New West Knifeworks

New West Knifeworks

The Maker's Collection

The Maker's Collection

Jack Rellstab: Custom Knife Maker

Meet Jack

Jack Rellstab approaches knife making the way a poet approaches the page—with patience, fire, and a deep respect for honest work. At New West KnifeWorks, he creates blades that carry the spirit of the Mountain West.

“I started making knives when I was about 12 years old,” Jack says. “What began as messing around with bits of metal turned into a real passion once I realized knife making was a true craft.”

Over more than a decade at the forge, Jack has transformed that passion into functional art. A graduate of Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, he studied cooking to better understand how chefs use their knives every day. “Culinary school changed the way I think about blade design,” he says. “I learned what chefs really want in a knife—how it should feel, move, and perform.”

Now pursuing Master Bladesmith certification through the American Bladesmith Society, Jack sees every blade as both tool and expression. “It’s not just about functionality,” he says. “It’s about creating a piece of art people can actually use.”

The Jack Rellstab Collection

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Sarah Gage: Rock Block Artist

Meet Sarah

At New West KnifeWorks, Sarah Gage transforms found pieces of the earth into Rock Blocks: sculptural knife holders where wood, stone, steel, and utility harmonize.

“One of my favorite things on this planet is water,” Sarah says. “That’s where I find a lot of my rocks. Some of my favorite pieces have come from rivers I was fishing, places that stay with me long after I leave.”

Her path began in woodworking and building design, but always returned to the pull of working with her hands. Now each Rock Block carries traces of that journey—part architecture, part wilderness, part daily ritual. “Every block, I think about how it’s going to live in a kitchen,” she says. “People know it’s art, but it’s also meant to be used every day.”

For Sarah, the process begins outdoors, where the raw materials already hold their own shape and history. “When I’m making a block, I think about someone who loves the natural world getting to have a piece of it in their home,” she says. “Something beautiful and useful they’ll reach for every morning.”

Her work reflects the spirit of the rivers and mountains that inspire it: enduring, practical, and quietly alive.

The Sarah Gage Collection

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Arik Miller: Custom Damascus Knife Maker

Meet Arik

Raised in Haines, Alaska, Arik Miller forged his first “knife” at twelve from scrap aluminum and paracord, a rough beginning that carried the spark of something lasting. Soon he and his father were building homemade forges from weed burners and hairdryers, hammering scavenged steel late into northern evenings.

Over the years, Arik traveled to Sweden to study axe making under master smith Friedrich Thelin, learning the old language of fire and steel. Today at New West KnifeWorks, his focus is Damascus: layered steel folded and forged into patterns that move like grain in wood or water under wind. “Damascus is a canvas for me,” Arik says. “The patterns are alive. No two pieces ever come out exactly the same.”

His process leaves room for instinct as much as precision. “Sometimes I start with a drawing,” he says, “but a lot of the time I just light the forge and start hammering. It depends on the mood I’m in.”

There is wilderness in his work—the ruggedness of Alaska, the sharp air of Jackson Hole—but also playfulness, freedom, and surprise. Each blade feels discovered rather than manufactured, as if the steel itself had been waiting for someone patient enough to uncover its shape.

The Arik Miller Collection

Jordan Welch: Semi-Custom Pocket Knives

Meet Jordan

Jordan Welch crafts semi-custom Glory Folders from elk antler, Damascus steel, mammoth ivory, coral, and other materials pulled from both wilderness and deep time.

“For me, a pocket knife is personal,” Jordan says. “It’s something people carry every day, so it has to feel alive in the hand.”

His process begins rough: antler thick and uneven, Damascus still hiding its pattern beneath scratches and raw steel. Then comes the shaping, sanding, softening. “A lot of it runs off feel,” he says. “Does it feel like too much material? Not enough? I’m trying to leave as much natural texture as possible while still making it comfortable and functional.”

Jordan’s work lives in the conversation between refinement and the untamed beauty of natural materials. Elk antler keeps its rugged grain. Mammoth ivory carries the memory of the Ice Age. Even automotive paint layers, reborn as Detroit agate, become something luminous under polish. “Out of all our natural materials, mammoth is my favorite,” he says. “It has these beautiful textures and finishes you just can’t find anywhere else.”

Whether etching Damascus to reveal hidden patterns or fitting fossilized tusk into a folder frame, Jordan approaches each knife as both tool and artifact. “I like using materials that already have a story,” he says. “The goal is to create something useful, but also something people want to hold onto for the rest of their life.”

The Jordan Welch Collection

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Knives shaped by craftsmanship, defined by individuality.