It felt like we were standing at the edge of a cliff, ready to jump off at any moment. Then, in an instant, we took the plunge and never looked back.
If you are new here, you might not know that in the summer of 2023, Wachtman Knife and Tool had a huge decision to make:
“Do we expand the shop to make space for more equipment?”
This was a heavy hitting question for us. Never before had we seriously considered such a huge investment in the company. We considered countless different financing avenues including private loans, business partners, SBA loans, etc. We did mountains of research that summer and left no rock unturned.
After a couple weeks of deep contemplation (and lots of meetings), I was starting to feel confident in the decision I was about to make. Plans for the new shop were put together and we began researching different construction companies to help us with electric and concrete. There was still uncertainty, but I felt like expanding the shop was the right thing to do. So to kick off this humongous project, I went on a road trip. Now, going on a road trip isn’t what most people would consider a logical first step, but I had a unique opportunity I just couldn’t let go. So on November 9th, 2023 Maylee and I set off for Savannah Georgia to Keybar headquarters. While I was there, Mike Taylor graciously showed me around his shop and gave me some valuable information on machining. We stayed for about a week and absorbed and shared as much information as we could. When we left Maylee and I agreed that one, Keybar is an awesome company with fantastic people running it, and two, we were ready to take on the shop build.
When we got back home, construction commenced. We worked non-stop to make this dream of ours a reality. Countless long nights and frustrating days culminated into what is now our new space. Thanks to some amazing people in our community, we were able to finish the project in late February. Fast forward to March, we are finally back into handmade knife production while we work towards getting equipment into the shop. There have been a number of unexpected setbacks, but we are working at break-neck pace so we can use our space the way we intended.
I want to express a huge thank you to everyone who has been there to support me and this company. A few months ago I wasn’t sure I could do it. I had been seriously considering other employment options as the success of Wachtman Knife and Tool seemed more and more bleak. But against all odds, I am back to being a fulltime knifemaker and I will continue to make strides towards our goal of becoming one of the newest US based OEM companies in the community. The American Dream can still be achieved, despite what you might see online, and we intend to capture it.
