Forging A Pathway Forward
Welcome to the latest episode of our video podcast series, where we sit down with acclaimed knifemaker Michael Peterson. In this episode, we delve into Michael's experiences on the History Channel's popular show, Forged in Fire, and explore his passion for the art of bladesmithing.
As the son of a Vietnam veteran, Michael also shares his insights into growing up with a parent who suffered from PTSD and how he believes bladesmithing can be a way to deal with mental traumas in a healthy way. This discussion is both informative and inspiring, as Michael offers valuable insights into how his craft has helped him cope with difficult experiences and find purpose in his life as well.
If you're interested in bladesmithing, mental health, or simply enjoy insightful conversations, then this episode is a must-watch. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and turn on notifications to stay up-to-date with our latest content. Thanks for tuning in!
In This Episode We Cover:
What it was like being on History Channel's Forged In Fire
Where Michael learned the art of bladesmithing
How bladesmithing may help with dealing with mental health traumas
What it is like growing up the child of a veteran with PTSD
Michaels advice for kids dealing with this now
Battle Buddy Podcast Guest Links:
https://www.mikesdamascusknives.com/
Transcript from Episode 91 with Michael Peterson:
Keith McKeever 0:01
Hey, welcome back to another episode of the battle buddy podcast. You're gonna want to stay tuned for this one. I have a knife expert, the son of a Vietnam veteran coming on today to talk about some of his experiences on forged on fire on the History Channel. So if you've watched that you might recognize this guy's name and his face, but we're going to talk about knifemaking we're going to talk about the art of it, the healing aspect of it what it was like growing up the son of Vietnam veterans, so you definitely want to stay tuned. There's a lot of a lot of stuff to talk about today. Welcome to the battle buddy podcast with Keith McKeever
Keith McKeever 0:36
Welsh Welcome to the show Mike
Michael Peterson 0:38
Yeah, again apologize about my camera I need to upgrade apparently I'm not very electronic guy so all right. I play a hot steel and hammers and I know that stuff better than than this social media stuff. What's driving me nuts? Today we all
Keith McKeever 0:53
we all have something that we like that we play with right? We all have our our little hobbies and gadgets and stuff like that. I've seen your shop on video last time last time we chatted you were in air just working away and you were doing something with knives. You're making something
Michael Peterson 1:10
pop I'm not even sure but honestly what is still in its Oh, it's chaos. We're kind of getting ready for a show out of Texas. coming up in April the Texas select Show which will probably have close to 50 or more. Don't quote me on this number of Fortune fire competitors champions. finalist contestants there at a bell Ville Belleville not Bellevue Belleville mixed up just outside of Houston there the Belleville County Fairgrounds I believe that's what it called. Actually, I'd have to google that. But anyway, I know you
Keith McKeever 1:51
know, I know the pain of what you're talking about because where I'm at and where my wife's from. There's a Belleville and a Bellevue and I keep those up all the time, so I know I feel your pain is so easy to roll off the tongue the wrong way. I feel
Michael Peterson 2:07
I don't know why Belleville or Bellevue rolls off the tongue faster than Belleville maybe I just I don't know but
Keith McKeever 2:14
anyway they say the English language is the hardest to master
Michael Peterson 2:17
That's what I heard and it comes from Latin fingers go figure right
Keith McKeever 2:21
yeah well you know if you're like me get into public education and it isn't No
Michael Peterson 2:25
no no no government education
Keith McKeever 2:28
doesn't always right well right. No, it doesn't anyway anybody who's into knives or watches forged with fire that is seems like the place to be what are the dates of that for anybody who happens to catch this before
Michael Peterson 2:42
for the show?
Keith McKeever 2:43
Yeah for that for the in Texas.
Michael Peterson 2:45
Oh for the show odd for Texas it is the first weekend basically April Fool's Day believe it's the first
Michael Peterson 2:57
second and third of may have first week at home Let me
Keith McKeever 3:03
okay, that's that's gonna be like right in line with when this drops so so anybody who's listening to that it's gonna be like right around
Michael Peterson 3:09
first and second of April is the it was Friday and Saturday and they're gonna have not only us we're gonna be there tons of knives they're going to have live forging they're going to have a I believe they're going to have a chopping obstacle course where you know you can go any bring a chopper enter that me test you know competition chopper that's the word of this day has been kind of a live on tape. So
Keith McKeever 3:39
bear with me here so much time around fire.
Michael Peterson 3:42
That no just you know, just it Mondays are kind of every other week I go to a quiet room to get things straightened out and everything. Oh, especially when you throw them stuff around. But first second, we're gonna slide 14 demonstrations every 30 minutes. They were they called grudge match you face off another bladesmith crowd kind of calls out what the you know, the make, and they got 30 minutes to make that and then that stuff gets auctioned off to help then those funds come back and how to put on the show etc. It's put on by cowboy and his wife, Phoenix knives out of Belleville Texas. They do a great job of promoting it and everything else. So a lot of fun. I we made pretty good money last year and we're gonna go ahead and put the best bid and travel out there again.
Keith McKeever 4:35
sounds really cool.
Michael Peterson 4:36
I need to get hotels booked to crap I'm running out of time.
Keith McKeever 4:40
You're gonna have to get on that. But you know, like I said, this episode is gonna come out just a couple of weeks before that. So anybody who's watching it or listening to when it comes out, you got short notice to get your hotel rooms booked and get yourself down there to Texas. So go ahead and tell us a little bit about yourself and a little bit of your story. And then you know my next My next question After that, it's gonna be you know a little bit of your story on forged on fire. Yeah.
Michael Peterson 5:04
My name again as you can see my name is Michael Peterson I'm a second generation bladesmith I have been pretty much playing with forges since I was little I built several forges when I was a kid burned up a lot of stuff. I remember taking the battery out of my mom's car once and we swapped I think it was out of mom's car. I know we got a battery and I swear it was out of mom's car. And we packed it around and use it on a blower to because we made the cinderblock forge me my cousin and we were burning shingles and we we ran the battery dead and forgot about it was in the courtroom. I remember getting in trouble for that one. But I'm sure she was really happy with especially when my mom was a deputy sheriff for 20 years for the Surry County Sheriff's Department. So I think she got up at midnight to go into work. So yeah, that was fun. So I'm pleased that's where that battery comes from an old but I was like I had the band about four or five, about five years old when that took place. And like you can think about it if I'm my mom's mechanically inclined, and my dad makes nice but you know, that's not the best mechanic but he's better with hot steel forge welding and shit like that one. Blacksmithing one was more than mechanic in the family because my great grandfather was quite the kid mechanic guy and just kind of filtered on down through.
Keith McKeever 6:22
So you pick up a few things from your parents. That seems a little bit yeah. I'm sure she let out a few curse words. When she when she went to go put the keys in the ignition and oh my goodness, I can I can only imagine the frustration
Michael Peterson 6:39
where I believe that I'm not 100% Sure. Again, that's been like, I'm 37 now. That was like five years old. So that's been what 30 years 35 it been a while? Certain like I said, I started playing around with the Forge when data get off the forge. And if he wasn't in kneeling, anything, you know, if the Forge was so hot, I could go out there. Keep going on. I think I burned up more scrap iron then I did anything good. Excuse me. I kind of did and played around more and more blacksmithing at the time, just bend and stuff. Learning curls for hangers and stuff like that. I think like I said, I think I burnt myself more and burned up more steel than I really learned anything I actually burned really bad. I had this piece of steel and it was black. Just because it's not red doesn't mean it's not hot, you know, and I touched my chin. I don't want to touch my chin with it. And I got a big old blister on my face for about a month. That was fun. I remember that hurt like hell. And that was actually in the shop that I'm in today. I'm live in the house I live in today. I lived until I was eight years old and we sold it moved to the family farm after my grandfather passed away. Who was also a world war two veteran and also a oh, I should have grabbed that knife. Dang it. I got to send you a picture of a knife. But we'll get into that too. He was a world war two veteran. He was a corpsman attached to Marine Corps in the Solomon Islands during World War Two. So there's you know, kind of a deal there. And I forgot where I was going with this redraft. So
Keith McKeever 8:32
you know, there's something you said there that I think is interesting. I think a lot of people could take something from playing around with things you know blacksmithing and bending metal and playing with things and you you probably broke a lot of things failed a lot of things and learned a lot of hard lessons. Yep. And
Michael Peterson 8:54
especially putting the tools back
Keith McKeever 8:58
but I think that there's you know, it was probably a lot of creativity along with how to like oh, like I broke this let me see if I can fix this and let me try if I can make this and try and make that and like I think that's I think that's really cool because they're probably taught you a lot of really unique skills failing at this and failing at that and trying to you know be creative and do this and like you know that's something that not everybody you know gets access to
Michael Peterson 9:24
like that says you know when you're making stuff learning and not only telling me but other people learned how to make knives from the bigger the scrap pile the better you're gonna get just because you screw up on one project doesn't mean you're gonna get better. I still have issues I still have my I've got knives like if you ever cut my shot and there's a knife sticking stuck in the wall, it's probably because I screwed up got pissed and it landed stuck in the wall. Which me and a buddy of mine that guy I'm teaching me comes down on the weekends in the large rooming house me on the shop. He says wouldn't get a new shop. We're gonna build you Your little area because you know something like that happens you know we don't need somebody get stabbed because you get pissed off you know it's just one of those things or if I just throw it and sometimes I try to not do that so much anymore but
Keith McKeever 10:15
well you know if you put that much time energy and effort into something and something goes wrong and yeah I can understand
Michael Peterson 10:21
so I'm sorry I thought you're finished there no I
Keith McKeever 10:25
i am i said i You know i can i get it if you put that much time and energy and effort into something
Michael Peterson 10:29
you know a lot of the times anymore if I if something goes wrong it's either I'm starting something new I'm not understanding I've only asked questions from other bladesmith as I know or just looking at pictures I'm really good at I don't I can't reading and comprehension you have that you're reading a book or manual everything else. I'm not that great at but it gives me a pitcher I can almost within reason to make an that knife or this or that or whatever kind of want to build by looking at a pitcher it's like instructions you get instructions. Please be a pitcher please be a pitcher. Oh, we're going to be a wall kind of person. I can read I don't enjoy reading but I got my family members all can sit down and read a book not me. I can listen to retain it but read it. It's like it's gone. So I'm just wired different but that's okay. I like it.
