Short Story

In early 2019, Andrew discovered the balisong community and quickly became obsessed with flipping and collecting. Before long, he began experimenting with modding his own knives, and soon after, those of friends within the community. Modding only deepened Andrew’s passion for knives, leading him to make the difficult decision to drop out of college and pursue the craft full-time.

He was hired by a knife company in Phoenix, Arizona, where he learned how to hand-grind blades and work at a production level. Over time, he became responsible for all finishing and anodizing, developing valuable professional skills. While working there, Andrew started AMKW on the side, using his newly acquired expertise to mod knives. His work gained a strong following, but balancing a full-time job with a rapidly growing side business became unsustainable.

Ultimately, Andrew left the company and moved back home to merge his business with his parents’ struggling woodworking shop. Within a year, he and his father, Tim, released the AEON. Andrew’s first knife design was an immediate success, setting them on a path of growth that led to the purchase of a CNC mill and the transition to producing all parts in-house.

Long Story

Chapter 1

In 2019, Andrew, a CS:GO enthusiast, purchased a CS:GO replica balisong, which proved difficult to use. Seeking a better platform for learning tricks, he switched to a Squid Industries Mako. Eventually, he invested in a BRS Replicant, a highly regarded balisong at the time.

The Replicant quickly became his favorite, inspiring Andrew to purchase supplies for anodizing titanium so he could customize the liners and spacers. His early anodizing experiments used 9-volt batteries, which led to fingerprinting issues caused by low-voltage anodizing and unrefinished components. To improve his results, Andrew purchased a benchtop grinder to properly polish the parts and began experimenting with entropic anodizing—better known in the balisong community as “toxic ano.”

From that point on, Andrew was fully hooked, and the balisong hobby quickly became his primary passion. Over the following year, he spent his time buying and trading knives, building an impressive collection from a wide range of makers. The BRS Replicant remained his favorite platform due to its extensive customization options and strong aftermarket support. Rather than simply swapping parts, Andrew assembled roughly ten unique builds, each featuring different handle and blade combinations.

Around this time, Andrew decided to send several knives to established modders instead of continuing to experiment solely on his own collection. Some of these included Complycreations, Xkknives, and iamnotarealboy. While all of these modders were professional, kind, and produced excellent work, Andrew also had negative experiences with others in the community—some projects did not meet expectations, and in a few cases, knives were never returned. These experiences ultimately pushed Andrew to commit to learning the craft himself rather than relying on others.

Over time, he assembled a solid modding setup and began receiving requests for mod work from friends within the balisong community. Initially, Andrew had no intention of turning his hobby into a service, preferring to keep it purely for enjoyment. However, he soon realized that offering mod work allowed him to refine his skills while handling and flipping knives he otherwise wouldn’t have access to. This marked the beginning of a long journey in modding—one that gradually evolved into a small business by early 2022.

As Andrew’s skills developed, he began to gain a strong following and presence within the balisong community. Around May 2022, everything changed when he was faced with a decision that would shape the rest of his life. A friend and fellow community member who worked at Medford Knife & Tool in Phoenix, Arizona, approached Andrew with a potential job opportunity.

Although the offer wasn’t initially guaranteed, the possibility consumed his thoughts. Andrew had always dreamed of working with knives professionally, but the idea also came with fear—particularly how his parents might react, since he was already halfway through college. That evening, he casually asked his parents how they would feel about him working for a knife company. To his surprise, they were immediately supportive, noting how passionate he was about the craft. Encouraged, Andrew admitted that he had received a legitimate job offer, with the only catch being that the position was in Arizona while he was living in Texas.

His parents took the time to research the company to ensure it was reputable, and Andrew soon had a phone call with a member of the hiring team. During that conversation, he was invited to Arizona to tour the shop and attend an in-person interview. Thanks in large part to the referral from the existing employee, the position was essentially his. One trip later, the job was confirmed. By the end of the month, Andrew had rented a house in Phoenix and was preparing to make the move.

Chapter 2

When Andrew began his new role, he immersed himself in learning the ins and outs of freehand grinding. Within six months of grinding blades nearly every day, he reached a level where most of his work met company standards, earning him opportunities to take on finish grinding. This stage allowed his keen eye for detail to truly stand out.

