Taylor Made Custom Designs LLC

DBA Taylor Made Knives

Meet the Maker

Hi my name is Chris Taylor I live in Northwest Arkansas 

I’m  an Arkansas native. Born and raised in Northwest Arkansas. We call it the Tri-State area. I’m 20 miles from Oklahoma and 30 miles from Missouri

I’ve been making knives since 2011. I made my first knife in the fall of 2011. I still have it. It’s horrendous.  But...at the time it was the best knife I could make. I’m proud of it in a special kind of way.

I started makes knives because I always had an interest in them since a young boy. Growing up as a country kid it was part of my life to own knives and use them. Never had anything nice as a kid, but I didn’t know the difference. 

I thought learning to make them would be a good way to pick up a new hobby and it was something I had always wanted to try. Little did I know where it would lead me. 

My first few knives were built by forging to shape, draw filing and hand sanding. Minimal tools. 

Heat treating was done in the brake drum forge I built. Tempering was done in a toaster oven. I didn’t own a bandsaw or drill press. I was so motivated to make each one better than the last! I knew the tools I needed would come in time

My style is functional class. I like building functional and useable knives with a classy look to them. I like combing materials to create a knife that has a different look and feel. Textures, colors and tones all work together to give me what I want. My favorite style to make at the moment is slipjoint pocket knives. I’ve always been drawn to useable knives that people look forward to carrying and using.

I try to take influence from a lot of different things, people and styles. I’ve always been influenced by knives that flow and have a curvy , sexy attitude about them. The straight back , saw tooth, utilitarian styles never really did anything for me  I remember being drawn to the big Bowie style knives when I first started making because they have a curvy sexy sweeping look to them.

I’ve been inspired by many different makers and I’m continually inspired by many. My friend and mentor Tom Krein really helped me out with all my questions when I was first starting. He has always been willing to educate me, share experiences, motivate and critique my work over the years. I’m glad to call him a friend!

I've been a full time maker since 2020, with my wife joining me full time in 2023 resigning from her decade-long teaching career. 

We have collaborations with Urban EDC and Case Knives and are working on more collaborations with other companies soon. Check out our Available Knives page for the most recent updates.

We love what we do and appreciate all of our customers, friends, and family!