About Us

Meet the Knifemaker

I’m Joe, and I started Flat Rock Forge in 2016.

Flat Rock Forge is a veteran-owned business, specializing in high-quality, handmade knives for hard, outdoor use.

My blades are individually shaped and hand ground then heat treated by me in my custom made electric furnace, and tested for hardness with my Rockwell hardness tester.

These processes insure that each knife is correctly hardened, and tempered for maximum performance

Each knife is handmade 100% by me at my Flat Rock, NC based workshop. I source my materials from the USA.

In addition to the blades in my current collection, I also take orders for custom knives on an as-come basis. If you are looking for someone to make your dream knife, drop me a line.

Why Choose our Knives

A lifetime of using knives, during my military career ,and as a wilderness survival instructor, has helped me to develop a sense for what a knife should, and shouldn’t be. I make my knives made from the finest materials sourced from here in the USA, by hand one at a time, using both time-honored and modern methods to extract every ounce of performance, and give you the best knife that money can buy.

I am constantly learning how to improve both my knives performance and their form. I constantly explore new materials and processes to make sure my knives are the best they can be.

I built my heat treat furnace and its digital control system to enable me to control temperatures of 2000f to within a degree. I procured a Rockwell hardness testing machine to test EVERY blade for hardness. This attention to quality insures that you are getting the best knife that I can make.