Keith McKeever 11:30
Well, you know, that's probably why you're still making knives especially as a kid like all that trial and error and everything like that like doing so much with your hands. Learning by doing and stuff. Makes sense.
Michael Peterson 11:42
Yeah. And you know back to where it says that earlier because I went squirrel on you. By the time I was 10 years old. I started really when we we've got the farm that has a new shop. And that's when I really started learning in the making mascus can afford welding stuff, burning up stuff and then started learning how to grind out there learning the do the bevels and get very very frustrated and then went from there to Okay, here's your blade start grinding ruin the first three blades that ever added the Masters ever did. I think they're still laying on mom's bench somewhere. But no, if you ever come across a Damascus knife before I had my stamp and it has ampie on the right side of the blade. Remember my first one please buy it sent it to me I want to hide my first word. I've seen some of my stuff. I'm like, oh my God who made this? Sorry, you can't see this. No, no, no.
Keith McKeever 12:41
I can understand that. You know, somebody somebody wants told me it doesn't matter what you do is if you're in a creative kind of atmosphere, whether podcasts or music or knives, like your worst piece of work is already out there somewhere it's not very comforting to know that but like it's out there somewhere. So
Michael Peterson 13:04
I must have that down a sticky back.
Keith McKeever 13:07
Exactly. But you know, can't always do that I guess. So the first
Michael Peterson 13:12
couple of years you know just kind of making a little bit here. I started doing not I grew up in the knife show. Good knife and gun show my whole life doing stuff up in Salt Lake I never really got to go do that a lot of Vegas shows until was older. Usually you know mom, dad, that'd be mom and dad's get out of town. go to Vegas. Go do their thing. Get away from everybody.
Keith McKeever 13:35
Well, since city you can't take your kid there, you know who drew
Michael Peterson 13:39
but then in 94 We took a family trip with a to a no not really a family business trip with me and mom came along. And it was Dad and another gentleman who dealt with knives. I don't think he really made knives. He just he was more of a dealer. And we just call him dude with a face and I don't even remember what the guy's name because there's kind of a story behind that. The dude with a face because my brother and sister time were teenagers. There's a big gap between me and my older siblings. This guy sleeping on the couch and then like, who's the dude with the face? They get recognized because he shaved his beard apparently. And finally they heard him hair taller, leave in touch and said I think his name was Larry Bailey. That's how I got the name dude with the face because my brother's sister didn't recognize him. So we went out to Chicago 94 drove back there and did a show there. That was really cool. I can remember that to this day. I got to see my first handmade clean on batla okay, I'm Star Trek guy. I like Star Trek. Sorry. You know, I don't really cared for that other show. It's got stars in the front one. The originals were awesome. The original before they did the remake was awesome when I grew up watching my brother. After that it's kind of it But I'm not one of those understandable I'm not one of those guys that are kind of a Uber Star Trek guy I don't put the ears on I go to conventions you know convention to be alright to go to but there's too many people there's like if I'm not behind the booth, I I don't want anything really do with it. I mean, it's kind of fun to meet the actors and such
Keith McKeever 15:20
to many people. Stay away. Right? Beam me up, Scotty. Hi.
Michael Peterson 15:22
Yeah. What's it nothing wrong? It was kind of cool to go. I went to Comic Con in Salt Lake to meet Kane hotter, who I'm going to be able to work with here soon in the movie upcoming. Do you mind if I mentioned the name of the movie? That's up to you go ahead. I don't care um, Z dead n at Kane Hodder is going to be starring in it. Who is the original and one of the Jason's in the Friday 13th series. Okay. I made a really big night for it. I'll send you pictures of 4x A few nights for sometime later this year. I'll be traveling out to act in a few scenes with him on that with I'll probably end up being a zombie and I'll probably get my head cut off of the knife that I made. So
Keith McKeever 16:06
Oh, that's cool. i That's a claim to fame. You can't Yeah.
Michael Peterson 16:09
So that's gonna be coming in the works there. And it just just kind of like I said, doing live shows as such. I started doing live shows on my own about 13 My first time was in St. George Utah. Had a guy lay his hand wide open with one of my knives and he ended up going in stitches the next day to the I swear the guy was the guy that the ER doctor So sodium backup come and bought the night because he was impressed with the sorry, my daughter's text messages text her back since I'm busy. I'll get back with you in a minute.
Michael Peterson 16:51
I lost my train of thought, I think anything like that, about that. And after that it kind of, um, that time I was in high school. I didn't go to regular high school. My parents gave me the choice of you know, you go to public school and deal with the BS that's going on there. You can sit home school, which I did. I took home school I did about four hour blocks every day. And the rest of the time was out making knives and making a lot of money. So from high school we did a lot of shows. Met some folks out of in Vegas one show who ran the the world's largest gun show at Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Wanamaker gun show one. I'm not sure if I'm saying that name. Right. It's still going on today. It's on 11 acres. I think there's like 1100 to 1300 tables, this show. And I was brought in as a guest star name had when they had the news crew, it was coming down there. They also came in me interviewed me and did dislike a little bleep on me, I guess. But that was fun. I was 16 at the time. Once I graduated high school, I decided well, I was getting married and I need to get a real job. And then got into the trucking industry as a greaser washer. Then from there to truck driving for you know, for about 15 years. And then knife making on the side. And up till the time up till when when we go on the show by 2018. I got accepted for forged in fire. And I'm guessing that your next question we're coming up on to so
Keith McKeever 18:23
yeah, exactly forged on fire on History Channel, right. I got you know, how did that all come about? Like what was that? Like, you know, what was it? What was it like just kind of being behind the scenes like what did you What would you take away from being on the show?
Michael Peterson 18:38
Well, how it came about was well, when it first came out, I didn't get into the show until about the third, second or third season. My cousin Aaron Perrin, you know, I'm sure going to attack her and that's when the leak comes out. Give her a shout out, started bugging me. And I played the show. What show this 45 show. What is about so I was like alright, so I got I can't remember,
Keith McKeever 19:04
obviously, obviously spent too much time in your forge. As you're watching the History Channel, right?
