BREAKING

Shop Hoppin'

Pearce Knives

Article By: Milwaukee Mike

Originally Published In The September 2013 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

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Thank God for some of our modern technologies. Without the “book of face” I would have never had the opportunity to run into the young guy who is the owner of Pearce Knives: Logan Pearce. On my way out west last December, I had a chance to stop and visit with him. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit him at his shop near Tulsa, as he was at a friend’s shop in Dequeen, Arkansas. The night before there was a meeting of the knife makers in that area, so all the guys that were Logan’s idols since he had been a kid, came to have dinner and show off the new blades they had been working on since the last meeting. The fortunate part of the change of venue was that we were at Riverside Machine — an old school machine shop that works on piece jobs and one-of-a-kind parts that Article By: Milwaukee Mike only come from manual machine centers. The other reason that the visit was so special was that it had a forge with all the tools and the belt sanders available for Logan to make one of his signature pieces right in front of my eyes. He made one of the wrench knives he is quite known for. Logan has a bit of a following on the Internet and for good reason; his work is amazing and extremely usable and quite durable as well. It is all made with his own two hands, and he uses only American steel and tools to produce these T pieces.

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For those who are unaware of the work Logan does, go to his Pearce Knives Facebook page and see everything he has done in the past as well as what he is up to at the present. The one thing I particularly like is the knives he makes from everyday things like wrenches, horseshoes, bolts, files and rebar cleavers. They are all quite beautiful and have a unique look to them that really speak to me. Another one of the items that Logan also makes is chopsticks; a very different twist on one of the oldest utensils known to man. They are very, very cool. All this work comes from a life in the shop. Logan literally grew up in his grandfather’s shop learning how to work the forge. He was making small knives out of whatever scrap was lying around at a very young age. But this is the way it goes when you are the 3rd generation in a field that is so specialized. It also gave him the basis of the skills he now uses every day to make the work he does look so easy. I think that is the mark of a true craftsman.

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As far as the rest of my visit went, I got to spend the day watching a wrench be turned into a knife that fits in my palm like it should. It is so sharp that it takes the hair right off your arm. In the glass cases at Riverside, you can see examples of what true masters of edged weapons can do when they put their minds to it. According to Logan, there are plenty of folks in the Ozarks that work in this field, and it has the distinction of having the highest concentration of masters in the world. I guess this is one of the places that just excels in the USA, so for those who care, this is one area that we can take back from our foreign competitors. Wouldn’t it be nice to hang a one-of-a-kind American made knife made with pride from American hands on your belt instead of some mass produced Chinese junk? But always remember that quality comes at a price. In this case, it is not so much the amount of money that would have to be doled out as the prices at Pearce are quite reasonable, but it does take time. Logan does not make a knife until it is ordered, so you have to get in line and the wait can take a bit, but it is well worth it. If you like what you see here, check out Logan’s work on Facebook at Pearce Knives and see for yourself the quality of his work. Give him a ring and tell him Cycle Source sent ya!

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