Carolina Moment: Local knife maker turns passion into booming business

FLAT ROCK, N.C. (WLOS) — What started as just a hobby for local knife maker Joe Israel has steadily hammered its way into a booming business.

Flat Rock Forge fired up in popularity during the pandemic. Soon after, it was featured in the international knife publication BLADE magazine.

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“I just started banging on metal, and I decided to take the plunge in 2021 and just do this full-time,” said Israel.

He says it is important to understand how the various parts of a knife work together to make a functioning tool. Israel’s handmade element is what he says distinguishes his blades from a mass-produced blade.

They’re 100% handmade, 100% made by me. With a handmade product, you get that individuality, and you get the hand of the maker – you see the hand of the maker in it and I think that’s important,” he said.

He says this craft is important for him, as he gets to create items that are personal for people.

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“I’ve used some coil springs from an old car I had, and I made my wife a paring knife out of it,” he said.

He says when he makes his blades, they are all hand-ground, ground by eye and then hand-finished.

“There’s no CNC or milling machines – things of that nature,” he said. “That’s something that a lot of makers don’t do – the follow-through quality control, and I’m a real stickler about quality control, so I hardness test each blade with my hardness testing machine.”

Israel’s dagger was featured on the cover of BLADE Magazine when he was approximately one year into full-time knife-making.

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“We have no BS guarantee, and what that means is you’ll get no BS from me, but I don’t want BS from you,” he said. “If you break it, I’ll fix it, but tell me how you broke it. Tell me the dumb thing you did that broke the knife.”

He says anyone who wants a custom-made, one-of-a-kind knife, he is the guy to go to.