Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis Weige.
Travis, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It started very innocently with me watching random videos online and I came across a video about a knife maker. It told a short story about him getting started in the custom chef knife business and I thought to myself, “I bet I can do that!” I decided I was going to build two kitchen knives. One for my mother and one for my mother-in-law as Christmas gifts. I went out to the barn and found an old belt sander and got to work on a cheap bar of steel. The belt sander caught on fire and the steel rusted quickly, but I knew I had something. It also helped that many of the people I told about this new hobby asked, “Can you make me a knife?”
After my found sander was destroyed by a fire I invested in some quality machinery and steel and have been making knives ever since. I instantly decided to focus on kitchen cutlery because most of the knife makers I spoke with focused on hunting knives and I wanted to do something different. Plus, I wanted my knives to be used in the heart of the home to prepare meals more frequently than a hunting knife might be used.
Many knife makers reproduce the same knife over and over while using the same exact materials so I decided I would never make the same knife twice. I let the customer choose the shape, length and handle material, pins and more. I like customers to visually see the different woods and handle materials and get a clear idea what their knife is going to look like. This is a very custom experience for knife users that allows them to participate in the creation of their knife.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Being a small business owner is never easy. It’s even more difficult being a small business that makes custom items. It’s hard to make a profit as it’s difficult to pay yourself for the labor it takes to produce a high-quality item, quickly. It’s taken years to develop and refine our process and be able to buy our materials in bulk so we can pass those savings on to the customer.
Our largest struggle is to keep up with the demand for our knives. Which isn’t a bad thing, but there’s also a weight on my shoulders knowing that our customers have been waiting over a year for their knife to arrive. Also, that the retail stores that carry our knives are sold out and we don’t have the bandwidth to stop and make them 10 more. We are working on it though.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Weige Knives story. Tell us more about the business.
Weige Knives creates one of a kind, heirloom quality kitchen knives. While we make an outdoor knife or oyster shucker here and there our focus is on high-performance culinary tools for the home cook as well as the professional. We’re proud of the quality and functionality of our knives foremost. We create a knife with everything is should have and nothing is shouldn’t. Meaning we focus on traditional blades w/ sustainably harvested local woods to reflect our Texas roots.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t believe in luck nor do I rely on it, but I do believe in opportunity and creating a place for the opportunity to grow. It also helps to recognize opportunities and make the most of any door that is slightly cracked.
Pricing:
- Knives start at $225 for paring knives and go up from there. A standard chef knife starts at $575.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.weigeknives.com
- Email: travisweige@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weige_knives/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weigeknives/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/WeigeKnives
Image Credit:
Jesus Hildago Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
