Hello to all,

My name is Ben Breda I am 29 years old and have been making knives since 2012. My home and shop are located in Midcoast Maine. After years of carrying and enjoying knives I realized it might be fun to try making one, but I had no idea where to start. Finally after a few failed blades I stumbled across the New England School of Metalwork's brochure. The school is only an hour and a half from where I live so I immediately signed up for classes. The first class I took was ABS damascus bladesmithing with Kevin Cashen. We welded a billet of damascus then forged and ground a blade. After that class I knew I was hooked for good. The next class was the ABS intro class in March 2012 with James Crowell. As many of you know the class is two weeks of serious forging and grinding. The intro class is a must, it takes years off the learning curve. In June I took advanced pattern welding with JD smith, it was an intense week of forge welding. Handles and guards came next with Mastersmith Timothy Potier. I brought a hidden tang and a full tang that I had forged in the intro class and completed both. The next year Jim Crowell invited me to work with him in his shop. That was an opportunity I could not pass up. I spent two weeks working with him. As you can imagine I learned a whole lot about making knives and I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity. Both Tim and Jim have been at my side every step of the way helping and encouraging me to become a better knifemaker. I couldn't have succeeded without them and can't thank them enough for their generosity. This spring I took a linerlock class with Rick Dunkerley at NESM. Like the others it was a lot of fun and learned a lot making a folder from start to finish. In the fall of 2013 I finally built my own shop after bouncing around from place to place. I still have a lot of work to do before it's complete but it's at the point where I'm able to work in it. All good things take time. I am a part time maker right now but it is my goal to become full time in the future. I love making knives, I can't get enough of it. In my free time I enjoy knife making, (haha) hunting, fishing, pretty much anything outdoors, and spending time with family and friends. If you have any questions about me or my knives don't hesitate to ask.

Ben Breda