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@IronLionBlades
Deeply inspired by military knives of the 20th century, Aidan Garrity of Iron Lion Blades LLC provides the finest and most purpose-driven custom blades on the market.
Beginning his knifemaking career in 2009 at the age of 12, he knew what he wanted to dedicate his life to within a few moments of holding tongs and a hammer. Feeling the metal move, stubborn but achievable, felt like an endeavor worth placing his mind and effort into. Since then, he’s honed his skills to develop many generalist and specialized blades to offer any passionate collector, soldier, chef, hunter, or enthusiast.
He loves to make anything he hasn’t made before, and the design work is among the most important aspects of making anything, including knives. This period is one best spent with the person who needs the blade, and Aidan prefers to deeply involve the customer in the design process. His job is not to make a knife, it’s to make your knife.
As mentioned, the 1st and 2nd World Wars are of particular interest to the maker, and it shows in the style and materials of many of his blades. His combat knives are heavily inspired by blades issued to some of the hardest and most enduring people in history. Aidan pulls from elements including surface finish and blade design, and has even gone as far as to develop a proprietary handle material to honor the legacy of these knives. Aidan has made it his mission to learn from the characteristics these blades held.
BOVITE, Aidan’s self-made leather composite, adorns many of his knives. It borrows the nostalgic look and feel of stacked leather grips seen on many issued knives during the wars, without compromising the toughness and weather resistance sought after in modern materials. His passion for blades of this sort has taken him as far as making fully functioning bayonets for modern and historical firearms.
Classic dedicated fighting knives such as the venerable bowie knife are well within his wheelhouse as well. Aidan has a portfolio of historically inspired fighting bowies from 19th century America, sharing the roles they played in shaping the United States in its earliest days through their modern remaking.
Looking beyond combat blades, he also shares a love of cooking. This is reflected in his long passion for making culinary knives. Whether it’s a robust stainless workhorse or a heavily embellished piece of functional art, a knife has retained its place as the most important kitchen tool since we first began cooking food. That legacy provides Aidan with a mountain of knowledge to aid in creating the most reliable and beautiful kitchen blades available.