Michael Peterson 19:11
Well, I didn't have cable at the time and that's what my eyes i Alright, I'll get the kids are winding woods with a cable when they were younger. So I got cable TV for a little bit. I tried driving just about the time shortly after I got divorced. So things were kind of in play of going from one job to another. Excuse me. Talk button. Sorry about that. So trying to do that. And then I started watching the show for kids. And of course I'm sitting there you know watching some of these guys. And a lot of these guys are phenomenal. bladesmith master bladesmith on the show. And I'm unlicensed and don't do that. Don't do this. Don't do that. No, no, no, no. That's not how you heal stuff like that. You know, just to you know, I didn't realize at the time I'm exactly what those guys were going through fast forward I finally started applying I applied for the show I did an interview it said on for about a year finally i curious All right what's going on so I agree applying and then they contact me re interviewed me that was in April and I had been put on a the backup list at the time for the next season and then fast forward to July of 2018 I get a phone call about Amanda joy I asked her if the promoter the producers asking hey you know we had a cancellation Can you feel these this the dates Can you feel that message? Send me the plane ticket booked me I'm ready to go they're like what says Don't you need to tell your employer says don't worry about it my players will actually are friends of the show they know my work they I told them before I pay for this they'll give me the time when you want to think about for debate this book it dude. So I spent most of the day after that filling out stuff you know, going through the rest of the the jumps to getting through the finish and then on August 5 2018 I flew out they flew me out to their hotel that night kind of had a panic and I like what am I doing here holy hit and they'll ask the furthest back east I've ever been in my life besides truck driving I'm you know further as Ben was Michigan when I was over the road they flew us into New York then up to Connecticut up there in Connecticut we're Let's film and I'm sitting there on the East Coast going What am I doing here so it's just gonna and then the next morning he went down to breakfast and met everybody we took the ride down the thing and then we're sitting outside and then of course you know I'm from high altitude desert near where you know no time we get hit him humidity sorry humidity big words here is out there a good rainstorm and you know as it's not as bad was back there and oh. I was a muggy day. I remember we were sitting outside waiting, you know showbusiness like I was taking forever and they just take forever take forever to get drawn and everybody there. David Baker comes rolling in on his motorcycle. And it was funny he gets off he backs his motorcycle and pulls his hammer comes walking towards his ends up dropping his helmet. Let's see his helmet kicks that goes wrong across sizes I'll just get in there and screw it comes over grabs chair sit down and talk to us. It really wasn't really supposed to talk to us but we're all for was there and wherever and shoot new things as long as we don't talk about what we're gonna do I can visit with you guys he says like guys just have fun be yourselves you know you know the competition everything I'll just have fun it was it was good little talk with David David Baker there the weapons maker. Great guy enjoyed it. Then once we got going you know they walked us through this you know stuff like this, that and the other on what to do. And I said all right, guys, here you go. We're gonna walk out this in this order. And there you go. To hell am I gonna do and it was kind of funny. We were gonna get out there. We all get there lines up and everything and then that will wills was like alright guys out of that go. And we're like, we all kind of frozen like this. Alright, we'll start this again. And that will illustrate saying alright guys go and we had to run over the storage unit, the storage unit thing they had built and we had to rummage through the stuff to get the you know the make we had to build our own forges as you'll see on the episode. I don't want to give away too much. If you haven't watched that episode, it's season five episode 37 The body sheets on Hulu. But on Amazon Prime I've been told it's not 3738 Why that is I have no idea. Who knows? Exactly. I'm above my paygrade I don't know.
Keith McKeever 24:12
Just watch the whole season, right? Pretty much easy. Just watch. Just binge watch it all night. You'll find it in there. Right?
Michael Peterson 24:19
It was it was fun. It was stressful. It was 160 degrees. That day, direct sunlight outside. Well, I think the ultimate humidity was 92%. I believe so don't quote me
Keith McKeever 24:33
on that. I just remember that's what we looked it up. So I assume that probably made some challenges for you. So you had to make your own Forge and then had to make something in it. And so what I mean, I assume that probably made challenges for you if you're used to virtually no humidity.
Michael Peterson 24:50
I'm pretty much yeah, it's hot. I don't forge steel that much. Unless it's early early in the morning. And we're all packed in this kind of cold set. The cement wall behind us as you'll see, so not only the temperature the outside temperature but you got for coal forges going so and no wind so that he's going to sit there. So I'll bet chair with the forges there it's probably me and John kind of speculated probably 100 Maybe 110 Maybe 120 It was it was hot they gave us a big ol block of 1095 high carbon, inch and a half by inch and a half by 12 inches long. And my mind is thinking alright, we'll get it we're gonna cut a section off we're gonna put it there we're just gonna get hot and we're just going to be no power hammers all by hand tools. Not even a cutting torch. I'm just beating the scene you'll see it in my mind meme cousin was like Don't say a lot of cuss words you know? Because you know, I've worked really hard to beat you know, and since I tried to keep them constant I think once I said Damn it and then after aired people well you said the word demo like oh,
Keith McKeever 26:06
like she was surprised that's all I said. That kind of heat. I mean, I can only imagine just I mean how much your arm hurt working the metal like that.
Michael Peterson 26:14
Well wasn't that it was just swinging the hammer was bad. It's just the heat you know? And I know you've probably been in the hammock high humidity area you know you don't when you sweat it don't evaporate Well, I car overheating actually got to the point where I walked off stage for 30 minutes. I couldn't feel my fingertips. My legs were going numb I was just like I gotta go cool I got no choice or if I don't go cool off I'm gonna gonna draw I go in the inside and sit down in there and they have the men that come in check me poults was way the hell out there. I think my pulse was like 155 my blood pressure was like 170 over 155 It was high it was I mean it was out there the stress load of it you know being out of your environment at a mountain shop and something else humidity
Keith McKeever 27:10
that would be lost knowing that you're being you're being filmed you're gonna be on TV and you during the competition I mean that all adds to it to on top of
Michael Peterson 27:17
being there like we might hold the camera guys are gonna be running the room almost dead the camera guy because I didn't realize he was there and kind of jumpy. And so you know I'm working on like, oh, okay, you're there and
Keith McKeever 27:32
stuff you don't see on TV right? Like you're
Michael Peterson 27:36
they ended up in your own that's funny when you're sitting there watching it might this is not how it played out filming. But I gotta remember it was edited. No, that's not the sinkewitz how it worked. What the hell
Keith McKeever 27:48
they totally cut out why almost, you know took the camera guys head off with the hot steel like,
Michael Peterson 27:53
No, it was just grinding I just come up elbowed him certainly
Keith McKeever 27:59
got workman's comp right i mean endangers the job.
Michael Peterson 28:04
At some point we're in between filming the judges will actually walk the floor and kind of look over your shoulder and kind of watch and and Ben Abbott come up and I Oh, he's like us like I'm sorry in this get back to work and everything and it's just you know, they'll stop and you got to talk and when it's like more talk you'll get more camera time and I'm trying to and my mind is focused on this I'm trying to explain and then one of the biggest thing is this is you got some times when you'll see him work and then you'll see this off the side camera where they call it you got to talk and present tense when you do this, the interview parts afterwards. Like you're doing you're talking like you're doing and I'll tell you what, that was the most confusing thing ever. And especially when I got out here the crew when we've made it all the way to the end and we came home here to film the whole forged stage of it if you haven't watched the sorry, this is what he call it
Keith McKeever 29:04
like a recap or something or
Michael Peterson 29:05
no
Michael Peterson 29:08
we get when you somebody spoiler alert, spoiler alert. So I made it all the way to the third round we'll we'll let you decide who won. But he was reading off some of the emails aside he goes yeah, new matches on Mike really enjoys talking in present tense. I'm like God, at that point. I've been going for five days straight. That's from traveling out filming the the four days there, Connecticut, day home traveling. I got home at like, midnight that night. One o'clock up at six o'clock in the morning, went over got my kids had breakfast with them because I hadn't seen him in a week. Came home. Didn't about nine o'clock the guys were here and from there as for you know 40 hours. We jumped right into Do it. And it was a grueling, it was all together like nine days straight from start to finish. That night I slept for I swear to God 24 hours after that. So it was fun. What I kind of took from that is it was one, I've never been the person growing up through school or anything. I've always had the fear of stage fright or going out in front of people. And I kind of couldn't overcome that a little bit and I had those nerves. But it also gave me after going and doing that I was trying to work to establish a from a hobby to a legit business. And after that, that's what gave me the gumption. Go ahead and set up my LLC, established my legal business name and go legit was doing that part time between trucking and etc. And I started we did a grand opening after that we started offering knife making classes and we started off slow and got better and better at it. And fast forward three and a half years later, I finally decided I got the point it's like you know, went from making 5000 a year to 12,000 a year up to that when I finally decide to go for it. Made $32,000 Part time knifemaking roughly somewhere in there. I don't know it's in the tax return somewhere there. And they gave me the government fines. You know what? I got enough work. I'm tired of dealing with the eight boys got that one person but they can't stand at work. Yes, your good dog. Sorry, dog begging for pants here. So I just find said you know what, I'm gonna go for it. And that was September. Timber. 2021. Yes. 2021 quit the job. I was working at first firearms and then and then just went from there and 16 months later here I am. So
Keith McKeever 32:05
So now your your, your dad. Now did he do this as a full time career as well?
Michael Peterson 32:13
Um, yeah, he's well, after Vietnam. He served in Vietnam once from like 7071. He was in the 1/73 airborne as a sniper in country. I'm not exactly sure what area of Vietnam it was. I'm sure I've been told several times, I just don't remember the exact thing. After that, after we got done his tour there came home was attached to the 100 and first for a little bit and when eventually got discharged in the military came home, went back to working on the railroad, the local railroad it was through here at the time. Up till the time they shut that line down. And then he worked at coal mines and hauled wood and everything up for up till about the mid 80s on dogs begging to go outside. All right. I should have left them out there earlier. Paws right.
Keith McKeever 33:12
Dogs are so needy. Well,
Michael Peterson 33:15
technically, he's not my dog. He's the daughter's dog.
