My love for knives started long before Iron Oak Knife Company ever existed.

When I was a child, my great-grandfather—a machinist and knife maker—gave me an old Case pocket knife. That little knife went just about everywhere with me for many years. I didn’t know it at the time, but that simple gift would begin a lifelong love and appreciation for knives.

Knives and knifemaking have always been a part of my family. My grandfather was a knife enthusiast who even owned his own online knife retail store, so from a young age I was surrounded by people who appreciated knives, the craftsmanship behind them, and the stories they carry.

One of the greatest influences on my own knifemaking journey has been my cousin, Landon Chapman. Landon Chapman and his wife, Haley Chapman, along with their two daughters, own and operate Semper Sharp, a family-run company known for beautifully handcrafted knives. They have been an incredible source of inspiration, knowledge, encouragement, and support throughout my journey and continue to stand behind me as I grow as a maker.

From Carrying Knives to Making Them

I spent five years serving on active duty in the United States Army as a Military Police Officer. That’s where my appreciation for a dependable knife really became set in stone.

A knife was part of everyday life. I used one for everything from opening boxes and working through military exercises to processing wild game. It wasn’t something that just looked good on a belt—it was a tool I depended on.

After completing my active-duty contract, I became a lineman, and once again, a knife was something I reached for nearly every day. Through the Army, linework, hunting, and everyday life, I learned just how valuable a good knife can be.

Sometimes it’s an important job. Sometimes it’s just opening a can of Vienna sausages.

Today, I’m a full-time calibration technician for a major manufacturer, a husband, and a father of two beautiful children. And somewhere along the way, the knives I had carried my entire life became knives I wanted to build with my own hands.

The Beginning of Iron Oak

The idea that eventually became Iron Oak Knife Company really took shape during hunting season the year my son was born.

I’ve always loved hunting, and like I had done many seasons before, I was field dressing a whitetail. Once again, I found myself dealing with the same frustration I’d experienced with countless knives over the years: no matter what knife I bought, eventually it went dull.

Well, it doesn’t take rocket math to figure out what happened next.

I’d made a few knives over the years, but that experience pushed me to take my love for knifemaking seriously. I wanted to make the kind of knives I wanted to carry—hard-working tools meant to actually be used.

Eventually, I gave in to something that had seemingly been following me since childhood.

Iron Oak Knife Company was born.

Why “Iron Oak”?

The name Iron Oak represents two things that are deeply important to me.

Iron comes from Proverbs 27:17:

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

It’s a verse that’s well known throughout the knife community, but its meaning goes much deeper for me. The people in our lives shape us, challenge us, teach us, and make us stronger. My own journey wouldn’t exist without the family, craftsmen, friends, and mentors who have sharpened me along the way.

Life wasn’t meant to be walked alone, and my faith is at the center of that belief. Jesus is the path to freedom, and that truth is something I want at the foundation of Iron Oak.

Oak represents home.

North Carolina is part of who I am, and Raleigh has long been known as the City of Oaks. It also gives a small nod to another lifelong passion of mine—Carolina Hurricanes hockey and the Oak City hockey community.

Together, Iron Oak represents faith, family, home, craftsmanship, and the people who have helped shape the man and maker I am today.

A Generational Companion

When I look back, I realize my story with knives began with something incredibly simple: an old Case pocket knife handed from my great-grandfather to me.

Decades later, I’m standing in my own shop making knives with my own hands.

That’s what I want Iron Oak to be about.

I don’t want to simply make another knife for someone to buy. I want to build something that goes places with you. Something that gets scratched, sharpened, carried, hunted with, worked with, and used to make memories.

And maybe one day, many years from now, you’ll place that same knife into the hands of your son, daughter, grandson, or granddaughter—and their story with it will begin.

Thank you for supporting my lifelong love of knives and the journey that has become Iron Oak Knife Company. My hope is that your Iron Oak knife becomes more than a tool. I hope it becomes a generational companion—built to serve you today and be passed down tomorrow.

— Collin
Founder & Maker, Iron Oak Knife Company