About John
You can find several of my knives as well as my metal art on my Blog at: http://JohnsArt.org. I am a full-time Artist, and member (Webmaster) of the Visual Arts Guild of Frisco, the Artist Blacksmiths Association of North America, and the American Bladesmith Society.
My blacksmithing instructors include Uri Hofi, one of the most famous Master Blacksmiths in the world, and Dean Curfman, manufacturer of the BIG BLU power hammer. Under these Mastersmiths I learned the art of free form forging using both hand and power hammers.
I have also studied Bladesmithing under American Bladesmith Society Mastersmiths Joe Flournoy, Mike Williams, James Cook and Steve Dunn. These studies focused on the art of the forged blade and include an in depth study of metallurgy, damascus steel manufacture, hardening, and annealing of specialty steels. Further emphasis was placed on milling and precision assembly of detailed pieces such as handles, guards and sheaths.
My welding instructor, DeWayne Roy, is a 30+ year Master Welder who runs the largest welding program in the US. I studied all major processes under DeWayne for over a year and am proficient at TIG, MIG, Stick and Oxy fuel welding. I am also trained at metal cutting, both manual and automated, with oxy fuel and plasma torches.
Although I now focus my efforts on creating art, I previously served as Vice President of SAVVIS Communications, and Director of N. American Sales and Director of Strategic Alliances for Cable & Wireless. I attended the University of Texas at Dallas, as well as executive programs at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law. And I am the Founder of HTMLHelp.com, the most popular site on the internet which teaches people how to create Web pages.