Keith McKeever 33:18
Well, you know, daughter should take care of the dog. Right? Well, I
Michael Peterson 33:21
only get her part time and we all know we have kids. The dog will take care of everything else.
Keith McKeever 33:27
Never take
Michael Peterson 33:29
care of it that doesn't want the dog, dog and dad become best friends later on. But I told her if she wanted the dog. She wanted to get a healer from a buddy of mine. And it's this much and then he goes well, this is you go build me a knife. Oh no, I told her I says well, I'll bet you if you build him a knife and trade you that dog and that I'll tell you what that was motivation got out there. She made a nice little the second night. The first one I can't remember how to it. It's been three years ago. First I turned now and so it's been another one and then trade that and got a puppy and what it was like Foot and Mouth there's like well, I didn't think she take me serious. So now she got herself an eye on I Maine Coon cat. I told her as well. That's how much it is you want to Maine Coon cat you know how to make the money get out there and get the word. I'm afraid that I'm probably going to end up with a Maine Coon cat which there are pretty cool looking cats I mean a cat the size of a dog come on Why not?
Keith McKeever 34:31
Well, I mean you're teaching her some good skills you know hard work that's what you get you know I mean it's you get right you got to work for what you what you want. So you know hey,
Michael Peterson 34:43
my parents raised me pretty much you know, you want to know where to go buy your money. Go by what you want you blow your money. You're broke. Well, it's your own fault. Yeah, go make more and that's what I did a lot of my knife money and such but back on to the word dad, you know? Buy I bought 1980s vibe about that time dad. I got I think that got laid off from the coal mine or was hauling fart got laid off and I can't exactly remember anyway, something to that effect that was hauling firewood. By the time I was born. That's when dad started really getting more into knifemaking he's always had an interest in like making a backtrack when he like Vietnam is their story. I remember telling me he had this knife. I can't remember what kind of knife it was big pretty good size one. He was stationed they were on some kind of healing. I think of this during the 30 day have no shower. Ooh, just to think about that. Like no, no, no. I could go to three days camp and without a shower after that, that's I'm finding the creek.
Keith McKeever 35:45
That's why join Air Force
Michael Peterson 35:50
I'll leave the jokes alone. I've got a lot of friends in the military. And it's kind of it's kind of nice even though I didn't serve or anything, any capacity or anything like that. But a lot of my friends and family and and a few other people in the home through bladesmithing are veterans. And it's like, you know, it's kind of cool. I get to crack those jokes. Same team do they do that? Usually, sometimes civilians will get pulverized at a bar if you run your mouth off. I've heard those stories too.
Keith McKeever 36:15
They only let you crack those jokes because you have knives.
Michael Peterson 36:18
Now I'm pretty sure we all have knives. Some others some of them are knife making themselves Yeah, but you got a lot of knives. True actually I have a hard news. There's a hint on to what I made but anyway, but he was like 30 days I guess the only water was available was cooking and eat cooking. And drinking is basically all I had for 30 days. Just thinking about it. He had a knife and he spent better part of that. Learning how to regrind that edge and everything and go from there but not fast forward back to 1985 or about time I was born is when dad really got started making knives. Had this one shop out here. It was between that shop and benches here in the house. He's great in bed chair. Remember that. About time I was a year old dad got took a class from Bill Moran. Now Bill Moran at the time was big knife guy, blacksmith bladesmith. He was one of the founding members of the American bladesmith society and matter of fact, he was the one who named that. They actually he actually has a bladesmith school named after him there in Texas. I think it's Texarkana side, if I remember correctly, I mean you can look that up. Took a week long Damascus making class from Bill up there in Cheyenne, Wyoming at the university or was it Laramie? Laramie, Wyoming sorry, Laramie, up there in the university. And then after that, you know, pretty much downhill from there, you know, just make a nice, I grew up you know, got had up you know, on all the tools, the trip hammers and everything else. So to me growing up and you know, that had all these tools, I just assumed, you know, everyone else had the kind of tools and everything's going to start you know, fast forward to visiting other people's shops like I grew up spoiled, because I always had to kind of have the tools there to my disposal. And looking at other guys shot like, you know, some guys use power hammer, some guys use presses, press my opinion are okay, for certain things, I'd rather run a I've got two little giant trip hammers with a 25 and a 50. That's two of my collection. I've got a few more the 100 pounder, the 250 and the 500 pounder that I want to add to my collection eventually. But if you notice, like a squirrel out here jumps in add. Alright,
Keith McKeever 38:57
so did your so for your dad, obviously, this was a business and you can make some money at it. But how much do you think being a Vietnam veteran and some of the stuff he dealt with, you know, inevitably PTSD and whatnot? How much do you think that making knives and being in the shop and the artistic side of things might have been healing for him?
Michael Peterson 39:22
Um, I would say quite a bit, I think, you know, when you get working and focus and I mean, in my own case, that kind of not to compare what dad went through but I had lost my middle child 13 years ago due to complication of a drowning accident and the swine flu it's so for me, I after going through some therapy on and everything else I kind of buried on the rug because I had to go truck driving wreck pretty much a week after her funeral. One of the overrode because well, I had to go to work. I kind of just kind of bear I thought I'd get with it are I, you know, going through prayer and etc. Fast forward. You know, five years later, going through a divorce went through some therapy, and everything else I thought I'd dealt with it, and then the therapist kind of walked me through it and like, ooh, and then helped me work through to how to deal with that, but working with knives, and from my standpoint about kind of understanding, you know, you can lose your you can your troubles go away, you can take and work that negativity in use that and burn it off by producing something cool, something good, something I can sell, and then I take that money and spoil my other kids or pay for a bill, etc. And that's what kind of knife money was on the side for, you know, not only just to supplement income, but help with going out and go and do something go fishing, etc. So, I would say it helped that a lot with through all the years, that way, he could focus that into that. If that makes any sense at all?
Keith McKeever 41:02
Yeah. So, you know, I, I wanted to ask that, because I think I've had a few guests on that have talked about art healing. Matter of fact, actually, the the episode that came out, you know, the week that we're recording, this was, you know, kind of hitting on that a little bit, that there's a lot of ways that you can use art, you know, and, you know, knife making is an art, a very hot and dirty art, you know, but you know, just like making clay pots, or using a brush and painting something or making music, whatever, you know, it's, you're putting creativity into it in your own way, your own vision, you know, time, all these different things into it, like, you know, you can put those passions and those feelings into what you're creating with your hands. And I think that there's a lot to it. So I just kind of curious, because I think a lot of veterans can get a lot of healing from that. It's not just veterans, anybody going through trauma can get a lot from that, and use that as a way to deal with their troubles.
Michael Peterson 42:02
And it's focusing your energy in the right direction. You can vote instead of focusing on the negative. And, you know, we let it you can either we can let it consume us or we can work through it, which ain't easy, you know, I mean, like I said, I thought I dealt with my daughter's death, and I'm therapists like, no, then it kind of walked me through, I'm like, ooh, it's like you went to work, you went, you know, as men, you know, we were fixers, you know, if you let's see a lot of the things that we we were the ones who tried to fix everything, provide everything, you know, it's who we are. We're man, that's how we were designed. Tried to come a big word to him. But, you know, we all were agreeing with the capo and everything else when you know, mental health or throw it to the side and just go forward. That's probably why a lot of men have a lot of mental health issues, suicide or something like that from trauma.
Keith McKeever 43:03
Because obviously, only other thing you could do, you just you push it down, and it just, it piles on until you get to the point where substance abuse becomes an issue or homelessness or suicide. Like it pressures on you until your shoulders can't take anymore. And you kind of got to deal with it. Like it sucks to rip that band aid off and have to deal with it. But you got to deal with it eventually.
