Mark of the Maker

Episode 163: BYOT

Let's give one of our favorite episode types a little twist! This time, we're doing BYOT—Bring Your Own Topic. We'll each share a few pieces that fit a theme or topic we'

Episode 162: Ryan Johnson Pt.2

Ryan Johnson of RMJ Tactical and Gold Point Forge joins us again to continue with the story of the evolution of his brands and his craft.  We talk business, strategy, des

Episode 161: Ryan Johnson Pt.1

Ryan Johnson of RMJ Tactical and Gold Point Forge joins us for a chat.  In Part 1, we talk about Ryan's interest in blacksmithing as a kid and how that developed thanks t

Episode 160: Blade Show 2026 Wrap-Up

Mark, Tom and Michael get together to talk about Blade 2026 and the Arts in Metal show.  Show prep, how the two shows went, and some crazy cool stuff Michael and Tom saw

Episode 159: Summer Picks

This time around, we pulled together an episode with picks we thought were perfect for this glorious time of year - Summer!  There's quite a variety here and we had fun w

Episode 158: STARKO

The whole crew gets back together to chat with Donnie from STARKO Gear.  Donnie shares his unique path into the world of EDC and gear and how the brand came to be.  Like

Episode 157: Influences - Punisher Comic

Sean and Mark dive into another Influences episode, this time about the Punisher Comics and specifically the short Punisher Armory series. These were a big influence on S

Episode 156: Visit to Randall Made Knives

Mark continues his knife road trip adventure with a visit to Randall Made Knives in Orlando, Florida.  This was a special treat as he was able to walk through the Randall

Episode 155: Visit to Arizona Custom Knives

Mark heads out on the road and makes a visit ot our friends and sponsors, Arizona Custom Knives.  In the first segment, he chats with Andrew McMichael, Director of Consig

Episode 154: 2026 Blade TX and NOCKI Recaps

The four of us chat about some recent shows, Blade Texas and the New Orleans Custom Knife Invitational.  Tom shares his experiences in Texas and the great list of stuff h

Episode 153: David Ellis of Exquisite Knives

Mark and Michael have a chat with purveyor, collector and Mastersmith knifemaker David Ellis of Exquisite Knives to talk about his knifemaking journey, collecting and som

Episode 152: Jim Wirth Pt.2

This is Part 2 of Mark's chat with Jim Wirth from Giant Mouse Knives.  We talk knives, watches, and one of Jim's hobbies - metal detecting.  His collection is fantastic a

Episode 151: Jim Wirth Pt.1

Here's another in our growing series of live on-site interviews.  This one's with Jim Wirth, one of the founders of Giant Mouse Knives.  Jim came into the knife world as

Episode 150: Fighters II

We're back with Part II of our deep dive into Fighting Knives!  This time around we all make picks for Dagger, Art or Ceremonial and Anything Goes.  This one, like most p

Episode 149: Sean's Afterschool Fighter Special

Sean had some special fighting knives he wanted to talk about in light of our recent deep dive into Part I of Fighting Knives, so he got together with Mark and Michael to

Episode 148: Fighters I

Join us for a discussion about one of our favorite styles of knife:  The Fighter!  What makes a fighter?  What fighters really get us spun up?  Give this one a listen and

Episode 147: Tyler Holden

Our buddy Tyler Holden sat down with us to talk about his life and his collecting journey.  Tyler brings an interesting perspective that we think you'll find insightful.

Episode 146: Season 9 Kickoff

It's the start of Season 9 for Mark of the Maker so we look back a bit at 2025, talk about some challenges we all faced and then look forward to 2026 and our goals for th

Episode 145: 2025 Holiday Picks

We wind out the last of Season 8 with a Holiday Picks episode, as we often do.  Four categories, three picks each, and lots of laughs as well as some amazing knives to ch

Episode 144: What are you listening to?

If there's one thing that knifemakers consume faster than candy or gas station burritos, it's audio content. Many like music, others prefer to fill their earholes with au