersmith

Ed Caffrey began making knives in 1982, shortly after joining the Air Force.  He earned his ABS Journeyman Smith rating in 1994, and his ABS Mastersmith rating in 2000. In December 2003, after 22 years of service, he retired from the Air Force to pursue Bladesmithing on a full time basis.  He has served as a judge at the Journeyman Smith level for the American Bladesmith Society and his work has appeared in Blade Magazine, Fighting Knives Magazine, Knives Illustrated Magazine, the Knives Annual, and The Wall Street Journal. 

Ed's current passion is producing Mosaic Damascus blades and barstock, and he enjoys creating collector grade folders.  Ed runs a forum on the Knife Network which you can visit by clicking here.  He also offer one-on-one classes that correspond with each of his videos, Basic Bladesmithing, Basic Damascus, and Mosaic Damascus (coming soon).  For details and fees, please see his website at WWW.CAFFREYKNIVES.NET.

Dwayne Dushane

At 40 years old, Dwayne Dushane has been happily married for 22 yrs to his high school sweetheart with whom he has three daughters.  The older two have moved out on their own, and the younger one is in high school.  In addition to making knives, he is a 911 Dispatcher at Andrews County Sheriff's office.  He tries to spend as much time in the shop building knives as he does at the sheriff's office.  He loves to create things with his hands and feels that The Good Lord has blessed him with the ability to do so.

Growing up around guns and knives, Dwayne made his first knife in the 8th grade metal shop in Andrews, Texas in 1977. Years later he learned more about the art of knifemaking from gentlemen such as Johnny Stout and Weldon Whitley.  He started building knives in December 1995 on a regular basis.  

Dwayne uses the stock removal method and does all phases of the knives himself except making his own Damascus, which he is currently learning.  He uses materials of the highest quality that he possibly can. All woods and other handle materials are stabilized as much as possible. He uses ATS-34, 440C, D-2, Damasteel and Damascus from top notch makers.  He feels that a knife should be able to stand on its own without any embellishments, and then when you add them, it just adds to the beauty that is already there. 

Check out his website at http://members.cox.net/ddushane.

Chuck Burrows

Chuck Burrows has been working and studying leather craft and knife making for over forty years. His study of these two crafts includes the methods and materials stretching from ancient times to now. He has studied with many old time makers and made just about everything out of leather possible from watch bands to saddles.

Overall though his first love has always been knives, hawks, swords, and their sheaths. He has made sheaths for all kinds and makes of knives, including originals and some of the best of the modern makers. His has been making knives and sheaths for the custom market since 1973. His presentation knives, hawks, and sheaths are based on the styles of the American frontier incorporating carving, beadwork, rawhide, braintan, and other period correct materials. Other period knives such as Scottish Dirks and medieval daggers are also part of his repertoire. His life long love and study of the American Frontier era and the history of leather work continues to this day.

Chuck and his wife Linda, who does much of the beadwork on their frontier sheaths, currently reside in SW Colorado. You can reach them via their website Wild Rose Trading Company at www.wrtcleather.com.

David Broadwell

Born in 1954, David Broadwell's interest in making knives was kindled in his twenties, working as a machinist.  Picking up a worn shop file, his first attempt at grinding a knife in 1981 gave him a chill from head to toe and he thought, "I have got to do this for a living!"  Fellow knifemaker, the late Bob Hajovsky, worked in the same shop and was an early source of encouragement and information.  Broadwell punched his last time card in 1989 and began making fighters, sub-hilts, and bowies full-time.  His intent and goal was to make knives as functional art medium, and his reputation for large, dressy fixed blades soon included flowing daggers, and elegant folders, with more sculpting, texturing, and etching and patina variations.  By the mid 1990's his work was firmly focused on "art knives."

His knives are known for their flowing, organic lines, textural carving, sculpting, and meticulous fit and finish.  In today's production-oriented world, Broadwell's work is still done individually as an artist-craftsman, primarily one-of-a-kind, commissioned pieces.  Even limited editions are ground, fit, and finished by hand.  Broadwell also makes one-of-a-kind fountain pens with many of the same patterned metals and materials he uses in his art knives. 

To keep his metal sculpting skills fresh and growing, David stimulates his creativity with drawing classes and fine art studies.  He lives in North Texas with his wife and young daughter and has two grown daughters as well.  They enjoy fly-fishing, camping, bicycling, vintage pen collecting, antique browsing, and any excuse to eat out or go get ice cream.

Visit David's website at WWW.DAVID.BROADWELL.COM.

Johnny Stout

Johnny Stout recently celebrated his 20th year as a knifemaker, fulltime for the last 12 years.  Johnny is the co-founder of the Guadalupe Forge School of Knifemaking & Bladesmithing at his shop in New Braunfels. He also hosts the biannual Guadalupe Forge Hammer-In & Knifemakers Rendezvous held in the Winter and Fall each year, and teaches personal knifemaking classes several times a year. He was instrumental and a founding member of the Texas Knifemakers & Collectors Association. He is also a member of the Knifemakers Guild, and an Apprentice Bladesmith in the American Bladesmith Society. Johnny takes every opportunity to advance and promote handmade knives.  Check out his website at www.stoutknives.com and check out his video "The Fine Art of Hollow Grinding with Knifemaker Johnny Stout" on our website.

Gene Osborn

Gene launched a passion for knifemaking back in 1981 while attending a heat treat and metallurgy school for the US Navy. During his service he received extensive training in metals, working as a nuclear components welder (4956 N.E.C.) repairing the First and Seventh US Submarine Fleets in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

He continued learning about metals after his service years by working in such industrial fields as welding, machining, grinding, polishing, plating and coating, inspection, etc. His favorite job (besides knifemaking) was as a welding instructor. His experience ranges from Welding Engineer to managing a precision CNC machine shop.

Gene made knives as gifts mainly and sold a few to support his hobby. As his skills improved with time, he began to think of some way to glorify God for the special talents that had been given him for knifemaking. In 1992 Center Cross Metal Works was born and Gene took on three small crosses as his signature mark (or logo).

Visit Gene's website at WWW.CENTERCROSS.COM or purchase his videos from our video library.

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