Zach B.
Google
A very unexpected shopping experience, in the best way possible.
I happened to be coming through Council and while stopping for lunch I saw Carter Cutlery was open. I had done some basic research on Carter when they moved to Idaho and knew they made very high end handmade knives, but was otherwise fairly ignorant to their allure. Since all I knew of Carter Cutlery was that Murray Carter was world renowned in his craft, I’ll be brutally honest in saying that I had low expectations for my anticipated shopping experience, I.E. mostly a gallery of items that are not for sale, guarded by a bored shop attendant who didn’t really know much;
Luckily my assumptions couldn’t have been farther from the truth, and instead of a bored shop attendant, one of the Muteki Bladesmiths, Taylor Shields, came out from the shop and began showing both his extensive knowledge and the obvious passion for his craft.
I have never carried a fixed blade knife, so I had lots of questions, and honestly I wasn’t expecting to buy anything, but after talking with Taylor i was so fascinated by the knives that it felt wrong not to leave with one (or two).
As Taylor answered my questions, he took me to the back shop area, talked about their forging and shaping process, and went through different blade materials, grinds, shapes and size. My budget took me away from the stunning Master-Crafted Damascus blades (which are well worth their cost and which I hope to someday own) but when a dedicated craftsman is standing at the counter showing you beautiful knives that he has made himself, it is impossible not to be drawn in.
Ultimately I picked up two knives handmade by Taylor, a unique Signature for myself, and a Muteki Mini-Aviator for my wife. With the sale already made, Taylor’s dedication to his craft showed again when he carefully sharpened both of my knives, talking me through their world famous sharpening process as he did so.
I can think of no higher praise than to let the beauty of the knives speak for themselves, adding that any cost barriers are easy to leap when you consider that they are hand made in Idaho by a dedicated craftsman, be that Murray Carter or one of his dedicated Appreciates.
In Summary, thank you Taylor, both for your amazing knives, but also for making my overall in-store buying experience so memorable.
It’s too soon to give a proper review of the knives, but I have very high expectations!