Everybody has a story to tell, and we're no different - so if you've got a moment, we'd like to tell you how we came to be in the pocket knife business.

John Burgiss, the founder of Epocketknives, grew up on a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. As a boy he idolized his grandfather, Wayne Waddell, who always seemed to have a knife at hand for any task that required cutting, whittling, or scraping. He was known to walk over to the apple tree in his back yard, if only for an excuse to pull out his "Wayne Knife" and begin slicing (and eating!).

Thus, John's love of knives was born... and soon he started carrying his own pocket knife, just like his granddad. It wasn't long before he started buying other knives, and now, twenty years later, John is still at it - he's a bonafide collector and has accumulated a wealth of knowledge in knife construction and care - and thought it would be neat if he could help share his love of knives with others.