My name is Monty Wheeler. I’m a husband, proud father of 4, pappy of 3, and a native Texan. My passion for knife making has grown into more than just a hobby. Now it’s an obsession, but it didn’t start out that way…
Growing up as a kid, in Chappel Hill, Texas, I learned how to shoot, hunt, and fish at an early age. We had some cattle and a few horses, and two donkeys. There was always work to do too. Fence work, fixing the tractor, cutting, bailing, or stacking hay in the barn for the cows were normal activities for us. Using a knife became 2nd nature and I quickly learned the value of a good knife.
At an early age I was fascinated with machinery and tools and making and fixing things. I was always taking things apart (just to put them back together), or welding scrap pieces of steel just to see what cool things I could make. As I got older I started working in my dad’s shop (he’s a metal sculptor). I learned how to use a bandsaw, table saw, belt sander, and how to work with wood and metals. Mostly we used soft metals like aluminum, brass, and copper. I learned how to use a drill press and a buffer, how to braise copper and brass, and much more. Sometimes we would take the scrap pieces of aluminum or brass, melt them in the kiln, and make sand castings for the sculptures, I learned how to do that too.
Knives made by C.K. Chandler (my Grandfather)
My grandfather made knives as a hobby. Most of what he made were kitchen knives for my grandmother. He would use them for carving and whittling too. He would take old bandsaw blades and grind them into various shaped knives and put a handle on them. They were sharp and saw a lot of use, I still have several in my kitchen and use them for carving meat.
He always sharpened his knives on a stone and he got them razor sharp. People would give him their knives to sharpen because he would always get them sharper than they could. I got my first knife when I was 8 years old (a folding Schrade Uncle Henry…great knife) and he taught me how to sharpen it on an Arkansas stone. I’m still trying to get my knives as sharp as he would have done.
I was out deer hunting one day and I found some old leaf spring. It had probably come off a Jeep or one of the other various hunting vehicles that had been out there over the years. I told myself “I could make a knife out of that” so I picked it up and brought it home. It sat in my garage for probably 10 years, but I knew that one day I would make some knives with it.
That day finally came when I bought a propane forge, and a small anvil and blacksmiths hammer. I read books and watched blacksmithing videos to learn what I could. I found some scrap steel and started my forging journey. I made bottle openers, split crosses, leaf keychains and nails, as well as a few tools like punches, drifts, and tongs so I could learn. After about a year of practicing forging odds and ends, I decided to make my first knife, so I picked up the leaf spring and gave it a shot. It wasn’t pretty…
My First Knife (A Skinner)
But I kept trying and after a few attempts, made my first knife. It wasn’t perfect but completing it made me want to make another, because I knew I could do better. So I made another and another and I got better with each one. I soon realized that I was trying to make a perfect knife and it wasn’t going to be easy. I’m still on that journey, to make the best knives that I can and to make them as perfectly as I can.
I built a YouTube Channel to document my knife making journey. There you’ll find videos of some of my various knife making creations and test projects. Click on the image to go to my YouTube Channel.
This is the official 66 Forge YouTube Channel. There you’ll find some short clips and videos of my knives and my knife making process.
My Personal Guarantee
Knives will be shipped only after full payment is received. All knives with an individual sale price of $200 or more come with a 2-Day inspection period. If you are not 100% satisfied during the 2-Day inspection period, return the knife to me. All payments for knives that meet the 2-day return policy criteria will be held for a period of 2 calendar days after the customer receives the knife, to ensure you are fully satisfied with your purchase. If for some reason you are not completely satisfied, return the knife to me, and I will refund the full purchase price, minus shipping/insurance and any credit card fees.
After the 2-Day inspection period my general guarantee applies:
I guarantee each knife against defects in workmanship and materials with the assumption the knife is used properly as a cutting tool and not anything else. This guarantee does not extend to the natural handle materials, as many of these may shrink, check or develop cracks with age. I will repair or replace any knife that experiences an honest failure due to my workmanship. This does not cover misuse or abuse of the knife, or "Buyer's Remorse", or if the knife is modified in any way, or if corrosion/rust occurs on the knife due to “neglect”. For knives with carbon steel blades, “neglect” includes failing to properly care for the knife, such as keeping the knife dry after use, not placing the knife in a dishwasher, and occasionally applying a rust preventative oil/lubricant to the blade. If there is a question of abuse, misuse, or neglect, I will require you to send the knife to me for my inspection. If I determine there was a honest failure due to my workmanship, I will repair or replace the knife. If I determine the knife has been seriously misused, abused, neglected, or modified in any way, all guarantees/warranties are void.