Well let us see if this idea goes anywhere. A few people suggested that not everyone wants so much of my private opinions in the newsletter, and they just want quick updates so here is a blog to see if you all want to know my ramblings. I am not even sure what "blog" means. NO, I do not you need you to explain it to me either.
2021 it was an interesting year. Now we are going to try out a blog. First, I will let those of you know that do not know some of the history of how we got here in 2021, and what we are going to do moving forward, and why our blades are different.
So early in 2021 it was questionable where we would be able to even sell blades. I do not have a store front. Was T. Kell going to get big enough to sustain my family? Were sales in 2020 only from people being scared about what is going on in the world with pandemics news of wars etc.? So, I really was thinking about the direction I wanted the company to go. I have always taken the approach that you have told me what you wanted. Whether that's blade shapes, balance points, grip materials, sheath style. It became clear late 2020 that the market for knives was missing what I was making. A no BS, well balanced, durable EDC knife that you could depend on, and could afford on a working man's wage. That is what I love to make. I have always made stuff to make my jobs in life easier. There was a time in my life that I was too concerned with what the norm was, what people would think was cool, what gained likes and followers, and those sorts of things. All of that just got tiring to me, so many years ago I made a hard move to be the guy that I liked the most, the guy that my wife liked the most. That was different than what other people did, so that part of my personality became design aspects that came out in the blades. I am not super concerned with what the guy up the road is doing, or with what the national brand is doing, or how they do anything that they are doing. What I wanted was things that were not there so through a lot of trial and error and a lot of challenging work the blades took on this life of their own. Suddenly we started to become known for no BS super functional blades. That was a surprise to me at first. We got so popular so fast. I'm not what you would call a 'knife nerd' so I’d never heard of these makers and I would grab other people's blades that customers would compare my stuff too and it was like "oh wow I think they missed the mark on balance, this isn't even comfortable, why doesn't anybody make a sheath that works for EDC, why don't people take care of the heat treat when they're sharpening?". So, from all of that came a sharpener that we invented and make on our own. Sheaths unlike anything else in the industry. We use a heat treatment process that nobody else has done and the results of all these things make for a blade that is vastly different and vastly superior. You know it is interesting to me that nobody has used Nickel Boron as a blade coating it has been around since the 70's on bolt carrier groups. It is one of the hardest friction reducing plating’s on earth, it dissipates heat, it stops corrosion, it improves lubricity. It adheres to the substrate it is not on top of it becomes part of the metal, it looks cool, and it lasts forever. So, the first time I tried it regardless of price I said "man why does nobody do this" so I had to do it. We have taken a lot of routes that are harder, and I have had to reverse engineer and back my way into how to make these things possible to produce the number of knives you all were buying. Through that we have a complete the line of innovative knives and continue to expand that line of knives that is really changing our piece of the industry.
That is what we are going continue to do in 2022. That is my commitment to you all to continue to innovate and do what T. Kell does despite what everybody else does. Because you all have spoken and are the reason that we have grown so fast. You're reason that we have the collaboration with Steve Tarani. We want to be the go-to, premier, everyday carry blade that you can depend on for the rest of your life. Balance points, handle shape, sheath that works. You know "the basics" just like I got back to the basics in my life I wanted to get back to the basics of what a tool is, something that makes what you are trying to do easier. Instead of a repackaged version of what everybody else was doing. There are plenty of screwdrivers in the world, but it is somebody that goes "how do we take this screw and put it in that hole easier than what's been done before". Throw out whatever has been done wrong before and keep only what worked, find a new better way to do it. Some of the people around me say I am like Steve Jobs when I say "it has to move and feel like this, this is what we're going to do, let's figure it out" then we back our way into it after we get the result that we want. We invent ways to make it affordable and the result its lightyears beyond what else is out there.
One of the biggest things we are doing at the beginning of this year is adding to our heat treatment process. The blades are beyond what I ever thought would be possible from 1095 steel. The edge retention, and the durability is exceedingly difficult to explain how much different of an animal the steel is after this new process. It is another one of those things that we have had to figure out how to work the cost into the blade and still make the blades attainable. You will instantly notice a noticeably significant difference in how long it holds its edge, how easy it is to re-edge, and how shockingly durable the blades are. One of the reasons we use 1095 is for its ability to take a razor's edge. This new addition to the heat treatment creates a scalpel like edge that continues to cut far beyond what 1095 has been able to do in the past.
Every single new blade it comes from T. Kell in 2022 and beyond will be of the highest quality of any blade in the entire world. That is our commitment, which is our mantra, and what we feel like you as the customer deserves in a blade you spend your hard-earned money on.
