We caught up with the brilliant and insightful David Haupt a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi David, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
. Honestly, it was curiosity. I was watching all these guys make incredible knives on YouTube and wondered if I could do it myself. Turns out, with some time and knowledge, I could.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I imagine a lot newer knife makers got their start in a similar way to me: YouTube! I was stationed in southern Turkey and was scrolling through videos on a day off when a knife making video came across my feed. I thought, “sure, I’ll bite.” And the next thing I knew it was hours later and a couple dozen more videos into it. I was furiously taking notes on what tools to get, what kind of grinders to start off with, how to make your own forge, etc. I was hooked! When I got back to the states in 2017 I started out with a few tools, a cheap grinder, and made a forge out of a paint can and some plaster of paris and started making some crude blades. Things kind of took off from there. The more knives I made, the better I got and the more I wanted to make
Though I started out by making copies of other knives, it didn’t take long for me to develop my own style. Clean lines, gentle curves, and a practical design became my goal when designing a new Knife model. For a while I mostly stuck to outdoor knives: Hunting, camping, bushcraft, etc. But this year I’ve expanded into culinary knives as a focus and really want to see where that leads. It’s almost like a whole new outlook on knife making. Different styles and blade geometries of the culinary knife world are totally fresh to me and I’m having a ton of fun learning about it.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
So far, social media has been my go-to for clientele. Namely Instagram. But as I’ve expanded into the culinary world, I’d really love to expand my marketing into in-person markets. I think having a face-to-face interaction with customers makes a big difference.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think your reputation, regardless of what it is, is the lasting quality of your product. When it comes to custom work, it’s especially important to ensure an heirloom quality in both construction and aesthetics. When someone orders a knife from me, they’re going to get something beautiful and clean looking. But they’re also going to get something they can pass down over the years.
Contact Info:
- Website: Meekknives.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/meekcustomknives
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeekKnives?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Twitter: @meekknives
Image Credits
All photos of me are credited to my wife, Maria Haupt.