Kyle Royer - Mastersmith and the Blade Symposium

<p>Kyle Royer is a highly respected American master smith, making knives from 14 years old after being encouraged by his mum. He is a skilled maker who believes in sharing what he knows, doing a lot of free content including YouTube and Instagram; he has recently released a very detailed course on the making of a Bowie knife. We talk about growing up in a home school family, being a knife maker, YouTuber, the Blade symposium and so much more. As a family run enterprise with his mum doing most of the Instagram amongst other things, and his brother doing the video work, they have a dynamic that most companies do not have. At the Blade Symposium, Kyle will be teaching several classes and a mosaic Damascus master class, and his brother Josh will be teaching social media for knife makers.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>What we talk about.</strong></p> <ul> <li>How long it takes to make knives and film it.</li> <li>How much it helps not having to do the film making.</li> <li>Homeschooling and Don Hanson and how they were possibly responsible for him being a knifemaker.</li> <li>His first knife was a file with a deer antler handle.</li> <li>He and his siblings were homeschooled.</li> <li>The way I try to let my children learn.</li> <li>Kyle Royer is 29 years old and been making since 14.</li> <li>How he got stated 1 or 2 a month.</li> <li>First grinder was a grizzly.</li> <li>He was lucky enough to have a lot of fabricating tools from his dad.</li> <li>Online mentors and mentors he met at shows.</li> <li>How mentors can critique and make you wanna do better.</li> <li>How you need to be able to hear people’s criticisms to make you better.</li> <li>Over time you can take the critique and still be your own person and have a style.</li> <li>Who to listen to and who not to.</li> <li>The integrity behind how you make knives.</li> <li>How he feels he’d like people to talk about him behind his back.</li> <li>Hopes when someone purchases one of his knives; he hopes that they see part of him in it not just a nice knife.</li> <li>Why he