Meet the Deaf Bladesmith

The Irony of the Hammer

It may come as a surprise to those who didn’t know that Buddy Thomas was not born deaf. Ironically Thomas lost his hearing at the age of three by the blow of a hammer in a childhood accident during playtime. He never regained his hearing. However he endured years of speech therapy to be able to speak. Growing up in the deaf community, American Sign Language was his primary language. He first found his passion in metal working taking Mechanics/Welding class during high school and made his first knife in 1997. It would be another 15 years before Thomas made another after rediscovering his passion in crafting with steel. Soon after Thomas was making more knives using the stock removal method. Taking it another step, Thomas began learning the way of the forge and anvil furthering his skill as bladesmith now hand forging his blades. Thomas has been featured twice in Blade Magazine and several other local publications. Thomas was awarded Disabled Spokesman of the Year in 2017 by the OKDRS. Thomas was also a contestant in Season 5 Episode 38 of the popular History Channel television series, Forged in Fire. The episode was titled "The Pipe Tomahawks". Thomas was also voted as a Top 10 Fan Favorites of the show by The Fans of the Forge Podcast. To this day Thomas puts his heart and soul into every creation that leaves his forge offering both forged creations and a current line of stock removal production knife and sheath sets.

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