As project shifts and leadership changes took place, Andrew established himself as a trusted member of the grind room. He was eventually tasked with grinding small slip-joint blades—work that required the use of a jig due to their size. Up until that point, jigs had often been portrayed as a shortcut or a sign of lesser skill, which made Andrew hesitant to try one.

Using a jig, however, completely changed his perspective. It allowed him to achieve levels of precision and consistency he had never been able to reach through freehand grinding alone—and at a much faster pace. After that realization, Andrew began using jigs whenever possible, even though some fellow grinders frowned upon the approach. His preference for jig-based grinding ultimately made him the go-to person for small, difficult, or tedious blades, experience that would prove invaluable in his future endeavors.

While becoming a competent grinder, Andrew also continued modding knives in his free time under the name AMKW on Instagram. He quickly built a solid following and was completing around five knives per week, which not only helped cover his bills but also made his free time incredibly enjoyable.

Over time, the employee responsible for finishing and anodizing at Medford decided to leave, placing the company in a difficult position. Andrew was close friends with him, and before leaving, he pointed out that Andrew already possessed much of the necessary experience through his side business to take over his position. However, due to Medford’s internal hierarchy, finishing was traditionally reserved for more experienced employees with longer tenure. With only a year at the company, Andrew was initially not considered for the role.

Recognizing a major opportunity slipping away, Andrew spoke with several members of upper management, explaining that he was well-prepared to step into the position and would require little to no training before the department lead departed. Despite his efforts, he was still passed over. As a final attempt, Andrew asked Thomas—the employee leaving the department—to personally recommend him to the owner before his departure.

To Andrew’s surprise, this worked—at least partially. He was allowed to take on finishing and anodizing responsibilities, though not as a full transition. He was still expected to grind blades daily while balancing his new finishing duties, which were treated almost like an extracurricular task rather than a primary role. Grateful for the opportunity, Andrew worked hard to manage both responsibilities.

For a time, the arrangement functioned well, but conflicts soon arose. The production manager needed handles anodized, while the grind room manager wanted Andrew focused on blade grinding. Since Andrew was technically still classified as a grinder, he felt obligated to prioritize grinding—even though his passion increasingly leaned toward anodizing. Fortunately, the production manager held greater influence, and Andrew was ultimately given more freedom to focus on completing anodizing work. This did create tension with the grind room manager, leading to ongoing friction for several months until compromises were eventually reached.

Andrew spent the next year at Medford primarily as the anodizing and finishing specialist, with occasional grinding responsibilities mixed in—mostly for difficult or unconventional blades that were best suited to the jig he preferred. By this point, many of the grinders who had been there when Andrew started had moved on, making him one of the more senior members of the grind room. He naturally stepped into a mentorship role, helping train new hires as they came in.

Because Andrew was no longer grinding full time and his workload had minimal impact on overall grind room productivity, he faced little pressure while training others. This allowed him to be patient and supportive, earning him a reputation as a thoughtful and approachable mentor. New hires often sought him out specifically, as he was far more encouraging and focused on teaching than some of the primary grinders who prioritized speed and output. This role brought Andrew a great sense of fulfillment and satisfied his desire to feel valued and appreciated.

Andrew’s side business, AMKW, was booming, and the growing workload began to consume nearly all of his free time. With his day job closely mirroring what he did after hours and on weekends, burnout set in quickly. Combined with a falling out with one of his roommates, Andrew found himself increasingly depressed and questioning the direction of his life.

He took a few months off from AMKW to focus solely on his day job, but the persistent negativity and constant complaining within the company only worsened his mental state. During this period, Andrew seriously considered quitting and seeking employment with another knife company in Phoenix. MachineWise—a balisong-focused brand that had since expanded into folders—was actively hiring. Andrew had visited their shop several times but remained unsure whether making the switch was the right move.

After speaking with his parents, he learned that their business was struggling and preparing for a potential pivot. Sales had declined, and much of the wholesale work that had kept them busy had dried up—signs that other businesses were facing similar challenges. They proposed that Andrew leave Arizona when his lease ended and return home to help transform the woodworking business into a knife-making operation.


For the time being, Andrew pushed through the burnout and kept AMKW running strong. Ultimately, he chose to accept his parents’ offer and began making plans to move back home. Ironically, the prospect of independence—being able to focus fully on his own business and work on his own terms—reinvigorated him. With renewed energy, he hit the ground running, ramping modding back up and beginning to offer aftermarket reblades for popular balisong models.

Chapter 3