Michael Peterson 43:28
You know, thoughts? You know him that that light in the dark? And my thoughts were you know, yeah, did I That's my daughter's passing like I was suicide. No, I don't see myself that because I know my luck, I probably end up with crayon color of crayons rest my life. I was more of the thought of you know what I could get my backpack. I got enough skills that I could just disappear in the wilderness not deal with another soul. Or whatsoever. That's more of my thoughts of escaping of things and just just get away from everything. But what stopped me from really doing is thinking about my dog and we just had a newborn. A month before my daughter passed. Amelia is there was her name. Daisy was born October 5. oh nine. We lost Amelia one month, literally to the day, the following month, November 5 That year, which is really weird. You know, I'm kind of one of those that do kind of, I don't believe in coincidences. But he mine ran the numbers. He's kind of a numbers guy and he ran the numbers. Birthday this date. I'll take all the guys up. He's a dude there. Her number was up. He do the mathematics. And he showed me and it's like, that's weird. I'll say after the accident was in April previous April that year. My ex wife was pregnant with Daisy at the time. We spent two months in primary chose hospital. And so it's kind of I think she came out we got sent home was doing better. I honestly think she only stayed long enough to see her sister born and was doing good. And then the swine flu epidemic broke out. And we'll stay away from the whole political end of that stuff because I can go all night long all that crap compared to what we went through with COVID and all that crap but then like I said, after she passed away a week later I was in a truck had nice learn how to flatbed because I've never been over. I've always done local haul, long haul, I need to load training, especially with a flat strapping loads down tarp and did that for a couple months and then was kicked loose. Here's your own truck have that. So yeah, that was interesting, a lot of stress there. But my biggest thing was the thoughts of suicide was there, but it was like no, I'd rather just disappear in society. But looking back now and seeing you know, like I said, I got a lot of friends who served Iraq, Afghanistan and stuff like that they're my age and older than I all know and work with and such. And hearing their stories and then what they went through for therapy and then we're therapy and everything else helped me recognize some stuff growing up that we didn't understand with dad gave me a better understanding. Okay, that explains a lot helped me you know, you know, you we talked about that you know, set of tools anything get in trouble, etc you know, is explained a lot. Not trying to get too personal stories into here. But that explained to me a lot. Okay, now I can understand what dad went through, you know, Vietnam veterans, as all we all know. Got home, don't wear your uniform. Don't tell them you're there, this hide that blah, blah, blah. A lot of guys that I know, we're dads agents that's like that hearing stories. A lot of them didn't realize, because we're out in the country. We're kind of central. Small, right? I guess you can say Western hillbillies, or whatever rednecks out here. You know, farm kids and everything else, you know, they didn't make much sense to tell. I think it was in the desert storm when everybody come home, and they did the big parade and everything. And I remember hearing stories about a lot of the guys that and then a lot of them saying that's when I they hit it when they realized that we never got that, you know, generation of soldiers that were just spit on and treated like dogshit. Because Pardon the language.
Keith McKeever 47:39
No, no. Feel free to use whatever language you want it to be. I've heard it all.
Michael Peterson 47:46
Well, yeah, I tried to keep it clean, especially the interview rooms because I do get a salty mouth. I use the F word like a verb or whatever now or whatever they call I'm bad at English language.
Keith McKeever 47:57
And the whole audience on this podcast is all military veterans. We've We've heard it all and use it all.
Michael Peterson 48:03
I've heard that and when I'm going to talk and it's like,
Unknown Speaker 48:07
I'm gonna go over here. No, no,
Keith McKeever 48:10
he doesn't very interesting points. Like, the World War Two generation obviously came home to like ticker tape parades, you know, and obviously, you know, they saved the world, right from the very axis of evil and everything. But the Korean War veterans came home to like nothing. They just came home. And Vietnam veterans kind of kind of came home and to what they came home to and had to hide kind of their identities. And in Desert Storm, it was different. There was some braids, and like, look at the success, this smashing success that you had in a really, really short amount of time. And you kick Saddam like you kick them quick. And then, you know, and then really over the last 20 years, all these deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan now, especially where I live, there's a lot of garden reserve here. Before I joined, like the garden reserve units would go in and come back and he'd have it the news would be there and they'd come off the plane. That was my experience. Seeing that before I joined when I joined, I was active duty Air Force, like I didn't, I didn't have enough air. I just I just hopped on the plane. And I got off the plane and went right back to my dorm room. Like there was there was no big parades. Nothing for me. But like, you know what, I would come home to my family and my family and have like a big, big get together stuff. But like, my generation doesn't have to hide it. Like you see vets walk around, you know, we got the flags on the shoulders, like you know, the bro vets like proud about being vets, and everybody should be proud of their service. But Vietnam veterans can do that. And didn't do that for a good number of decades. I've seen where it has so you know, Vietnam veteran. You see it now you see it over the last 1520 years. But you didn't see that
Michael Peterson 49:51
growing up through the 90s. I remember and I have got the weirdest vivid memory. My earliest memories and just to give you an idea, I In part of my house over here in this section, you can't see that but I remember sitting in in one of those walkers with some beads across the thing. And I remember I got the photo. I remember that. I don't remember who took the photo. I just remember seeing a camera, some hair, and that photo being taken. I remember sitting in that chair. I think I was nine months old, six months, six to nine months old, and also renewed. I remember crawling across the floor. I got some my parents like how do you remember this? I don't know. They're like, I tell you know, remind them of this. This. We never said that. Yes, you did. Yes. You did build that. No, we didn't. Yes, you did. How do you know because I remember it. Don't ask me how I know.
Keith McKeever 50:39
I worked in mysterious ways. Right? Oh
Michael Peterson 50:40
god, it's I I've been watching these catching these sidetrack here squirrel. These videos pop up on social media about ADHD and everything else memories. Remember the most useless information and I sucked at school and history and everything else but now you know fast forward and I learned most of my history from listening to radio programs watching History Channel before they got into the reality stuff and a lot of the history stuff there and I was like ooh, this is much more interesting in what they taught school
Keith McKeever 51:15
because they made a boring in school that's for sure. But yes, it's definitely much more interesting as an adult when you get to pick and choose what you want to learn
Michael Peterson 51:23
and I think we let's backtrack back to about two when the Gulf War when they guys come home and big fridge I remember hearing an interview well on a program I listened to I don't know if you've already mentioned him or not or his programmer. So it's on I believe it was on Andrew Weil cows moo cow majority on satellite radio we were I heard this from or was it trucking Bozo? I can't remember which I think was anyway, I remember I'm talking about how Vietnam veterans like we're talking about you know, combat didn't get had know this. And when Gulf War and everything a lot of the veterans some of the Vietnam Veterans stood up and said hey, what's not you know, did some to help you know, set up the stuff to welcome back to other guys because they didn't get it. I think that's where a lot of the charities come up from was started by a lot of the Vietnam Veterans that stood up and say hey, we're not going to let them be treated that way we did and it was good to see if I can find that that was a good interview. I listened that that was a few years ago. And that popped up back my mind there so anything like that or not are?
Keith McKeever 52:42
Not Not that I know of. So back to your dad being a Vietnam veteran? What What was that like for you as a kid with some of your dad's struggles Any advice for other kids whose whose parents have PTSD and maybe kind of, you know, their struggle, any advice for them dealing with their parents who know PTSD is one of the things that is not easy to really kind of get a grasp on you know what I mean? How to navigate that as a kid
Michael Peterson 53:09
growing up I didn't understand it until later in life but now kind of looking back definitely one Don't sneak up on them. Those don't that you know, come up sneaking on and go boo. She she might get punched, not not knowing each other being mean it just you know, reflex, you know, you guys combat veterans, or any veterans really, you your mindsets changed when you go through training and such reflex. I would want to growing up and everything out when you know, Dad was having his off days we call him we'll call him that and go out backyard play during the park go away. It's a way you know, let things go off. And that's kind of what we did. You know, and yeah, we would ask questions, you know, every night what long stories about Vietnam? What kid doesn't want to hear war stories? You know, growing up, Mom didn't really particularly like it. So there's, we
Keith McKeever 54:10
want you to get these ideas in your mind to you want to sir? No, no, no, not
Michael Peterson 54:13
really, that it was more. Don't bring it up. But you know,
Keith McKeever 54:18
don't don't stress that out too much. Yeah.
Michael Peterson 54:22
There's some stories you're like, I don't know what. Okay, we won't share some of those stories. I mean, it was kind of years later, I realized, whoa, that's what he was talking about. So, I mean, there were some good there were some good stories, you know, some of the you know, things he was like wow. He shared with and such. Definitely when it comes to spear Archer, there's a couple I remember correctly. They were him was my dad and two other guys, and I believe I want to say they're crossing A rice paddy and ended up getting into an ambush the guy in front of him and the guy behind him were killed, unfortunately, but not a scratch on my dad. And I, my faith is my own, I'll share my faith with people I grew up around here as LDS, I don't really have any thing to do with the mainstream corporate church as I call it anymore. I do believe some of the faith of the LDS but I only keep it for myself. My parents were more my parents were libertarian before they were, you know, libertarianism was cool, you know, thinking back because I have a lot of friends were Baptist and such, and I went to a Baptist camp and so I got this big kind of melting pot of other people's faith and, and I, I have a good healthy respect for a lot of people. But I would say, you know, if your parents, you know, as a kid, you're growing up, you don't understand that, then when you get older, you're going to learn things you go, Oh, okay, that makes sense. You know, you might have a little anger. You know, there's those emotions. And, you know, like, we've talked before, you know, that, you know, why is that? Why Why does that matter back because of this or that? You're gonna, it's hard to understand where you're headed. Now there is stuff that help family, buddy mine was telling me about the therapy he was going through with him and his family and everything else. And that kind of helped me realize my stuff and like, oh, okay, so I let go of those, you know, graduates of, you know, getting your butt what, for whatever, then they really understand it. But now it's like, okay, that explains it. As they say, knowledge is key knowledge is power and understanding. And I tell you what, I'm learning that now, as I get older, it's like, wow, all right, I guess that's rumor is how I get older, you know, a little bit better home. So sometimes I would say you know, don't try to bottle up if you need help reach out, you have either a veteran or family member or going through if you got a family. And that's one thing I hope to establish here in the future is taking my knife classes and making a a charity for veterans, first responders, and probably troubled youth. When we want to do set up a nonprofit, I don't have the room right now in my shop to do it. I mean, I have just enough to produce light product and teach the various classes because I can schedule them out, I hope to build a 6000 square feet shop. We're gonna double the square footage because we're gonna put in half of it's gonna be an upstairs to on top of the hot shop where we are going to call the Ford shop called publico that the volcano part of the shop. But I kind of hope that, you know, having an understanding of listening to my friends and other veterans and what they've gone through and how they kind of take their steps of going through recovery. If recovery the right word, or therapy or
Keith McKeever 58:16
ask a question. Maybe therapy, therapy Yeah, I cover you know, it's like I don't know if I don't know if you know, some of that stuff is anything that you really don't want to
Michael Peterson 58:28
have somebody email me.
