WELCOME TO ACRE FORGE

Located off the corner of Macrum Avenue and Armor Street in an industrial corridor of the St. John neighborhood of North Portland, Acre Forge is a knifemaking production facility that includes the business offices and atrium of Acre Knives, a culinary knife company opened for business by Dane Tomseth in 2023.

MEET THE KNIFEMAKERS

JAMISON CHOPP

Jamison grew up making furniture and pondered pivoting to it as a career after college when he discovered knifemaking, which weaves wood and metal work. After an apprenticeship learning to make knives at Carter Cutlery, where he mastered traditional Japanese lines, shapes and patterns; Chopp opened his own shop before rejoining his former colleagues at the Forge.   

At Acre, Jamison lets organic forged patterns speak for themselves on his blades. “I try to find beauty and refinement in simplicity instead of complexity. There’s no detail about a knife that I don’t pour myself into creatively. I’ve never been obsessed with perfection: I want you to look at my knives and know that they’re handmade.” 

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SHAMUS DOTSON

Dotson’s earliest memory of blades goes all the way back to when he was a kid watching the anime show Rurouni Kenshin, which portrayed the respect and admiration samurais have for their swords.  At just fifteen, he met Murray Carter, who took Dotson on as his apprentice when he moved to Oregon. “I’d never made knives before, but I was a hard worker, needed a job, and loved the creativity behind it.”  

As a bladesmith, Shamus has always pushed the conventions of traditional kitchen knife production with his distinctive blade patterns, contoured handle profiles and colorful materials combinations. In the last two decades, he’s made over ten thousand mostly forged knives and is still coming up with daring new designs for his signature collection.    

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CHLOE LUNE KIM

Chloe grew up in her dad’s workshop in Vienna, Austria where she learned firsthand how tools are precious things from her father, who was a violin maker. She began exploring her dad's carving tools as a child and became fascinated with working with her hands. After almost a decade working in the front and back of house of restaurants in New York City, Chloe moved to Oregon to apprentice for Murray Carter. 

With her signature Lune line at Acre Knives, Chloe uses bright, playful color combinations that aren’t typically associated with handmade tools. Her philosophy is simple: because we spend so much of our lives in the kitchen, our tools should do more than perform; they should delight. 

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RYAN CAVALLO

Following in the footsteps of his great grandfather who was an ornamental blacksmith, Ryan began making knives in his backyard when he was 13 years old. This eventually led him to an apprenticeship at Carter Cutlery in 2018, where he met a number of bladesmiths, collectors and chefs, who helped him understand what to look for from a kitchen knife. 

For his signature line at Acre Forge, Cavallo restrains his color and material choices to draw attention to organic details in each knives materials and construction. “My Western knives are more European, drawing from French chef knives and my family heritage; while my Japanese knives are a natural expression of my traditional training."

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ADAM ANDREWS

A decade into his career as a cook, Andrews began searching for better options for his cutlery, which had grown into an extension of his hand. As a lifelong tinkerer, he decided to invest in the tools to make a knife instead of spending his hard-earned money to buy one. He ground his first blade in his Portland apartment, heat treated it in his mom’s backyard, and his journey as a bladesmith began.  

Fifteen years later at Acre Forge, Andrews' process still begins with needs of the user. He starts with the blade pattern and the handle follows integrating ergonomics and style. Adam’s attention to how a knife feels in the hand comes from a lifelong interest in 3D modeling. “Working with shapes- particularly on the CNC machine at the Forge- has helped me see materials not just for what they are, but for what they can become.”

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GREYSON WALKER

Greyson Walker’s interest in knives began while studying product design in college. After discovering he could reliably substitute his X-Acto blade for a Spyderco pocketknife, which could be sharpened instead of discarded when dull, he began collecting and customizing blades. After graduating, Walker worked as a handle maker for Murray Carter for nearly a decade before joining the team at Acre Forge.    

Greyson’s reputation for meticulously-finished handles carries over to the thoughtful knife designs of his signature collection. These feature high-performance steel blades, often with a focus on outdoor tasks. To complete the package, their handles are formed of other refined modern materials commonly reserved for aerospace and automotive applications.

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CONTACT ACRE KNIVES

If you have any questions about a knife for sale, would like to schedule a visit to purchase a knife, commission a custom order, or have your Acre knives serviced or sharpened; please reach out with your name and preferred contact details. We’ll get right back to you. 

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