Kelley Dewey’s interest in crafting knives started in September 2017.
“I just started buying premade blades and put antler handles on them,” Dewey said. “From then on it just started getting to the point where I wanted my own designs and my own blades. It exploded from there.”
Dewey crafts his knives from stock-steel, does his own grinding, heat-treating, handle-placing and finish. A lot of the skill for his craft came self-taught and from YouTube channels.
“I learned a lot from YouTube and I’m a really quick learner,” Dewey said. “I have a lot of self-motivation. When it’s something I really like to do I’ll research. After starting on pre-made blades, I decided that wasn’t good enough and I wanted to do my own. Then it snow-balled.”
As his business continued to grow, Dewey left his job at Hunting to run his own business. From start to finish, Dewey said it takes one day to make a knife, including the leather sheath that comes with the product.
Many of Dewey’s orders are local, but he has some that have come from Canada and Germany. After partnering with Mernickle Holsters, Dewey really saw his business grow.
“The Single-Action Shooting Society (cowboy-action shooting) uses Mernickle Holsters,” Dewey said. “I met the owner, Cliff Powers, at a gun show in 2019. There is a specialty knife a lot of cowboy-action shooters use to check or tighten their screws. Cliff asked me to make the knives and he put them on his website. That day he sold 30. Since then, I’ve been making their screw knives.”
There aren’t many limits to what Dewey can customize onto a knife.
“I’m in the business of supply-and-demand,” Dewey said. “If they want their knife to say ‘Merry Christmas’ on it, I’ll put ‘Merry Christmas’ on there. I’m able to etch whatever they need with my vinyl cutter.”
Dewey has a social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Tik-Tok. He also has a website at boneafydeknives.com, thanks to Phenyx Media. Everything on the website is made-to-order, which adds a personal touch.
“That’s one thing I do like is for people to call me and say, ‘Can you do this?’” Dewey said. “That’s what I’m passionate about. Customizing things for people so they have a one-of-a-kind knife. That’s personal to them. Not that I don’t make replicas that I’ve made in the past. But it’s the custom ones I enjoy making.”
For more information, call Dewey at 806-898-0560. Dewey said if he doesn’t answer just to leave a voice mail and he will get back to you.
