My visit to Hess Knifeworks

Cory Hess

Cory Hess

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Jul 1, 2014
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I wanted to share an experience I had last weekend. My in-laws have a cabin in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that's about an hour from Escanaba, home of Knives Ship Free and Hess Knifeworks among several other knife makers and shops. Marbles created a pretty nice knife culture in that area. We go up and spend a couple weekends a year up there. The last couple of years I've made a point to take a trip out to Esky, as the locals call it, and stop in at a shop or maker. This last weekend I had the pleasure of spending some time in the workshop of Andy and Don Hess.

Andy and Don worked at Marbles making knives before they shut down their plant and moved production overseas. At that time, the father and son team decided to start making knives on their own. They have made a nice little business for themselves, and Don has since retired so Andy is now the sole full-time knife maker at Hess. When I was there Don was in the shop as well, so I'm not sure how retired he actually is. I've known several "retired" men that still lace up their boots and go to work every day. It's the sign of somebody that really loves their work. I don't know if Don falls into that category or not. He told me that he's "full-time retired", but his presence in the shop suggested that he might pitch in here and there.

The shop is a room off the back of Andy's garage. He has a work bench with a couple drill presses on it, a couple belt sanders, and that's really about it. When I was there he had several trays holding knives in various states of completeness. The knives are all put together individually by hand. Nothing was laid out in batches. That struck me as significant, probably because I'm used to seeing pictures of GEC's knives laid out in trays by pattern. His blades are 1095 and they're cut for him by GEC, so if you're familiar with their knives you'll know the quality of the steel. He was very proud of the fact that everything that goes into his knives, with the exception of some of the exotic woods, is 100% sourced in the USA.

In talking with Andy I was very impressed with the pride he has for his work, but how humble the man is. He described his business to me like this: "I make knives that some hunters seem to like and sell them to small mom and pop shops in the area." I told him that everybody that I've talked to about his knives had a lot of respect for his work, and that I've never heard a negative, or even neutral, review of his knives. He told me that he's received calls from people as far away as Australia and New Zealand looking to buy his knives. He was genuinely confused by this. He asked "How long would you have to be looking on the Internet to find us from that far away?" He seemed amazed at the reception his knives get from people. The whole conversation was very impressive. It reminded me of hanging out in the garage with my friends, not at all a salesman/customer conversation. Just a couple guys shooting the breeze. I didn't know what to expect going in because I don't think that they get a lot of customers showing up to buy knives in person, but I'm really glad I took the time to stop in. I can't imagine that I won't do it again at some point in the future.

I had gotten ahold of the Hesses a couple weeks before my visit and ordered up a knife from them so that it would be ready when I showed up. I picked the model and let my daughter pick the handle. This is what we came up with.



It's their caper in cocobolo. It's been on my hip since Saturday, and I'm loving it. There's something special about ordering and picking up a knife from the person that made it with his own hands. I have a lot of factory knives that I really enjoy, and several I've bought straight from the factory store or business owner, but the few that I've bought straight from the maker are somehow more significant.

Anyways, this was one of the best knife-related experiences I've had and I thought I'd share. I hope it was somewhat interesting for those that read it. I know I'm not a wordsmith like some here.
 
Very cool story to go with a sweet looking knife. Good to know that theres still good peoole out there making good knives. Thanks for sharing, and i hooe the knife serves you well:thumbup:
 
Wow thanks for sharing this. I sure have admired his knives and will probably buy one later this year. They're just beautiful and very classy.

That cocobolo caper is awesome!
 
Thanks for posting this. Sounds like a really great visit! I have a number of Hess knives and they are all excellent in terms of fit and finish. My bird and trout with micarata has had significant " belt time" and use. Excellent quality at a very reasonable price. Obviously, their passion shows in the finished product.
 
Thanks for sharing the story of your visit. I enjoyed reading it. Hearing about the folks behind the knives is always interesting. :thumbup:
 
What an awesome looking knife, made even more special by your trip up there! Thanks for sharing.
 
That was fun to read about and is something that just about anyone who hangs out around here would love doing---I know I would. And your coco caper is a good looking little knife.:thumbup:

So I've got to ask---and it's late and I'm sleepy so maybe I missed it---are you related to the Hess knifemakers?

Andrew
 
I have two Hess knives and they are very nice and functional, and at a price point that can't be beat!
 
