Todd M. Kopp
POBox 3474
Apache Junction, AZ 85217
480-330-2854
www.koppknives.com
I have always had a great interest in knives, even when I was a young boy growing up in Wisconsin. My dad gave me a knife that my grandfather made. I never got to meet my grandfather so that knife is very special to me.
I first got started making knives in 1988 when a co-worker gave me a piece of tool steel from a saw to work. My brother told me that the knife that I made out of it looked like something made in a prison.
I enjoy knifemaking because you are starting out with a chunk of steel and a chunk of ivory, and you hopefully end up with something of beauty.
These are a few of the many makers that have inspired me: Buster Warenski, D’Holder, Dennis Freidly, Tim Hancock, and Don Norris.
I prefer using damascus steel because of the wide variety of beautiful patterns available. I like using natural materials for handles such as fossil Walrus, Mammoth ivory, and Mammoth teeth. I believe these materials make knives more desirable.
I use a Burr King, lathe, mill, surface grinder, saw, and a drill press.
I belong to the Arizona Knife Collectors Association, Bay Area Knife Collectors Association, Southern California Blade Collectors, and the Oregon Knife Collectors Association.
Accomplishments List:
| 1991 | Most Promising New Maker (first knife show) |
| 1994 | Arizona Knife Collectors Association Annual Club Knife |
| 1995 | Best Dagger – Las Vegas Classic Knife Show |
| 1995 | Best Art Knife – Knife Expo |
| 1995 | Best Art Knife – Arizona Knife Collectors Association |
| 1996 | Best Art Knife – Arizona Knife Collectors Association |
| 1997 | Best Art Knife – Knife Expo |
| 1997 | Arizona Knife Collectors Association Annual Club Knife |
| 1998 | Best Art Knife – Knife Expo |
| 1999 | Best Fighter – Arizona Knife Collectors Association |
| 2000 | Best Fighter – Arizona Knife Collectors Association |
| 2000 | Best of Show – Arizona Knife Collectors Association |
| 2004 | Best Fixed Blade – Knife Expo |
| 2004 | Best Miniature – Paul Basch Show – Scottsdale |
| 2004 | Best Miniature – Arizona Knife Collectors Association – Tucson |
| 2004 | Best Fixed Blade – Arizona Knife Collectors Association – Tucson |
| 2004 | Best of Show – Arizona Knife Collectors Association – Tucson |
| 2004 | Best of Show – Arizona Knife Collectors Association |
| 2005 | Best Art Knife – Oregon Knife Collectors Association |
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C-Guard Fighter with damascus blade and fluted and inlayed Walrus ivory handle.