Pictured above is the first classically-styled folding pocketknife Steve ever designed and made completely from scratch! Until that point all of his engraving had been performed on other makers' items. This timelessly elegant, perfectly functional masterpiece of design and construction was completed in 1987. The handle is inlayed, raised and pierced 24K sheet gold with banknote engraving.
(No gradual start for this boy! Ed.)
Steve attended Southeast Community College in Milford, Nebraska in the late 1970's, majoring in tool & die manufacturing, with a minor in engineering. With this knowledge he set out to design a folding knife which did not have an exposed pivot pin, which could be completely dismantled, and in which all the screws were hidden.
His eventual design had a new, unique locking mechanism, was ergonomically designed to fit the human hand, and was ideally suited for embellishing and engraving. He says: "Fortunately, thanks to various passions, I have a machine shop at my disposal, and have been designing diverse products and projects since my teens."
"With some preliminary help from my father Frank, an accomplished jeweler and watchmaker, and from Barry Trindle, I worked on many prototypes and came up with several new knife folder designs and mechanisms.
These are screw-together folders with all screws and pins hidden. Reaching inside the bottom edge of the knife accesses the screws. The locking mechanism is also new. The lock bar is hidden inside, making the top edge of the knife completely engravable."
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