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Small Business Saturday: A Fisher Knives



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One of the perks of working at RECOIL is helping shine light on small businesses we know about (or discover in the course of our work).  Everyone likes to see the small guy succeed, and if we can help them along then that's a plus in our books.  A. Fisher Knives is based out of the Greater Toronto Area (not the capital of Canada but the capital of Ontario).  The company was started by a tool and die maker who worked in a Defense and Aerospace machine shop.  That man was Angelo Fisher. He was to later move into manufacturing engineering for a naval defense company which would start the push into knife making.  Angelo missed being able to make things — with the pressure from some friends in the military, he decided to work on knives.

angelo

Angelo, his dog, and one of his knives.

The initial design of the first knife took a while between sketches, cutting a blank and general evaluation of the design.  In 2013 Angelo made contact with a long time friend and former coworker at the shop he used to work for. That friend had recently picked up a mill. They struck a deal and did some work.  Once the prototypes were machined, Angelo was hooked. He ended up sinking a bunch of money into the tools to turn steel into knives.

k01

They also produce this little kiridashi called the K01.

While A. Fisher Knives isn't a full time gig for Angelo and his business partner, he does have order books and does bi-annual runs of each of his designs.  So, if you are interested in one of his blades you best get in contact with them soon.  Angelo vows to put the same time, consideration and manufacturing approach he does with his knives as you would expect from the vital aircraft parts he manufactures at his full time employment.  Considerable thought goes into ergonomics, overall strength and end user input.  The various processes that A. Fisher Knives can't do in house (like coatings and heat treatments) are outsourced to industry vendors they've already known for some time.  They set out to create perfectly machined knives with such hand finished touches as the handle scales to create a knife that is capable of taking beating and looking good while doing so.

Now onto some pretty pictures and what Angelo has to say about each one.

f02

This is the F02 It's 9″ long, .24 wide spine, 4″ blade. I use D2 at 60Rc as it's got the edge holding properties I need, and the cross section thickness and profile keeps it very strong. It's design is to allow good use for several holds including upside down edge out, icepick, Fillipino, Saber, etc. The tip is directly in line with the grip to keep forces centered when stabbing, and the forward cant increases the angle of attack when holding UDEO or icepick. This knife has been in combat and has been all over the globe even with such small production runs. It's designed for penetrating clothes, spreading and tearing wounds to increase blood loss, and doing maximum tissue damage in real life scenarios.

onepercent

The 1% is an Exclusive to Canadian SOF members. It's a 3V blade that represents the hardest working guys and you must be voted in to get one. It's design was a collaboration between a retired SOF member and myself. It's 10.5″ long and has a convex bevel for strength and chopping, the pommel is a hammer for nailing charges, it's made to bash and smash things up but can be used for more delicate work with the choil. I was chopping down 5″ trees in minutes. It's essentially the ultimate operator knife, designed by operators for operators. It's been a huge honor and privilege to be part of it and make these guys what they need to the quality I'm capable of. We will be doing a public version of this, without the hammer pommel, less aggressive jimping and some other minor changes.

h01

The H01 is the drop point, concave beveled version of the Tanto. I loved the grip shape and envelope I created with the F02, so used it with a modified drop point. 3d milling allows me to create perfect hollow grinds with a ,020 land. This creates a great hunting or camp knife. the thick .24 spine allows for battoning and heavy camp use but the 4″ hollow creates a very slim cross section that slices very well. Its a perfect size for that ‘one' knife that you want with you at all times.

machining

It's always cool to see a knife in the making.

Rumor has it that A Fisher Knives is also working on a folder and expect to release two new designs this year. If you want to check out their knives you can head over to their website, Facebook or Instagram and see what they have going on.


This has been a Small Business Saturday article. You can find all (well, most) of these articles collected right hereIf you know of a reputable small business run by one or more good people, send us a message with a URL or some contact information. Regardless of what people like Daniel De Leon or David Korten might think about capitalism, the free market a common cornerstone of the richest, most powerful countries in the world — not least of which by any means the United States. Though it is becoming increasingly vilified, there is nothing wrong with a desire to succeed and to accumulate wealth. No great philanthropist in history could have done what they did without the money to do it. At the heart of “the American dream” is the entrepreneur driven small business. Join us in supporting small businesses as they strive to succeed. Make sure you also check our previous EntreprenewYear rundown.

“I'm convinced that there's a new way to define capitalism, and that the definition should include three ingredients – that we love our work, that we are building a traditionally successful business, and that we are having some positive impact on the world, whether it's local or global.” Biz Stone

“One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse to produce, and canonized those who complain.” Thomas Sowell

“Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.” Milton Friedman

It is my fervent belief that the only way out of the troubles that America is suffering is through commerce.” Michael Goerlich

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