About Me | mcalevycustomknives

A little about me

I was born and raised in northwestern Pennsylvania. I grew up in a rural setting and have always had a passion for the outdoors. After completing my college degree, I purchased ~40 acres in rural Leboeuf Township, PA. I spent the last 20+ years working on my dream homestead which includes a detached garage/shop where I make my knives. I share this homestead with my wife Ramona who does all the leather work. Besides making knives I enjoy spending time with my grandchildren Evelyn and Beckett. I also enjoy gardening, hiking and hunting with good friends and my dog Layla. A couple of my favorite places are the Allegheny National Forest (local to me) and Acadia National Park in Maine (not so local).

Regarding knives, I have carried and used knives since I was a young boy. My favorite styles are drop point hunter, bird and trout, and choppers probably because these are the styles I use most. Initially I started collecting production knives from Buck, Bear, and the like. Then I moved to smaller scale/more traditional makers like Queen Cutlery and Great Eastern, both of which were local to me. Finally, I found customs, and the rest is history. After commissioning many customs and realizing the design and material selection was a lot of fun I decided to design and make a few myself and got hooked.