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Ellis Custom
Knifeworks |
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Ellis Custom Knifeworks and High Temperature Tools & Refractory are both a family run business owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Darren and Kathryn Ellis. Our business is located in the Ironwood Studios building near the North side of the historic district of Downtown Knoxville, TN. Both Darren and Kathryn share responsibility in the refractory, supplies, and manufacturing portion of the High Temperature Tools & Refractory business. On the Ellis Custom Knifeworks side of the business, Darren is the bladesmith of the team and enjoys a little pen turning and woodworking when he has the time. Kathryn is the primary pen maker and also enjoys wood working as well as generally keeping Darren in line. About Darren Darren is currently in graduate school full time studying for his Ph.D. in engineering. After completing a Masters degrees in physics and doing graduate work in electrical engineering at the University of Tennessee he has decided to stick around in school for a few more years to earn his Ph.D. Darren's professional background is as varied as his interests; having worked in areas such as Industrial Electronics, Nuclear Physics, Physical Chemistry, and Nanotechnology. In addition to his high tech endeavors at the university, Darren is also focusing on traditional bladesmithing and blacksmithing as a hobby when he is not busy with overseeing the High Temperature Tools & Refractory supply business. This provides a much needed creative outlet, that gets him away from the computer, out of the research lab, and into the shop where he enjoys working with his hands to create something that hopefully someone else will enjoy. Darren has always had an interest in fine cutlery and traditional ironwork and after attending a hammer-in (a working and learning gathering of metalsmiths) several years ago he was quickly hooked on the art of knifemaking. Having already had an in-depth knowledge of heat treating from his study of materials science, it was time for him to delve into the actual craft itself. Under the tutelage of knifemakers Ron Claiborne, Len Landrum, and James Gibson, Darren was lucky to be able to come up to speed fairly quickly. Darren owes a great deal of gratitude to these three gentlemen for the hours they spent teaching him the tools and techniques of grinding and forging; without their help, it would have taken him many more years to learn. About Kathryn Kathryn provides the brains and organization behind both of the businesses (written by Darren!), and is usually the person you correspond with when e-mailing our company. In addition to being the pen turner, Kathryn is a full time student at the University of Tennessee. After completing her Ph.D. in History in 2007, Kathryn was awarded a full scholarship to Law school, and is now focusing her studies on issues of Labor and Employment Law. She also has an interest in fundamental Civil and Constitutional rights. When Kathryn is not pouring over the books for her studies, writing memorandums of law, or packing orders to ship for the business, she enjoys turning wood on the lathe, primarily making custom writing instruments. In addition, she helps Darren in packaging and shipping orders for the High Temperature Tools & Refractory supply portion of the business and is really the main organizational drive behind both of the businesses. |