2025 is here and after a brief Christmas respite, we’re right back at it with the same tenacious attitude that got us this far. This past year opened huge new doors for our company, from hosting our first booth at Blade Show Atlanta, the hiring of a handful of now staple manufacturing employees, to refining our processes on a wealth of new products and attacking the Research and Development side of new offerings. Along with the many great things, we also experienced an enormous challenge with our community when Hurricane Helene struck, impacting employees, friends, and family alike. Regardless, together we push forward, and without the support of this amazing community, none of it would have been possible.
In 2025 we hope to do the same, but with added inspiration to help bring light to each and every Maker out there doing amazing things with our materials. We want to be the backbone with which new Maker’s launch their ideas, find growth and success. We also desire to be innovators in the space we have carved out for ourselves. So let’s go out and get it, taking the same empowered energy into every challenge in the upcoming year.
One such challenge presented itself upon our return from the holiday time off as we returned to the HQ to find a very important shipment of steels headed our way from Austria delayed in shipping and stuck at port. Initially impacting our planned production to start off the week, fortunately with Shop Lead, Jay Baker at the helm, we moved around production and kept the guys hands full on the first and second days of the week. We all experience the lulls of overseas materials from time to time, but this was a stark reminder of the long line of contributors involved in major aspects of our output. Staying fresh, ready to solve an issue or pivot is a key to keeping things moving on schedule.
Amid a calmer week for our manufacturing staff, we finally got Head Engineer Cole to take a day off for himself. With the year winding down, our resident machine expert had not taken a single vacation day, and although we admire his work ethic, a day off was perhaps owed to no one more than this powerhouse on our team. So however you chose to spend it, here’s to you, Cole!
With the weekend’s drop of steel completed and ready to be ravaged, the Boss gave us all a day off to celebrate the New Year with family and enjoy the last of a well-deserved holiday rest. After all, we have A LOT of plans headed into 2025, and we expect to tackle it HARD in the coming months.
Inside the Media
Some of you may have seen Waylon’s 2024 montage video go out on Tuesday. A perfect concoction of some of the memorable moments of last year, this video inspired our little staff, remembering the highlights of a BIG year for Baker Forge. There’s something about hindsight that just makes you thankful & excited for what is being built, the stoke has never been higher!
We’ve been hitting the gas petal a bit more over on X (formerly Twitter) where the Knife Making community has grown in profound ways. Free of the typical throttling of Knife-Related Content, Maker’s in our Knife Making Community are interacting on new and exciting levels. The conversation is always rolling, and the all-around support is off the charts.
As social media grows to feed us content outside of our general preferences, we’ve found the Knife Making Community tab on X to be a helpful way to remove ALL but specifically posts about or from this Maker community, and the relief and access is unmatched. As we close out the year we would like to recommend a handful of fantastic accounts doing great things to build a backup social platform like X into an option for those who are “done” with Meta platforms. We recommend you join our OFFICIAL Knife Making Community here. And follow the below accounts for engaging content surrounding our category.
Red Beard Ops, the original founder of the Knife Making community on X & a renown Knife Maker on YouTube, Red Beard posts a wealth of engaging videos and photos, discussing challenges and providing tons of helpful info from cooking with steel pans to forging.
Mike Gannotti, a well-known professional, Mike is a hobbyist Blacksmith and Blade Maker with a keen eye toward growth on X. His content is a blast to watch and ranges from his garage projects to deeper concepts across culture. An engaging character with a great social media presence, we highly recommend you “follow” the legend, Gannotti.
Nagel Haus Forge, a previous Forged In Fire Champ, is among the most active and truly interesting Knife-Related accounts on the platform. With a wealth of entertaining projects always rolling and a handful of exciting X-only giveaways, NagelHaus possesses THE account to follow on X for our community. Go check out what he’s working on!
Athol Ironworks, a full-time blacksmith, spends a great deal of his time dedicated toward the next generation of Blacksmiths & Knife-Makers. With an account that pleasantly mixes comedic reaction to the latest cultural updates with the type of hard, hot work we all appreciate and enjoy, Athol is a fantastic example of the fun that is possible within our little community on the platform.
BabyMoonBlades, a pillar of the Knife Making community on X and perhaps the first account we ever followed. With a wealth of exciting shop updates and general knife-related commentary, this is a FANTASTIC follow for our niche.
Delta Sheath, a Sheath & Knife Maker who truly cares about the future of the platform and the trade of Knife Making deserves a follow. From commentary on the latest in Knife Making to content from his own projects, a SOLID account!
Wachtman Knife & Tool, performance grade EDC Tool Maker, does an INSANE job of bringing fun and engaging EDC/Knife-Related Content to the platform.
Nothing But Knives, an aptly named page dedicated to knife news, reviews and more. They cover topics from EDC and survival knives to kitchen cutlery, steadily growing to be a pillar of our growing Knife community.
With more and more of you joining each week, we hope to see this platform grow, if not AT LEAST as a backup to the gradually impending disdain toward Meta platforms as a result of their throttling of our work. Always good to have a backup, folks! In the spirit of that message, here’s a deeper bag of great accounts to follow if you join us on X…
Sneak Peek 👀
After a well-deserved week off, our hardworking shop crew was eager to craft something special to kick off 2025. Welcome back from the holidays with the first drop of the year! We’re excited to unveil the FireStorm Damascus Core in the CLASSIC Ripple pattern, featuring 25 layers of 15n20 and 1084 Damascus steel. This blend of tradition and innovation is set to make waves.
App users, get a sneak peek and first dibs on this beauty - available Friday only on the Baker App!
"Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going."
- Sam Levenson
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