Damascus Steel: From Traditional Patterns to Modern Mosaic This week on Behind The Anvil, Mike goes solo and dives into the world of Damascus steel! From traditional ladder, raindrop, twist, and feather patterns to W-pattern, Turkish, San Mai, Cu-Mai, canister, and mosaic Damascus, we're covering a little bit of everything. Mike shares his own experiences, techniques, successes, and failures, talks about making the switch from coal to propane, and even touches on meteorite Damascus and some future projects he'd like to tackle. Of course, no shop episode would be complete without a few unexpected interruptions… this time, it's a little trouble with the well pump! So grab a cup of coffee and join Mike Behind The Anvil, where we talk steel, sparks, and everything in between!

Behind The Anvil — Best Of: Brian J. Rognholt Well… Mike has lost his voice yet again! So rather than leave you without an episode, we’re digging back into the archives for a Best Of featuring Brian J. Rognholt. This was a great conversation packed with bladesmithing, craftsmanship, and some good old-fashioned Behind The Anvil conversation. Hopefully Mike will have found his voice again by next week! Until then, sit back and enjoy this Best Of episode.

I’m Done Taking Custom Knife Orders — Here’s Why Welcome back to Behind The Anvil with your host, Michael Peterson! In this episode, Mike goes solo and gets real about the current state of Mike’s Damascus Knives and why he has made the decision to step away from custom knife orders. Mike starts off by reading a Facebook post he came across asking fellow bladesmiths why they stopped taking custom orders. The responses from other makers got him thinking about his own experiences and ultimately led into a bigger conversation about why custom work can sometimes take the fun out of the craft. Between working full-time driving truck, dealing with the demands of running a knife business, social media headaches, and recovering from a nasty two-week illness that has left his voice a little rough, Mike has been doing some serious thinking about what he actually wants from the craft. Mike talks about the good, the bad, and the downright frustrating parts of taking custom orders — from deposits and customer expectations to progress pictures, deadlines, and trying to make someone else's vision while still keeping the passion alive. After years of dealing with an overflowing order book and the pressure that comes with it, Mike explains why making knives for customers started feeling more like a job than something he loved. So what's the plan now? Instead of taking custom orders, Mike wants to make what he wants to make — one-off knives, inventory pieces, experimenting with designs, and eventually playing around with some mosaic Damascus. With six knives currently available and progress updates being posted on Facebook, the focus is shifting toward making knives on his own schedule and enjoying the craft again. Mike also talks about the challenges knife makers face getting their work seen on social media, the restrictions surrounding knife-related content, the economics of batch production versus custom work, and some advice he's picked up from other makers along the way. Plus, there's talk about potential guests, possibly having a fill-in or occasional guest host, and maybe getting Spicy Mikey involved somewhere down the road. Sometimes stepping back isn't giving up — sometimes it's how you get the passion back. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and join Mike Behind The Anvil! Check out 3rd Day Coffee – Seguin: https://third-day-coffee.square.site/