After leaving a job in the Ohio oil fields, 26-year-old Andrew Wasnac blazed his own path as a bladesmith
Inside the detached garage off his house in Akron, Ohio, you can smell the burning coal. Open the door and you’ll see Andrew Wasnac forging a hot piece of iron on an anvil resting on an old tree trunk. There’s an American flag proudly displayed on the wall and a pile of homemade tongs in the corner. This is Colony Knives — where Andrew taught himself how to twist and stretch steel.
If you were going to start a new project, like restoring a car, you’d go to the store to pick up some tools and parts. Bladesmiths can’t do that — Their tools are obsolete. This means every vice, clamp, even the forge in a bladesmith’s shop is built by their hands before they can even start making an actual knife.



“When it’s time to test the knives, I do a series of bend, flex, hardness, and retention testing. Each piece I make is tested according to what task it’s designed for. For example. A kitchen knife will be tested for proper geometry and sharpness by slicing food, like tomatoes. If the knife can slice through a tomato sideways without having to hold it down, then it passes.”
A bladesmith has to be resilient because there will be days when you’ve been dodging sparks for weeks on a single pair of tongs or get stung by a hot iron.
“You gotta think 20 steps ahead when manipulating iron. I’ve had moments where steel has shattered like thin ice across my calloused hands. It infuriates you. 100 hours of work in pieces on the floor. You throw your tools in the yard and kick the grass, but you know you’re just gonna pick them up and try again. If you’re proud of what you do, then the fear of failure doesn’t distract you from creating something that will be a family heirloom for generations to come. That’s what keeps me motivated in moments like that.”
There a lot to be said about someone who is so young who, in a time of instant gratification, appreciates the low and slow approach. The art of working with your hands is making a comeback with this generation of makers, and Andrew is here to participate.
“Life on Two Lanes means to me that, in my craft, one lifetime would never be enough to learn and master all the different techniques of blacksmithing and bladesmithing. Having to start from scratch with my craft by building my own tools, has shown me the importance of self-reliance as well as quality in all that I do. American goods can be difficult to come by these days. I started Colony Knives to be part of the something our founding fathers would have been proud of. I’m in for the long run and proud to do what I do.”
See more of Andrew’s creations, FOLLOW him on Instagram
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Great looking knives ! Prices and ordering information.
Thank you rick
Am interested in knives & leather.
Beautiful Knives! You should go on “Forged in Fire”… You’d probably win hands down! That knife is the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen!
Glad to see a young man who is following his dream. The knifes are amazing.
I sent you a picture of a motorcycle jacket with many rally pins on it along with a picture of my neighbor who left it to me asking if you were interested in it and other very old stuff. Got no reply after 2 try’s. Should I assume you are not interested? Not able to attach a picture to this.
Did you email it? We have a high volume of emails and calls to review between both stores and do our best to respond as soon as possible.
Beautiful knives. Our 8 year old granddaughter loves to watch Forged in fire. We have to record them. She loves to watch. Our grandson love knives too.
Hi, very impressive knife work, how can I buy one. As I live in South Australia, I wonder how much it would cost me? And would it get through customs!. Garry.
So would I, I’m in Queensland Australia.
So posting to South Australia, and posting to Queensland.
https://www.colonyknifeco.com/
Send me a price list
Great knives. Please send me a price list as well as pictures of available knives. Thanks.
Dave gunderson
Detour ahead I would like to buy please
That’s great idea!
Detour ahead would like to buy that poster