... in various ways. Some are born to it as part of a family tradition. Others are drawn to it out of an appreciation for the craftsmanship of a fine blade.

However, few can claim that an extended stay in a remote corner of Siberia fueled their interest in making knives. In the case of custom knifemaker Mike Snody, that's exactly what happened.

By trade, Mike Snody is a safety and quality control consultant who works primarily on large construction projects associated with the petroleum industry. He travels a lot and often spends extended periods of time in remote areas. Prior to one such trip to Siberia in 1999, he brought along a stack of knife magazines to help pass the time. Although he had always had an interest in knives, after reading his way through that stack of magazines several times, interest turned to obsession.

When he returned to the U.S., he began contacting knifemakers to learn more about the knifemaking process. Among those he contacted was Edmund Davidson of Virginia. Davidson knew unbridled enthusiasm when he saw it and decided to become Snody's mentor. The rest, as they say, is history. Thanks to Davidson, Snody was on the fast track to knifemaking skill and in less than a year was selling his wares at major knifeshows.

Because he still works full time as a consultant, Snody classifies himself as a part-time maker. Despite this classification, he typically devotes about 50 hours a week to making knives and currently offers about 40 standard patterns.

Snody makes mostly fixed-blade designs using the stock removal method. Depending upon the style of knife, it's intended use, and customer preference he will use A2, CPM3V, BG-42, ATS-34 or 420V steels.

Like many other custom knifemakers, he entrusts all of his heat treating to Paul Bos. Per Snody's specification, most of his smaller knives are tempered to an RC60, while his larger blades are drawn to RC58 for better ductility and shock resistance.

The standard Snody designs include a versatile mix of everything from traditional hunting knives, to neck knives, but the vast majority of his work has a distinct Japanese flair to it. Snody has a special appreciation for Japanese utility and personal defense knives and displays it through an uncommon attention to detail in execution of these designs.