There’s a moment during a factory tour at New West KnifeWorks when a pallet of American steel stops being just a pallet of steel. It becomes the beginning of a knife.

A few rooms later, guests might watch a handle taking shape, see a craftsman working on a blade or feel the heat coming from the forge. By the time they make their way back to the Victor, Idaho, retail store, retail pro Mike Glaser says something has changed: They understand what goes into the making of a world class, American made knife.

For Glaser, that’s exactly why these tours matter.

“When people come in for tours, they seek to see the human experience,” he says.

Glaser works at New West KnifeWorks’ Victor retail location, which shares a home with the company’s factory and warehouse. For him, it’s much more than a place where he works. 

Originally from southern Georgia, Glaser describes his New West coworkers as his “chosen family”—and that feeling shapes every tour.

“One of the biggest focuses that I have on the tours is highlighting these human beings that have such immense talents,” he says.

Instead of simply pointing toward someone on the factory floor and identifying them as a knife maker, Glaser introduces guests to the actual person—whether it’s Matt, one of New West’s master knife makers, or Snow, one of the newer members of the team. Guests get to see firsthand the people and personalities behind the knives.

“They’re my family,” Glaser says. “They’re my brothers. They’re my sisters.”