Knife Designer Jonathan Shaw: Made by Hand

One of the biggest advantages of the knife-making community is that the entry barriers are relatively low. We often see newcomers who, despite having spent years—sometimes decades—without working with knives, decide to pursue their passion outside of their free time and design their first knife.

This can happen in adulthood, but of course, it can also begin in childhood and adolescence. This is exactly what happened to 19-year-old Canadian Johnathan Shaw, who developed a strong interest in knives and tools at a young age.

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Designer Johnathan Shaw sketched his first knives at the age of 14 on his family's sailboat. Photo: @triple.stripe.knives / Instagram

First sketches during a sailing trip with his family

According to Shaw, he grew up with his family on a sailboat, with which they traveled the South Pacific, visiting 14 countries and covering over 36.000 nautical miles. "That was my whole world until we returned to Canada in November 2019 so my sister and I could get a high school education and experience life in the 'real world,'" he reports.

Already in mid-2019, he began drawing knives during a crossing from the Marshall Islands to the Aleutians in Alaska: "28 days at sea gave me a lot of time to sit with a sketchbook." And so, at just 14 years old, his career as a knifemaker began.

At the beginning of January 2020, practically with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, his drawings became a reality for the first time. Within a few weeks, he made his first prototypes and continuously shared his progress on Instagram.

Especially in the beginning, he benefited from the collaboration with Salt Spring Island-based knifemaker Seth Burton, who also offers his own designs under the name Cosmo Knives. "I was on Salt Spring this morning and visited the great Seth from @cosmoknives. He heat-treated my #tskdakken in #nitrov in exchange for me helping him in the shop. He has a great shop. I got to use a flat grinder for the first time and made some cool wood beads from wood grain he stabilized himself. He also has a Rockwell hardness tester, which is really cool," Shaw wrote about his first encounter with Burton in May 2020.

First successes and setbacks

With his brand Triple Stripe Knives, he quickly made a name for himself through his social media presence and, in the following months, sold his refined custom knives in small batches to initial interested parties. His four Lizard models, offered in November 2021, reportedly sold out in just 25 seconds.

Shaw showcases his progress on his Instagram channel. Here’s his first folding knife from 2020. Photo: @triple.stripe.knives / Instagram

But Shaw also suffered setbacks, for example, when his machines let him down. In May 2022, he wrote in an Instagram post: "My grinder broke yesterday, this time for longer than usual, so I won't be in the shop for about a week until I get the part to fix it. This means for you that all the knives I'm working on will be heavily delayed and I won't be able to post as much material as usual." However, less than a week later, he was already back at work.

Custom design turns into a crowdfunding campaign

Due to his progress and growing recognition, including his own booth at the US knife show BLADE Show, it was only a matter of time before a reputable manufacturer reached out to Johnathan to produce one of his knives in mass production. In his case, it was Artisan Cutlery, as the factory in Yangjiang, China, seemed very interested in his Boa model.

Shaw's Kickstarter campaign for his first production knife reached its goal in just three minutes.

To gauge the actual demand for Shaw's first production knife, Artisan Cutlery created a Kickstarter campaign for the Boa to finance its production. Pre-orders were available for four variants, and if the numbers were satisfactory, the knife would finally go into production.

And it worked right away: 426 supporters contributed a total of over 135.000 US dollars, ensuring that the original campaign goal was reached in just three minutes. In July of this year, the Prime, another Shaw design, was released. However, further crowdfunding was foregone; the knife went into series production without detours or waiting times, partly due to the success of the Boa.

Kansept quickly showed interest too

Meanwhile, the Yangjiang-based manufacturer Kansept Knives also took notice of the young talent from Canada and launched a custom design called the Link onto the global market this summer. And it seems they hit the mark right away, as just a few weeks later, in early November, another Shaw knife called the Osprey was announced.

The Osprey is the second collaboration between Johnathan Shaw and Kansept Knives. Photo: Kansept Knives

"The Osprey was designed to offer the best performance in the smallest format," Kansept describes the knife. And indeed, the 14-centimeter pocket knife is a true powerhouse. It comes with a blade made of high-quality CPM-S35VN or Damascus steel in a Wharncliffe shape.

The benefits are clear: The entire length of the blade can be used as a cutting edge, and even when the steel gets a bit dull, you can still work with the tip for a while. This makes opening boxes a breeze.

However, sharpening such Wharncliffe blades can be a bit trickier due to their curved shape. Beginners might want to have their knife sharpened at a local knife shop to avoid mistakes. But thanks to the edge-holding steel, you won't have to worry about sharpening for quite some time.

The Osprey can be opened one-handed via the thumb hole or front flipper and is then locked in place by a robust framelock. Thanks to the ceramic ball bearings, the knife operates smoothly and can be opened and closed effortlessly.

Four variants for under 200 euros

The handle is made of titanium, which is additionally anodized in the premium version, and it feels comfortable in hand thanks to its ergonomic shape, without causing pressure points on the palm. Kansept plays it safe with the color options, sticking to classic silver, black, or blue.

A pocket clip in tip-up position is included, but it cannot be repositioned, so it can only be mounted on the right side, which is not ideal for left-handed users, but considering the overall package, it's certainly manageable. At well under 200 euros, the Kansept Osprey offers a well-crafted everyday knife with modern materials and a truly great backstory.

A break, not a farewell

Jonathan Shaw now refers to himself as a "retired knifemaker," as he has begun basic training as a pioneer officer in the Canadian Armed Forces. This forced him to close his shop and temporarily pause his passion, according to him, for "at least four years."

In another Instagram post, he writes: "I want to thank everyone who supported me on this journey and allowed me to do something I love. From the constant support (and initially, loans) from my parents, to the workshop teachers who enabled me to make knives at school, to Seth who let me into his shop and taught me, and finally all the people who encouraged and supported me on Instagram, even when I was a 14-year-old kid who had no idea what he was doing. You all changed my life for the better, and I am extraordinarily grateful for it."

But he assures that it's just a break. "So it's not a goodbye. It's simply a 'see you next time.'"