Cody Statham lives with his wife, Gigi, and their two daughters in Wilmer, BC (a stone’s throw from Brisco – home of Canadian Knifemaker Supply Ltd). He grew up in a farming family and noticed that his paternal Grandmother had used old farming equipment to make the sickle-blade knife that she used to cut baler twine. Also, when he was 10 years old, his maternal Grandfather, whom he had hunted and fished with from an early age, made him a knife from an old file. Cody treasured that knife, but when he was in College, someone broke into his truck and stole it. After many years, no matter how much he spent, he was never satisfied with a knife. About 10 years ago, while working his full-time job as a mechanic, he took a M12 bolt and started hammering it into the shape of a knife blade. He then used a bench grinder to finish it. Still, he kept hammering away at the handle; he drilled some holes and added some wood to it, creating a knife he was happy with. That started his passion for knifemaking.
Featured Knifemakers
Cody Statham
Wolfgang Loerchner
Wolfgang Loerchner has lived in Bayfield, Ontario since 1975, and he started making knives in 1982. While reading a Guns and Ammo magazine that had a section on custom hunting knives, he decided to make a hunting knife for himself from an old file. After softening it in his wood stove, he filed and finished it, using his woodworking equipment. He commented: “It turned out well …it was shiny and it cut.” He made 3-4 more knives, using old files before discovering knifemaking steel. Little did he know that he had started on his journey to become known as one of the best knifemakers in the world.
Bob Lay
Bob lives in Clearwater, BC, and has been making knives for almost fifty years, thirty of these as a full-time knifemaker. In 1996, after their mortgage was paid and their two kids were independent, Bob and his wife Judy decided that it was time to quit their jobs and make knifemaking their sole source of income.
Adam Gilbey
Adam Gilbey lives in Windsor, Ontario. He is 32 years old and his interest in knifemaking began while studying Kinesiology at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. After two years of watching “Forged in Fire” with his roommates, Adam decided to try making a knife for fun. In 2017, equipped with knowledge from online forums and YouTube videos, he tackled his first build during Christmas break at his parents’ house in Florida.
Greg Lightfoot
“Live a life you don’t need a vacation from” that's how Greg describes his life and his 38 years of knifemaking. He lives on a ranch in Kitscoty, Alberta and is a full-time knifemaker. He sells his knives internationally, with a large portion to collectors. He has 13.2K Instagram followers and has been featured in several knifemaking magazines. Many of his knives have been reviewed on YouTube. He says he feels blessed that he has a career where he can be an artist, a craftsman and a businessman and still have time to enjoy many outdoor hobbies.
Steve Vanderkolff
“Some folks have the privilege of growing up in a household with tools, and some of us grow up where a screwdriver is used only for opening paint cans”. Steve’s journey in knifemaking began with a blank canvas and an empty work bench. It all started back in the mid nineties when he went to The House of Knives to get a set of throwing knives. They wanted $60 for a set of three knives, ridiculously expensive, so he decided he would attempt to make his own. He went out and bought a piece of Home Depot mild steel and a bench grinder. That was the first step on the road to his ongoing addiction. He went through the standard progression from hunters to bowies to almost swords then back down the size range all the way to 5½” fixed pocket carry gentleman’s knives. At this point he has progressed to folders and is busy exploring the variations available to that genre.
Del Corsi
Del Corsi is a knifemaker, an educator, and a tireless promoter of other knifemakers. He lives in Kamloops, BC. He has been a knifemaker for close to 35 years and during that time he has written countless articles for Knife Magazine and other publications.
He has interviewed numerous legendary knifemakers such as Stephen(SRJ) Johnson, Mike Tyre, Wolfgang Loerchner, and Gaetan Beauchamp.
Mark Landry-Doran
Ernest Skaar