Keith McKeever 58:29
Yeah, no. You got yeah, there's not really anything that you really necessarily recover from. I think it's something that you you can least in my own experience.
Unknown Speaker 58:39
Like, let's just call it Yeah, you
Keith McKeever 58:43
get will get different tools and you and you get a different awareness of different things that you do. And then hopefully you can recognize when you when certain things are bothering you triggers if you want to use that term. And you start recognizing like, Oh, hey, this is starting to bother me. And now I can start implementing these tools to mitigate the behavior or the reaction to it. And I think that's one thing
Michael Peterson 59:03
we can offer through bladesmithing play basically kind of a recreational work therapy well here while back matter of fact, a friend of mine who was with the triple Deuce he's retired now. Did you serve two years retired? He brought some material that piece track no about yay long actually two pieces of I don't know if you see my fingers. There you go. I'm over here. Like, where's my handout here?
Keith McKeever 59:33
I know it's always hard to find the cameras like
Michael Peterson 59:36
that was a shroud of stuck in his helmet. A couple ball bearings that came through the floor. I can't remember what threw his leg or not. I swear that's when he told me when one of them went through him. Some I got pulled out of him. We took that we mixed it with him man a canvasser and until so took some ball bearings from he's a truck driver too. Um, we took some of that meat and I took some of like, well, we're gonna do some cobalt, we're gonna throw some meteorite in there too, because according to legend, meteorite can have had the abilities of slaying demons, dragons, you know, creature to the underworld. And I kind of thought it was kind of cool to mix that in there because he wanted to make a night wanted me to make an eye for him that he could take all that negative that almost took his life forward into a new product a new meaning a new thing that he could use for only for camping kind of potatoes, you know, if he had to defend it hit not only himself, but his family or whatever and be able to, because a knife, what is a knife? What exactly is a knife?
Keith McKeever 1:00:45
It's a tool that you can use for lots of purposes.
Michael Peterson 1:00:48
My slogan in my company is is a knife, good friend when you have no other and somebody asked me what that means as well. I didn't come up with that I kind of was watching TV show and heard that line. And it just stuck with me. So I I copied it off a really cool TV show that I like. And it's what does that mean? Well, a knife, what it means is nice, they're good, it's good for everyone, you have no other well, I can use a knife to make food, I can make shelter, I can make clothing, I got animals skin them out. I can fasten it and take it a spirit, like how you gonna hook with it. So while you make an spear, you tie it to, you know, take bark, use it to take bark and eat or Willow and we're Apatow spear and you can hunt deer. With the right knife, you know, you can you can do that. So like I said, only clean your fingernails out or cut Twain strings or shake the guy come through your door middle of the night or whatever. But now it's just kind of an institution and bladesmithing and learning the techniques of like I said, I do knifemaking classes and I've always each class I'm nervous, I'm like, Am I really gonna be able to translate and I'll tell him straight up say, I can show you better than tried to describe the steps and make it it says you just got to watch. I tried to explain this this in your mind and you're going to your mind is translating. You hold a grinder and you're rotate the blade, your your your mind is gonna tell you to rotate. You don't know that. You don't do that you put it on the grinder because your bubble is already there. And you just kind of play the pressure to a certain point. And that takes a lot of mental that I've learned in online. Like I said, I've been doing this for 27 years and I kinda as dad says you forgot more than that most people know about Mike making, which is I'm learning that as I go through knifemaking I had I literally when I first started in the class, I had to go back and remember when I started to how to make knives in order to show people to get through that steps and get through that fear of grinding. Because everybody's like, I don't want to screw up. I don't wanna screw up. You're going to screw up. I plan up and it's like, we're just jinxing people. No, I'm not. I'm not gonna lie to them. Oh, you're gonna make the best knife. You're gonna be cuddled? No, I don't do that. You're gonna screw up. I would totally
Keith McKeever 1:03:12
expect to screw up.
Michael Peterson 1:03:14
I'm 100%
Michael Peterson 1:03:18
like, Oh, don't tell me to screw up. You're gonna get you know, you're gonna put that mind game in them, right? No, you're gonna screw up because I screwed up. Lots of times I still screw up today. I've gotten like I said others couple knives I might well being gone. But I've watched
Keith McKeever 1:03:35
a few shows on TV it looks really really hard. And so I can only imagine how hard it is somebody who's never done it. How many times you could really see how many times in places you could really screw it up as a as a rookie doing it a lot.
Michael Peterson 1:03:53
So the company gentleman back to you. I think that's why I want to take no I do I know as a kid growing up with a father who was a veteran and no other veterans such an understanding. Looking back okay, I understand what they're going through. Not only help working with veterans and other veteran bladesmith who were veterans, kind of understand how they go through their their thought process and live what they've shared with me on their healing and let with the live this meteorite canister with the shrapnel there they turned that in made a very beautiful knife I'll see if I can find a picture that he keeps with him on the truck I think all the time now. And so just take that negative and turn it into positive and when you do that and that's a personal I can sit here and talk and walk you through things on anything that you're dealing with in life niche whether you know addiction whatever you can hit you can help people out left and right but until especially with some issues with myself until you're willing to. Again, I'm speaking personally for stuff that I went through until you're willing to actually deal with that person on a personal level and change. People can help you out as much as they want. It's not going to happen if that makes any make any sense because I'm starting to question myself. Oh, yeah,
Keith McKeever 1:05:20
no, it makes sense.
Michael Peterson 1:05:21
tell you we're willing to. And I think what I'm forging and I'm making stuff and there's some blades that I made that it's like, sometimes a steel as we thought, wants it go that way. And I feel like that means I did this. It's not really a steal. I just think the almighty himselves like, No, this is okay. You cool idea. Like the make like the master and the apprentice, you know, the master and the Almighty himself. How are you gonna believe God, I believe God, I believe in Christ. Through you know, when you put your hands in him, it's just like the forger being put in the forge. And you're changed in your work and stuff like that. It's like when you watch a knife, you're like, Okay, that's not what it was come up with. That's even better. It's just really weird when he was at work, and it's like I was working a, I'm gonna make a buoy. I'm gonna make this buoy. And it came out chef's knife. Really cool. Like a chef's knife. A buddy of mine. grew up together. His wife, Scott, and it's one of her favorite knives. She almost have to the kids decided to put in the dishwasher on her. No, we don't put my knives in the dishwasher. It's Mama was not happy. Oh, I can't. Because I bring it back. I can clean it up. But,
Keith McKeever 1:06:50
you know, I mean, you know that that story kind of reminds me of was a Bob Ross that used to say it. You try to make a movie knife. It's a chef's knife. Now we're David jobs there was it was a Bob Ross that said something about like happy little accidents or something. Yeah. Yeah. Like a perfect example. Like you tried to make something something else happens like it's an accident. Like, this is not the intended my question. But I'm happy with it like this, like this is even better. This works. This is great.
Michael Peterson 1:07:19
Is it really a little an accident, though? Or is it? Good point? Diversion point. Everyone's like, Well, if God was settled under that's like, because like I watched the seasons, like it was like it was meant to be. Yeah, we're just like people. Like, well, there was a God, and how can we let this happen? Well, God did wipe out wicked and everything else. God, there was he wiped off the face error for pretty much everybody. You know, it was kind of this video broke it down. I was like, that makes sense. You know? So it says, I think we bring our own evil upon ourselves. You know, granted, there might be alternative forces out there. However you want to believe that's up to you? I think so. But if you're willing to let yourself change, especially working through bladesmithing, or clay pottery.