Sounds like a fantastic visit Cory, thanks for sharing it with us :) I have admired the Hess knives for some time, but despite my love of fixed-blades, I have found purchasing one hard to justify due to the carry restrictions here (And recently the rock-bottom £! :eek:). Certainly great-looking knives though :thumbup:
 
Cory I enjoyed reading this a lot and was pleased by it as it revealed the ethos of integrity behind these knives. These mens' modest and unassuming nature, making knives that suit the user community, their surprise at all the interest from abroad (count me in!) and putting a very decent knife together for reasonable money is something to respect. It is authenticity if you like. In stark contrast to some makers who seem to want to generate the Cult of Fanboy, 'restrict' access to their knives and charge outlandish prices for them....:rolleyes:

I hope you don't mind me showing this Caper of mine once again? Burl Maple caught in the winter sunshine. It's a wonderful carry knife and extremely versatile, up for all tasks except the ludicrous batoning- it's why we have hatchets! I like the thick rounded handle slabs which offer comfortable and safe grip.

I admire your posts, they're direct, articulate, analytical and questioning. Isn't that a wordsmith?? :confused::D

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Great post Cory. I just had a look through their products(again), and there's a few knives I would be happy to own.
I'm always amazed by their prices. They seem like great quality using knives that won't break the bank. I might try and track down a Tiburon sooner or later. I've been wanting a new hiking/ outdoors knife for some time now, and Hess keeps grabbing my attention.
 
Hess Knifeworks makes excellent knives. The Whitetail I had and th Pioneer recently gifted to me have really impressed me. Plan on getting another.
 
Interesting story and that knife shop sounds like the perfect place to sit down and have a nice February visit.

I only own one Hess, a leather handled Muley. It is a fabulous knife, not just for the money either. It will not be my last. The Marble's lineage is obviously there and is being carried on in fine fashion.
 
Great write up Cory I really like Hess Knives. I had a Pioneer that was a great knife but it got no carry time at all be cause of my my obsession with G. L. Drew knives so I gave it to leghog. I hope both he and you don't mind but here's a picture of it.


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I agree with everyone who has thanked you, Cory. You did an excellent job conveying a very interesting story!

I really enjoy the design of the Hess Caper. I don't own one, but your wood handled example is certainly intriguing enough for me to put one on my list. Lovely knife!
 
Cory -- Another "thank you for sharing". The cocobolo Large Caper i have is my absolute favorite camp knife. Curious if you conversed with Andy and Don why they use convex grinds? And are the edges put on in house or at GEC?
 
Thanks for the kind words everybody. I'm glad that some are finding this worthwhile.

In terms of the knife itself, it's just fantastic. I have a couple of knives from Battle Horse and LT Wright, and I'd put this on the same level. It's really a horse apiece. Jamie was right in saying that the Marbles lineage is in good hands at the Hess shop. The design of the knife is near perfection. I have a similar knife, the Frontier Valley, made by Battle Horse and I plan on doing a little writeup of this pattern in the near future. Suffice it to say, I'm a big fan.

The Hess came out a little less expensive than BH or LT, but 1095 is less expensive than O1 and A2 in general so that probably accounts for the price difference. I talked with Andy about their pricing, or more accurately the difference between their prices and what other shops charge. He chalked it up to low overhead. I brought up Bark River as a comparison because they're almost close enough to walk to from Hess. He said that he thought Bark Rivers were priced fairly, but that they had to pay their mortgage, pay the 10 guys in the shop, pay all the people working in the office, etc. He works out of his garage, so other than a small increase in his electric bill there is no overhead to speak of. I've read people pontificate that with the quality of the knives that Hess is putting out the prices are sure to go up at some point. Talking to Andy I didn't get the feeling that that was in his plans at all. He told me that he has no plans on growing the business at all, and isn't looking to get rich. He just wants to be able to pay his bills, put food on the table, and put a little in the bank for retirement. Like I said, he's a very modest man.

I did not ask about the convex grind, as it's one that I prefer and it didn't strike me as odd. In hindsight I wish I had, as I'd be interested to know what his answer is. I suspect that it's what he knows from working at Marbles, and he's just sticking with it. GEC cuts the blades and puts on an initial primary grind. He gets them after the heat treating and cleans them up from that process and gets the primary grind to where he's happy with it and then puts the edges on himself. Basically, GEC gets him close enough that he's not standing at the grinder all day and he takes it from there.

I'm not related to the UP Hesses in any way that I'm aware of. The Hesses in my family are all in Chicago and California. I do have to admit that it's really cool having my name on a knife, even if I have nothing to do with the guys that made it. The name is what initially drew me to look into Hess Knifeworks more, but that's as far as it goes.

I'm loving all of the pictures of Hess knives, please keep them coming. It's a small company that doesn't get the attention it deserves here. I'm guessing that's mostly due to the fact that a lot of the focus is on folding knives instead of fixed blades. I think that people would be stunned to find out how nice of a knife they could get for under $100.
 
Great backstory, Cory. Thank you. I can say there's now a Hess large Caper on it's way to my side of the Pacific! It struck me when I saw that the blades came from GEC with hand finishing by Hess. And that they are amazingly reasonably priced. But I didn't really truly realize that this was a father and son team working on knives one at a time. Makes it that much more special.
 
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