Kurt Merriken is a full-time firefighter hailing from Tampa, FL specializing in overbuilt frame lock designs. He began his knifemaking career after discovering custom knives on youtube yet we can safely say that he has a style all his own.
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My passion is in folding knives. I stumbled upon custom knife maker videos on youtube and instantly fell in love with the idea of making my own frame lock folder. In 2015 I bought a few pieces of machinery to make it happen. I have not stopped since. My workshop is always growing and evolving for the better.
Most of my designs start out in CAD. I have resorted to using waterjet to profile many of my designs. I do not consider water jet profiling to take away from the true custom experience. I still spend hundreds of hours on CAD perfecting my designs. Water jet just gives me more time to customize my knives rather than profiling them. I still spend a great deal of time doing one-off creations from scratch as well.
I like to use quality high-end stainless steel and Damascus. I use many handle materials; Titanium, Zirconium, Timascus, Carbon Fiber, Mokume, Wood, and the list go on and on!
I am a full-time Firefighter in Pinellas County Florida. My other hobbies include Diving, Fishing, and Off-Roading when I am not making knives.