Michael Peterson 1:08:14
I think it lowers that. I was what's the word cockiness? I guess I'm gonna say it is like,
Michael Peterson 1:08:23
Eagle lowers the ego a little bit near we kind of let your you know, something you have done. Or if you have done something and you get working in there. And I think that raises the vibration of yourself. You're on a higher plane and crafting. I'm starting to wonder if I'm making any sense at all here.
Keith McKeever 1:08:43
I see what you mean. I'd be kind of like lowers that resistance like and yes. lets you kind of just focus on the task at hand and block everything else out?
Michael Peterson 1:08:51
Well, I'm not not really stands out because I think it where
Keith McKeever 1:08:57
you can focus on your thoughts and focus on your task and like maybe maybe the other things that aren't bothering you that are not
Michael Peterson 1:09:02
let's, let's have some punches work. Because I do a lot of thinking when I'm grinding and I feel bad for Mallory, who does a lot of my social media. I'll be grinding. Oh, I got it. I remember. Yeah, we can get to that. But can we do it right now? No, no, no, you got to do these steps. File about the grind.
Keith McKeever 1:09:24
But your mind is is actively working on one thing. Your hands are working on another. But your you know, arguably, you know, as any human being, you've got a million other things going on. Right? So like if you're dealing with a trauma or you're dealing with an issue, and your mind is thinking about that while you're working through the art you know, let's just say it's it's thinking through the past and of trauma. Well, you also have bills to pay, you have family members, you have job stuff, you have all those other things that we all have in our lives. You're not thinking about those. You are focusing your energy and effort on the art like subconscious Just slowly, but you're consciously thinking about and processing through the trauma. So I think that's like sometimes where the some of the healing is and the thought process and the deep thought, where you can kind of focus, almost like a meditative kind of way. Yeah. You know, maybe maybe some way so I think, I think that's where some of the healing is.
Michael Peterson 1:10:17
When we were, you know, a buddy of mine, and he comes down, Sam, he comes down, he's setting up his own business. I've been teaching him he comes down. It's like, Dude, come on, want to do some more stuff. You'll come down here and help me produce. We're help the shop helps me move forward. I'll teach you everything I know. And sometimes I feel a little cocky about sets. I'm like, no, no, no, no, here, let me grab you show that. Like that. See, that works better. I'm gonna, like, want to walk off that good. But he's like, he just shakes his head. But now it's like, let's talk to him earlier says, yeah, it's getting used to your grind the other day. Um, did really good. He said, it's kind of funny how he just kind of just saw sudden clicked to you didn't answer it. Yeah, it was weird.
Keith McKeever 1:11:04
Speaking of like, clicking in knowledge, that leaves my last question I wanted to ask you was back back to your dad, and knowledge. And he, you said that he shared stories with you? Has your dad passed along, you know, hopefully, more age appropriate, or age appropriate stories to your daughters. But has he passed along stories? Has he found a way to write the stories down, or stories or get those to pass down? Because you know, you know, life is one of those things is, you know, life. Life isn't carry on forever. You know, we all pass away, like, you know, to preserve those stories for the future generations. I think it's important. We
Michael Peterson 1:11:47
have been trying to get down to it for last few years. And now. My dad's was 73 now and he finally well, I guess I better start writing it down. So we got some Ledger's for Christmas. And his birthday and such. So I think after kicking him in the, you know, here in the war stories, my grandfather, you know, in the Solomon Islands, he actually shot down to zero with one of the whoever the 50 caliber, I think it was on a ship. Yeah, and
Keith McKeever 1:12:16
that's exactly what I'm talking about. Just little stories, like even if it's a fragment of the story, you know, don't let that die for generations, because your daughter's you know what I mean? Like they're their children, their grandchildren.
Michael Peterson 1:12:28
I think he's finally finally doing it. Finally, after, you know, I think for the last 10 years, not on myself, but my nieces and nephews and my mom think, yeah, just write that story down about grandpa or warhurst or story or whatever. So it's like that. So you know, we all have kind of, that way we can get it typed up, and everybody can get this copy of whatever, you know, stories from, you know, Grandpa, you know, things on the farm and their stories from grandpa was he was on service and, and just, you know, the small stuff that most people would like, wouldn't think of, but it means a lot to us, you know, it's like, you know, look at our history, you know, stories, stories, what a story is exactly, not only just from family, but their, their history, you know, that's history of the past that, you know, you look at the tribalism and mankind from Britain, and how do they, you know, we told stories and touring, the storytelling was way of teaching where you teach them your past. But I think we've lost a lot of that, personally, in our societies, we don't tell the stories. As like, we should, you know, we're all worried about this or that, or you know, who's popular this word or that noun or whatever that, you know, you know what I mean? We're Russian political. And
Keith McKeever 1:13:51
we've got a very unique way these days, though, and, you know, 2023 and beyond to like, record that, like, case in point. I've got a picture back here. This was from my grandfather. He served during the Korean War between World War Two in Korea. He was in Alaska, and he passed away in 1990. And we know he was in the Army Air Corps. We know he was building buildings, but we don't have a whole lot other than a handful of pictures. He was in Alaska, he built buildings. And then he got on the military came home that my grandma settled down, you know, not a whole lot of stories. But he now he, in his mind, I don't think he did anything super awesome, or anything like that. Well, he didn't realize that he had two grand grandsons that served a cousin that was in the Corps, did a deployment to Afghanistan. You know, I did two deployments to Iraq. Like I've got my great grandfather and mother. On my dad's side. I got his jersey or uniform over here, hanging in New Jersey box. And so it's like you I obviously love the history of things like I would love to know the stories like what you know, it was like, we were missing some of those some of those pieces that he just, you know, he served his couple of years and got out and think anything of it. Like he just built some buildings in Alaska. There was a lot of snow and saw a couple you know, salsa mousse and here to tell us kids, you know what I mean?
Michael Peterson 1:15:25
Like my grandpa went to San Diego for training. What's the name of that camp? I can't think.
Keith McKeever 1:15:32
Pendleton Yeah, I
Michael Peterson 1:15:33
think so. I think I guess
Keith McKeever 1:15:35
that's against the San Diego. Yeah, I don't know. Shoot me Marines. I'm sorry. I think June is in North Carolina, in the Carolinas Pendleton, California thing. Yeah,
Michael Peterson 1:15:43
my dad was my heat. My grandfather was a medic. He is a navy was touched the Marine Corps but that's where he went. The last of the rifleman that's you know, on his headstone I can't remember how many men were in that unit they when they graduated boot camp but only three of them made it home out of that entire unit and grandpa was one of them and then kind of makes you like okay, there must have been some divine intervention there because yeah, and I remember one of the stories you know grandpa shut down I can't remember if he was on a ship or if it was in the island itself I can't remember which I was where it was well anyway ended up shooting it there all sudden you know there was no fighting and all sudden boom there were spiking planes coming in and he wants his plane go off crashed and little after the time about that time everybody it cooled down enough about a week later grandpa went out you know see if they could find that plane and by time they you know grab it felt bad because you know he shot somebody down in but he was really good at shooting stuff down because well grandpa hunted birds you know you know how to lead you know duck hunting them such like that and finally when they found it they had it and they always let the pilot was his skeleton in his uniform all the bugs and everything cleaned his a clean skeleton and this kind of know that one of the cool one of the another cool stories is that they were I remember here with Dad was telling us to grapple they were out and had a little bone. I don't like a little dinghy or whatever. They were going out nice spearing fish. And then they're not exactly sure what they speared, but they think it was a giant mannery because two fins come up the side of the boat and everything else. They had drag him out there quite a ways before they cut the rope and started diving down and it was something huge in that area. I guess there was a lot of mantaray in that waters. But they said it was from the scription of the story seemed huge, big enough to drag that boat.
Keith McKeever 1:17:53
Sounds like a typical fisherman story. Yeah, she was actually this big, but it was
Michael Peterson 1:17:57
well if it was Dragon, I want to say there's half a dozen guys. Um,
Keith McKeever 1:18:02
I'm sure it was pretty big, but I'm sure it was embellished too. Right. You know, typical fisherman story.
Michael Peterson 1:18:07
Just you know story being passed on. Yeah, so I don't know like I said it was really cool stories and such
Keith McKeever 1:18:14
still so wouldn't surprise me though. Yeah.
