Made in Tarrant: Jeff Davidson, Fort Worth blacksmith, has been making knives since childhood

Editor’s note: Made in Tarrant is an occasional Q&A series on small businesses started in Tarrant County. Submit your business here.

Jeff Davidson can make something out of just about any piece of metal. He estimates he started making knives for money in 2002. “But, really, it’s been a lifelong interest,” he says. Davidson, 38, sat down for an interview with reporter Scott Nishimura at his Fort Worth shop.

Visit jeffdavidsoncustomknives.com for information on how to buy Jeff’s wares. Davidson plans to exhibit at the Cowtown Custom Knife Show,10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 27-28, Stampede and Stockman’s Club Rooms, 140 E. Exchange Ave., Fort Worth. Admission is $10 for one day, and $18 for two days. Find tickets and information here.

Jeff Davidson shapes a blade Aug. 28, 2025, in his Fort Worth shop. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)

Scott Nishimura: Tell us how you started in the business.

Jeff Davidson: There’s a lot to unpack there. Growing up seeing action movies, I was always blown away by the blacksmiths. (On family vacations), we’d go into the souvenir shops, and I realized there’s a stand-alone knife shop in most of these places. I did some little pieces of metal. At 18, I bought my grandfather’s tools. I moved to Wyoming to do an apprenticeship in bladesmithing. I quickly figured out I knew more about making a knife than I did about how to run a business.

Nishimura: You took a job as a machinist, but were making knives on the side. Then you ran into COVID, which somehow boosted sales of your knives. How did that change things for you?

Davidson: I was selling more knives than I could make. I wasn’t really ready to take the plunge full time with all this. Our sales started to climb. We got a website. Then we got a couple of deals with some really large knife dealers. I thought, “We’ve got to try this.” I couldn’t keep any inventory.

Jeff Davidson poses in his Fort Worth shop Aug. 28, 2025. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)

Nishimura: You’ve been making knives full time for five years. How many have you made?

Davidson: 1,500 career, 300 a year now.

Nishimura: Who’s the customer and how do you sell?

Davidson: 75% of what I do is me making things that I think the market would like. We’ve kind of backed off the commissioned pieces to a degree. (I sell) 75% through shows and dealers.

Jeff Davidson shows off a personal project Aug. 28, 2025, in his Fort Worth shop. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)

Nishimura: Tell us about the process of crafting a knife.

Davidson: Every knife has to start with what it’s going to be used for. If you’re trying to make a chef’s knife, go talk to the chefs. Hunting knife, go talk to the hunters.

Nishimura: What kinds of materials do you use?

Davidson: I use what’s called 80CrV2 high-carbon steel. It’s very difficult to break. We’ve got pieces that went to (police or military) in Iraq or Afghanistan. The handle is literally anything you can dream of. Wood, resin, bone.

Jeff Davidson shows off a knife Aug. 28, 2025, in his Fort Worth shop. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)

Nishimura: What do your knives sell for?

Davidson: $165 to $3,000 or $4,000.

Nishimura: How many shows do you do a year?

Davidson: We were doing six to eight a year. Our main one is Blade Show Texas, usually in March. They have a high marketing budget.

Jeff Davidson refines a blade Aug. 28, 2025, in his Fort Worth shop. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)

Nishimura: You do a certain amount of projects for nonprofits. Tell us about those.

Davidson: We do things that benefit veterans. My wife and I both come from military families. That’s the main connection there. 9-11 sparked a sense of patriotism in me that I didn’t necessarily have before.