Our Story

Dark Lake Forge was started by Sam McCune, In early May of 2018 Sam had been doing some leather work making knife sheaths and holsters for himself and friends. He realized that he loved creating and wanted to be able to create the knives to allow him to have exactly what he wanted in a knife and sheath. He had been researching and learning about blacksmithing for several months when he finally decided to try it, A simple campfire with a hair dryer to achieve a high enough heat to start forging a piece of rebar.

Quickly it became an addiction, Hours of learning from books, videos and everything he could to increase his knowledge and abilities. The Projects varied from forging knives to spoons to all the tools he needed to make it easier to create the projects he desired. Blades were his favorite by far though, There is something about a hand forged blade.

The History of Blacksmithing is another area of fascination, Learning how in the centuries before, blacksmith’s were the main hangout of a town, it’s where all the tools were created or repaired for equipment, farming and everything made of metal. Many of the books on blacksmithing are from a time before machine shops and thousandths of an inch of tolerance, they were from a simpler time. Where a handmade, high quality tool had a rugged look, but functioned perfectly for generations.

Sam wrangled his Dad Bob into blacksmithing late in 2018, since Dad’s mantra has always been why do something by hand they make a power tool for he wanted a power hammer. Due to restricted funds it became an engineering project that we must tackle on our own, with what material we had on hand to recycle. Together they created this sledge helve hammer our of scrap metal and an old fan motor. It has been in use since with the occasional tweak to design to assist with the larger projects. It’s a real labor saver when your hammering arm has had enough. Bob has since created his own flavor of knives, The Ring knife collection is all a brain child of Bob and are a great addition of creativity to Dark Lake Forge.

Most of the knives we create are made from recycled high quality carbon steel, All our steel is tested in heat treating processes to make sure it can become hard enough and tough enough to hold an edge and not crack under extreme pressure. We use everything from Rebar, Leaf spring, coil spring, files, any high quality steel tools can be recycled and given new life as a useful and beautiful tool you can pass down for generations.

Our goal at Dark Lake Forge is to create Functional, Beautiful knives for everyone, using the techniques and quality standards from long generations past. The responsibility of recycling what we can from other industries that would typically just throw them away is a big part of what we are working on. We would love to partner with any machine shop or wood shop that has small scraps of steel or hardwood, to recycle them and give them new life as a beautiful tool that can stand the test of time.

As we have progressed in the last couple of years we have shipped our knives, leatherwork and blacksmith goods all over the world. From the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Ireland and all over the USA.

We give all our customers piece of mind with our lifetime guarantee, “If there is any defect in material or craftsmanship under normal use, We will repair or replace the knife for you.” It’s just that simple. Handmade in Lake George, Co, USA we are proud to be making 100% American knives.

From Sam McCune:
I am so excited that you have found Dark Lake Forge and I look forward to showing you what we offer, I would love it if you would reach out to me on Facebook or Instagram so I can introduce myself. I love seeing Bushcrafters, Campers, Woodsmen and Hunters pictures of their time outdoors. I love the outdoors with an intense passion and I would love to give everyone the opportunity to spend more quiet time in nature. It heals the body, mind and spirit. Thank you.