Michael Peterson 1:18:17
So but yeah, that's kind of who he is. Now I'm passing everything in my dad taught me and my dad kind of goes to all you surpass me isn't bladesmith which is like, wow, what? Head don't put the hat on tighten up so the head don't swell, which was really cool to hear. My daughter. And like I said, My middle child, she passed away when she 13 My I have a 19 year old he got he's gonna be 19 this March. I'm kind of weird. They see your kids like grow up. Daisy, my youngest. She's 13 And she started kind of showing my interest in and coming out the shop, you know, the dog outside of zipping up the birds. Oh, shut up dog. She's taken an interest to it. She just actually just came out Saturday morning for forged out five blanks. Trying something a little different. She's a little timid of the grinder. But we started doing these forged niche blades where basically what you do is you take a knife blank. I had some cutouts my EDC line as a 1095 hydrocarbon that I cut out just what we call soft removal it's which really nice changeup from forging Oh my blades by hand out to something to give a little more of a product for people that can't afford the high dollar Damascus etc. She forged them out and had a good time doing it. And so she's like, Well, I gotta go I gotta make some money. I've got a school trip coming up man wants some money to go spend money on whatever I want. But there you go. Where's the shop? So she He's learning it. I believe there's going to be an Rob what was good what's good rob a shout out. You know, Rob Garcia. We're sorry. Dr. Robert Garcia. Air Force guy, you know, there's all those jokes y'all cheer for us and everything. It's it's funny enough of the jokes and the cracks a joke about himself being in the Air Force. It's quite funny and great guy to work with, Hey, we are
Keith McKeever 1:20:25
pretty good as Air Force guys about cracking jokes in ourselves. We kind of walk right into it. So
Michael Peterson 1:20:30
I'm actually I have a friend I grew up with. She went, she went in the Air Force and I give her and her husband shit all the time. She's all I've heard it all. You can't hurt my feelings.
Keith McKeever 1:20:39
I know. But you make fun of others. You can make fun of yourself. Right? Exactly.
Michael Peterson 1:20:45
So yeah, let's kind of just pass it on to her and everything but a big shout out to Robert. Sorry, Dr. Robert Garcia. Want to give them the full respect there was sent a knife out to him and he was totally blown away with that chef's knife. So there'll be some articles coming out from him soon.
Keith McKeever 1:21:04
So yep, he's I've seen him show that off on some Facebook Lives and whatnot and a beautiful knife. I mean, you disagree with where
Michael Peterson 1:21:10
he's got his fingers, you know, haven't Doublemint sharp
Keith McKeever 1:21:17
Tommy needs to, you know, be very careful with it and cut his filet mignon with it instead of playing with it, you know?
Michael Peterson 1:21:25
Well, actually, you're more prone to I would say you're more prone to cut yourself with no knife than you are. With a sharp knife. Ask me how I know.
Keith McKeever 1:21:36
I think I think I got a pretty good idea how you know on that one. So. But, Mike, I want to throw a throw it up here on the screen. For those that are watching. For anybody who's listening. It'll be in the show notes. But Mike's Damascus knives.com. Is your website. Is there any other place where people can reach out to you?
Michael Peterson 1:21:56
You can find me I'm sorry to cut you. I thought you're finished there. You can find me on Facebook at Mike's Damascus LLC. We have the taking the knives out for
Keith McKeever 1:22:06
Facebook. Yeah.
Michael Peterson 1:22:09
You can find us on Instagram at Mike D knives also on tick tock that I absolutely hate because my phone hates tick tock. But we got to be on there. We're gonna do it. We're gonna be cheerful until we can get put on something else and then pay somebody else to deal with that. Mike D knives one on there we got some really cool videos we've been doing during trying to do we're trying to do more media content. Trying to get that up there. I hope to launch my own version of a podcast that I can do interviews, other plates Smith's got a buddy. Matter of fact, I am gonna give you some I'll send you some information a buddy of mine who's a veteran who has his own spice rub. So if you get a steak knife set and I forgot to send him to rob so I gotta go get some Cinder up. Sorry Rob. I forgot to send his fiber up. We're gonna start shipping out his sample bottles were worth our steak knives. Anything is kitchen cutlery related or barbecue related? We're gonna send you his rub because he's a local guy. He's a veteran. And it's just damn good delicious shit. I mean, not only do I use it for barbecue and I use it, I use it on everything my salad. Literally I shit you know, I've been putting it on my toast. It's that good. Sounds nice.
Keith McKeever 1:23:24
Well, not only do you need to have something good to cut your food up with it does need to taste good, too, right? Yes, it does help.
Michael Peterson 1:23:32
And if you're interested in you know, chicken more out chickens, we do a lot more. I do a lot more stuff on Facebook because I know how to run that little bit better. We do if you're local want to do a knife class, we do knife classes, we've got different different classes there from different rates. Also Free Hold. I gotta get gearing up for the second one here. So we do online Facebook Live knife auctions. So you can pick up you know, we started. Basically we don't, you know, we started them out at reserve price what we need to get out of them ever cost and then go from there. Make a little money. We have a little deal going on. We're going to start doing a quarterly drawing. And this kind of, I think fits with this with you and other veterans is we're putting a bug out bag, hikers backpack, you know, deep woods, you know, go out and have tools it's gonna have some really cool stuff in it. First aid kit, you know, it's a cheap bag, but hey, you know what, I think it's a good looking back. I'd use this sucker. I mean, there's better one qualities out there but we're gonna just start trying to have courage, you know, so how to get entered in that. As for everybody who wins a winning bid on the knife auctions, you get a ticket in the drawing. So if you buy five knives, you get five entries. So and we plan on doing that throughout the year. I think the grand finale one I want to give away. We're gonna give away a rifle. I think we're gonna do like a 10 to one Need to also have a coat. And so we're gonna do a break kind of a grand thing. It's something I've been wanting to do. And I'm finally getting to those goals is, it's really weird to be able to actually make these goals like, how am I doing this?
Keith McKeever 1:25:16
That's good. That sounds like some awesome stuff. So anybody who's listening, if you're interested in it, make sure you follow Mike on all those platforms, so you don't miss it. But go make sure you follow mine too. So when I see it, I will make sure that I share it. So yeah. When I see those kinds of things, I mean, I love to share those things that way, I love to share anything my past guests are doing. So it's out there. So anybody who's connected or like somebody's message that they know what's going on. So, like, I appreciate you coming on here. Sure.
Michael Peterson 1:25:46
I'll jump on these journey. I hope that make sense because I'm probably gonna be sitting the couch like, oh, I shouldn't hit you this or why did I talk about that? Oh,
Keith McKeever 1:25:57
that's all right. No, I appreciate it. Because that was really cool to hear about, you know, your behind the scenes stuff with with forged in fire, but also to share a little bit insight. As a child of a Vietnam veteran with some PTSD, you know, kind of deal with that, and some advice and tips and tricks for some of the kids. You know, they go through
Michael Peterson 1:26:19
a lot. Like I said, I can only talk from my experience, and I'm not a therapist, so
Keith McKeever 1:26:26
that makes two of us. That's why I invite therapists on that. Because I am not the expert on that. So but I do appreciate you coming on and there'll be a stranger for the show.
Michael Peterson 1:26:37
Anytime anyone come back on. Like I said, I've got some other people that forger fire people who'd like to reach out I can send you some names you want to reach out to him. They'd love to be glad to come on and talk about it. I mean, you'll find out a lot of us are full of shit a lot of the time but I work with closely with Cheyenne brown CB bone works hope you don't mind me shouting these guys out and then Dustin Rhodes of Dustin, Dustin Rhodes Ford works Robbie Bowman and if you're ever out in Pigeon Forge if you ever get out the Pigeon Forge Tennessee make sure you look up Robbie Bowman he's got to make an experience there and it's he's really great guy spicy Mike and other veterans he's a veteran and knifemaker makes beautiful and you can find him at seven dragon knife works calm there's a lot of guys I'd like to mention but we just don't have the time so
Keith McKeever 1:27:27
like I said I appreciate you stopping by and checking it out so everybody make sure you go check out and follow Mike on all this social like
Michael Peterson 1:27:35
you said this is gonna drop like two weeks for Texas will be
Michael Peterson 1:27:39
a couple weeks before that so yeah, absolutely. If you're in Texas close to Belleville Belle Ville Michael Texas there will
Michael Peterson 1:27:48
be at the county fairgrounds of that. I can't remember the thing I love that says Bill do count just looking up google it will be there there's gonna be at least 50 guys and I know for a fact that Jason Nelson one of the the judges from Fortune fire one of the great guy abs mastersmith makes beautiful stuff. Wasn't one of my judges I had been Abbott with don't ever go toe to toe drinks with Ben Abbott. I'm gonna tell you right now don't do it. That guy's part English, he can hold his liquor. That's for another story. Um, he's great guy though. I got his number I shoot him text every once in a while I try not to bug him because I know he's got his life and him just got married. He recently got a young kid and great guy. Just don't try to match drinks with him because I tried one year and that was Monday.
Keith McKeever 1:28:46
Thanks for stopping by Mike. Yep, thank you. There you have it, folks. Hope you enjoyed. Remember, if you are struggling at all with anything, the National Suicide Hotline number is 988. Press one. And as I always say if there are resources that are not on my website that you think should be please reach out and let me know. And I've added a lot of resources over the last couple of months to my website. So make sure you go check out what resources are on there and use them there are a lot of great resources that are out there. So please go out and use those
