Describe your latest project.
I'm putting the finishing touches on a one-of-a-kind folding knife that is somewhat large. (Shown in this photo, the knife is in its rough form, put together with trial pins.) It is 19½" when open. The inspiration for it came from the deer antler that furnished the material for the handle. It is very unusual to find an antler that is straight enough to hold a blade half the size of this one. I had to make the knife in order to memorialize the antler, so to speak.

What inspires you to sit down and write?
I think it's the desire to share the things I've learned with those getting started. There were no books or magazines on knifemaking when I started in 1963, so I had to learn everything the hard way.

Describe your favorite childhood teacher and how that teacher influenced you.
That would be Mr. Dikeman, the high school art teacher who let us color outside the lines.

How did you get started making knives?
My high school shop teacher made knives, and watching him do it gave me the idea that I could do it, too.

Chess or video games?
Spider or FreeCell computer card games.

What do you do for relaxation?
Take naps.

What's your favorite blog right now?
Little Bits: Byte-Sized Information.

What was your favorite book as a kid?
Kidnapped.

What new technology do you think may actually have the potential for making people's lives better?
Nanotechnology is going to change virtually everything as we know it.

If you could be reincarnated for one day to live the life of any scientist, writer or craftsman, who would you choose and why?
I'd come back as myself in order to get one more knife made.

What was your best subject in high school? Your worst?
I excelled in shop and art; math and I didn't get along.

Make a question of your own, then answer it.

Q:Are sharpening steels totally useless for sharpening kitchen knives?
A:They work to a degree on very thin blades where the steel isn't too hard. A sharpening steel is for touch-up between sharpening jobs. It takes a metal removal process with a stone to get a knife truly sharp.

Q:Henckel or Wusthof?
A:Victorinox!