Ed Fowler
Builds Working Knives
By Jim Beyer

Ed Fowler is a gruff, gravel-voiced fellow who favors wearing sweat stained cowboy hats and work faded jeans. He forges knives for a living, but when he is not hammering steel into blades, he ranches and writes books. Ed is also the Democrat Party’s candidate for Fremont County Sheriff.

I was an avid sportsman, but one day I decided I had enough. I had a Boone & Crockett bull elk standing broadside to me. I had my arrow drawn back; laid right on him and I decided that he was beautiful. I said ‘Thank you Mr. Bull Elk.’ I took all day trying to sneak up on him, and I did, but I had enough. I do not begrudge anyone who wants to hunt. I welcome them to the hunt, because it is fun.

Ed compared hunting to law enforcement. The job description for law enforcement includes ‘must be able to endure long hours of boredom.’ “Never, once in 12 years was I ever bored as a patrolman. I loved every minute of it. It was the hunt. It was me meeting the people, working with the people. There were no long boring hours. It was the same as hunting. I loved every minute of it.” Even when he was tracking or lying in wait, Fowler looked around at the birds, bugs and scenery. 

Ed shifted gears again and brought out his old knife. “This knife has dressed out and butchered, I will bet 500 animals, since I made it.” The knife has a sheep horn handle, a brass hand guard and steel blade that Ed forged years ago.

“What you want in a hunting knife is one that is safe.” The full guard on the knife turns the hand away from the sharp edge if the blade stops suddenly. “Next you want a clean blade. Gut hooks and serrations in a blade are nothing but future stress risers.” If you have to dig or pry with a knife like that, it will snap. Ed pointed to the spine of the knife and said, “You can see where I hammered and wailed on it” You need to be able to pound on the back and the tip must be solid enough so that it will not break off prying

The knife you chose to go hunting with has to be ready to do any job necessary. Ed’s teacher Bill Moran advised him if you want to make a living, you have to make “art knives.” He replied, “If I can make the most functional knife ever made, one that a man can depend on, then I would have the most exclusive “art knife” that has ever been made. I’ve done it.”

For 30 years, Rex Walter, a metallurgist from Pennsylvania and Ed worked on new alloys and quenching techniques. They started with 52-100 ball-bearing grade steel, but have changed the crystalline structure of the steel. “You can destroy a knife if you forge the steel wrong or you can fly with the eagles if you do it right.” After 30 years of experimentation in his unsophisticated shop, with the help of H.M. Wertz in Germany, Joe Zolaski, New York and Walter, Fowler learned how to “do it right.”  “We did it all with low-tech equipment. There is a propane forge and a tempering oven and that’s all,” Ed said.

Ed displayed his “ultimate knife” saying it was inspired by a knife forged before 1850 by a fellow name Price. Fowler’s knives are so popular that he has a 15-year waiting list. He sells a few knives at shows. “I never set out to make the same knife over and over again,” Ed said. He sees himself as an artist and not a manufacturer. Ed has over 90 hours of labor in his ultimate knife.

He may allow someone to mass-produce his designs to make them affordable for the average hunter. Partner Rex and Ed are trying to decide what level of quality they will be satisfied. “It is degrading to even consider it, if you know what you mean.” Ed knows that many people would like to own an Ed Fowler knife, but “In good conscience, I can not sell them something that is not my best. It is something that I am going to have to get over.”

Ed and Rex made a video that shows everything about how to forge one of his knives. “There are no secrets. Everything we have learned is in that video.” Ed said he enjoys banging around in his shop. I love making knives.”

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