Meet the Team

Galen

What's your favorite knife?
My go-to knife is our Desert Dawn 7" Chef.  I use it for almost everything.  The handle shape feels great in my hand.

How long have I worked here?
I started Town Cutler June 1st, 2011 in Downtown San Francisco.  After working for 10 years in kitchens I felt it was time to change paths.  What brought me into kitchens was knives and fire with that ability to create something.  I saw there wasn't really a great knife store in San Francisco at that time so I pursued a small business micro loan and opened up Town Cutler.  It has now evolved to a full scale knife production business based in Reno, NV.

What activities do you like to do outside of work?
I love cooking at home.  I still love learning new things to cook and try to make as much food by scratch as possible.  Other than that, I love listening to music and getting outside as much as I can.  

What is your favorite material to work with & why?
Since most of my duties are sharpening our knives and quality control, I love working on any one of our machines.  We're lucky enough to have great equipment and it's amazing how important they are, and maintaining them is a joy.

What's your favorite thing about making knives?
It brings a great deal of joy to me to see raw materials be working into our knives.  That's a daily joy to me.  But it's been so amazing to see my incredible staff grow and evolve over the years.  I couldn't be where I am without my crew. There have been so many wonderful people that have worked for me over the years and everyone has had a hand in making this company grow.  My current crew is incredibly professional and they always work together in improving their skills.  This results in a consistent, high quality knife.  I always hope that working here brings joy to my staff and they are proud of what they do.  

Heather

What's your favorite knife?
My go-to knife is our Desert Dawn 7" Chef.  I use it for almost everything.  The handle shape feels great in my hand.

How long have I worked here?
I started Town Cutler June 1st, 2011 in Downtown San Francisco.  After working for 10 years in kitchens I felt it was time to change paths.  What brought me into kitchens was knives and fire with that ability to create something.  I saw there wasn't really a great knife store in San Francisco at that time so I pursued a small business micro loan and opened up Town Cutler.  It has now evolved to a full scale knife production business based in Reno, NV.

What activities do you like to do outside of work?
I love cooking at home.  I still love learning new things to cook and try to make as much food by scratch as possible.  Other than that, I love listening to music and getting outside as much as I can.  

What is your favorite material to work with & why?
Since most of my duties are sharpening our knives and quality control, I love working on any one of our machines.  We're lucky enough to have great equipment and it's amazing how important they are, and maintaining them is a joy.

What's your favorite thing about making knives?
It brings a great deal of joy to me to see raw materials be working into our knives.  That's a daily joy to me.  But it's been so amazing to see my incredible staff grow and evolve over the years.  I couldn't be where I am without my crew. There have been so many wonderful people that have worked for me over the years and everyone has had a hand in making this company grow.  My current crew is incredibly professional and they always work together in improving their skills.  This results in a consistent, high quality knife.  I always hope that working here brings joy to my staff and they are proud of what they do.  

Nikki

What’s your favorite knife? 
Olneya 8.5” Chef Knife.

How long have you worked here? 
Since March 2023.

What activities do you like to do outside of work? 
I like to read, hangout with friends, and cook with my boyfriend. 

What is your favorite material to work with and why? 
Since I don’t work in the shop, my favorite line to photograph is Tahoe Bliss because I like to capture the metallic blue resin. 

What's your favorite thing about making knives? 
My favorite thing is learning about the skill and attention to detail it takes to create one of our knives. Since I am still new, I feel like I learn something everyday. 

Malcolm

What’s your favorite knife? 
Utility- it's so versatile. 

How long have you worked here? 
Since December 2018.

What activities do you like to do outside of work?
Hiking, baking, spending time with friends and family, traveling, and exploring new places.

What is your favorite material to work with and why?
Buckeye- it's amazing to see all of the different colors, patterns, and variation in the wood. No two pieces are the same.

What’s your favorite thing about making knives?
Shaping the handles. Being able to take a block of some material attached to a piece of steel and turn it into a tool that is aesthetically pleasing, useful, and comfortable to hold is probably my favorite things about making knives. 

Keenan

What’s your favorite knife? 
Depends. If we're talking kitchen knives, anything Town Cutler, especially the 8.5” Chef. If we're talking folders then my CRK Umnumzaan. 

How long have you worked here?
I’ve worked for Town Cutler since May 2021.

What activities do you like to do outside of work?
Im usually just hanging out with my girlfriend whenever I have free time. We like to go on hikes, bike rides, go to the gym, eat good food, and drink beer. I also collect knives, read, and like to just chill out and relax. 

What is your favorite material to work with and why?
I’d say my favorite material is Ironwood just because of how good it looks once it's done. Especially when it's on a Damasteel blade. 

What’s your favorite thing about making knives?
My favorite thing about making knives is just seeing the completed knife at the end of the whole process. It feels good to take raw materials and turn them into the beautiful knives we make. There are so many steps that go into each one so it's very satisfying to complete them all and have a heirloom quality tool that will last you forever if taken care of properly. I just feel very privileged to have a hand in almost every step of the knives we make, so is hard for me to single out one thing, because I enjoy every step of the process.

Kristyn

What’s your favorite knife?
Tahoe Bliss.

How long have you worked here? 
Since November 2021.

What activities do you like to do outside of work?
Gardening and drawing.

What is your favorite material to work with and why?
Probably Buckeye, it's a very forgiving material. It also has a sweet smell when sanded.

What’s your favorite thing about making knives?
My favorite thing about making knives is the attention to detail and how satisfying it is to see a block of material turn into a beautiful knife. 

Z

What’s your favorite knife? 
My favorite line is Desert Dawn. 

How long have you worked here? 
Since September 2021.

What activities do you like to do outside of work?
I split my time between being a Founder of a women’s empowerment group and being on the planning committee for a local event planning group called “BnE”.

What is your favorite material to work with and why?
I prefer working with resin because I find it a bit more challenging to produce a good looking knife, and I always enjoy challenging myself.

What’s your favorite thing about making knives?
Perfecting the craft of knife-making is fun. But my favorite part is representing women in a male-dominated field. I enjoy being a part of the 6.5% of women who are sidestepping the preconceived notions of male-dominated fields and stepping into roles that break down gender stereotypes. 

Alex

What’s your favorite knife? 
Baja 7”.

How long have you worked here? 
Since February 2021.

What activities do you like to do outside of work?
3D printing, motorcycles, video games.

What is your favorite material to work with and why? 
Micarta is king! Very forgiving material and strong.

What’s your favorite thing about making knives?
My favorite thing about making knives is oiling them and seeing the knife shine when it's finished like buffing a new car.