Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Altavilla.
Hi Dan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In 2013, my wife Nic saw how unhappy I’d become in my career as a salesman. I primarily worked in B2B tech sales, for many companies that are household names. While I excelled in this career, I enjoyed none of it.
By that time, I was already making knives for my own personal use and amusement. My making knives was always reserved in the back of my mind as a way to supplement income during retirement, which was 30 years down the road at that point.
She saw the potential in my craft and encouraged me to chase it down where nobody else (not even myself) would. She was and is the foundation of every effort made in this venture.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Certainly not. I don’t know of many creative/artistic ventures that are smooth roads. Thankfully, I had my wife to support me all the way through along with a body of loyal clients that I slowly built through quality work and superior client service.
I learned as I went. I had no teachers or instructors of any kind. I asked for no professional help of any kind from any other maker. Everything I’ve learned in this craft was pure trial and error. All lessons were intentionally learned the hard way. And many of those lessons were hard learned indeed. Costly mistakes are the best teacher. Making a mistake that hurts ensures you’ll never make that mistake again. I find this method of learning far better than any professional instruction. It is costly up front, yes. But it leads to proven methods,
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Bladesmith. In more common terms, a knife-maker.
While I do dabble in other blacksmithing, my primary focus is cutting tools. From kitchen knives to outdoor knives to swords and everything in between. If its job is to cut, there’s a very good chance that I make it.
My pride comes from my aforementioned methods of learning. Learning through trial and error leads to a pride that is unique to the method. None of my work or processes were taught to me by anyone else. Everything I produce is 100% mine and mine alone. I need to credit exactly no other maker for helping, assisting or guiding me.
Pride is to be taken in that which we have done, not the product of someone else’s knowledge. Standing on my own two feet is the only way I know to feel genuine pride.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Learn the hard way. Start with minimal tooling. Do not throw money at problems. The easiest way to go broke in this work is to throw money into machines for jobs that could be done by hand.
Expect lean times. Expect to sacrifice in order to achieve your goals. Be willing to make those sacrifices whenever necessary. Embrace them and understand that they are a natural part of the process and lead only to good things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bushkillblades.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bushkillblades
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1352948796
