About Me

I was born in 1947 in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1951 I was adopted and my name was changed from Walters to Ellis. My school years were spent in Kentucky, Nevada, Utah, Germany, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and New Jersey because my adoptive father was a career military man. In 1965 my working career started in Pittsfield, Massachusetts as a "soda jerk". I also have worked as an architectural and electrical draftsman in that same city until I entered the military in 1966. I received training in advanced infantry at Fort Ord, then moved on to jump school at Fort Benning, Georgia.

I took part in the protection of Detroit during the riots of 1967 as a member of the 2/505th 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In September of '67 my ticket came up for Viet Nam. After I completed Recondo school in Nha Trang, Vietnam, I was part of a Long Range Patrol unit consisting of 19 operational 6-man teams. It was designated "F" Co, 51st Infantry Airborne - Long Range Patrol. The military called us "Lerps". Upon my return to the United States in 1969 a little worse for the wear, I stayed briefly in Massachusetts before moving to California in 1971.

Through chance, I wound up in the construction trade and for the next 20-plus years specialized in concrete work and all it's forms. I did get in jurisdictional trouble from time to time with the Operating Engineers because I loved playing with all of their big toys - The Operators just considered it "scabbing". Crybabies! Tractors, back-hoes, graders, scrapers and such are a kick-in-the-butt to operate. I couldn't help myself. That brings me into the 90's.

Talk about a career change... I was fed up with too many 109 degree days so I went to work for the Sheriff's Department as a Correctional Officer at the county jail which houses 3,300 inmates on a daily basis. My favorite word there became "obstreperous" and it could have been used in almost all of the reports I had to write on these pillars of society. I just retired from there in March of 2005. I am currently writing a book on my experiences. It will be named Jail Stories and the People Who Live Them. Otherwise, I will be devoting most of my time to making my knives again.

Over the years, I have enjoyed fishing, tennis, jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, owning muscle cars, woodworking, racing dirt bikes, and reading Stephen King novels. I really like creating things with my hands. I like to write even though I am not very good at it. None of these hobbies, however, has given me as much satisfaction as when I saw pure joy in my wife's face when she caught her first fish, or when she hit her first set of doubles at the trap range. Her best quality, however, has been tolerating me... and my PTSD.

At times, it seems like I collect just about everything. Straight razors, knives, guns, pedal cars, walking canes, turquoise belt buckles and bolos, railroad watches and fobs, cowboy stuff, Indian artifacts, kachinas, tools, old wind-up toys, and wall clocks. You know... guy stuff.

I started collecting straight razors because of a single razor from my natural mother's side of the family. The interest to focus on straight razors was probably born out of a desire to establish a link to family history that never really existed for me. One of those psychological deficiencies, I suppose. The razor that started it all belonged to my great-great grandfather who opened the first barber shop around 1860 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The town of Henefer, Utah was named after him. If you enjoy straight razors, check out the link here on this page. And if you collect straight razors, you may want to consider getting my CD book that teaches you how to restore them.

I started making knives in 1991 because it got too expensive for me to keep buying the customs. Not only that, but, it allowed me to make the kind of knives I really wanted. The only problem now is that I can't afford to keep them. The good part is I get to enjoy them for awhile and then turn them over to the next collector. I have made about 225 knives to date. If you already have one of them, you may want to hang on to it. It will be a good investment.