"I started making knives about ten years ago, while still in the cheffing part of my life, and after more than thirty years in the world of kitchens, was still looking for that 'right blade.' My mentor at the time was Larry Pogreba, a master forger and blade smith. I made a lot of carbon steel and stainless blades, and though carbon made a great cutting tool, it still had the rust problem, and stainless didn't work for me, as it couldn't hold an edge like I wanted. David Boye, of Boye Knives, introduced me to cast dendritic cobalt. Although expensive, dendritic cobalt is non corrosive (stain proof), takes a great edge, and holds that edge longer than any metal that I had found. In an article from Blade Magazine, MSG Kim Breed, 5th Special Forces (Ret.), wrote: 'The aggressive cutting action of the carbide crystals ranks them in the top 1% of all the knives on which I have performed cutting tests.' I had found the metal that I wanted. I’d met and worked with master folder maker Tim Wright while I was still cheffing at our restaurant in Sedona, Arizona. Tim really opened my eyes to detail, and created the idea of becoming a full-time maker. We closed the restaurant, did a crazy summer running a fly-in fishing lodge in Alaska, then came to Oregon and started making knives. After a brief stint with cancer (it looks like I’ve made it), I'm now making knives full time, in my shop on Cedar Creek here in Oregon." -- Jeff Cook