History Comes Alive with Mastersmith Lin Rhea
(Image credit: Lin Rhea)
Today’s bladesmith interview is presented by our partners at Sig Sauer. Sig builds the toughest, most precise rifles, pistols, suppressors, optics, ammunition, and airguns, while offering the finest firearms training. Click here to check out their latest deals.
The art of bladesmithing in the United States has deep roots in Arkansas. The state is home to ten percent of ABS Mastersmiths. The Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing opened there in 1988 and has taught thousands of students the ancient craft. This week, we spoke with one of Arkansas’s most beloved Mastersmiths, Lin Rhea.
RELATED: FORGED IN FIRE IS HITTING THE ROAD FOR SEASON 10
Lin has been bladesmithing for over twenty years and got his start at the Bill Moran School in Old Washington State Park in 2002. Recently, he was named Arkansas Living Treasure of 2023 by The Arkansas Art Council. The title is given to those recognized as masters of traditional crafts from Arkansas. When he is not creating beautiful, functional blades in his shop, he is at the Historic Arkansas Museum, where he volunteers and demonstrates his skills to visitors.
Lin discussed why he fell in love with the craft, a special project he has been working on with the Historic Arkansas Museum, and shared his advice for bladesmiths.
How Lin got his start in bladesmithing
BRUTE de FORGE: How did you get into forging and bladesmithing?
Lin Rhea: Early in 2002, I took a class under Joe Keesler and Greg Neely. It was an introductory course in southwest Arkansas at the Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing. That is where I got my start.
BDF: What was it about the bladesmithing that you fell in love with?
LR: That's a good way to describe it, I suppose. I didn't even realize there was a school until my wife, Kay, looked into it. I had expressed to her that I wanted to learn to make knives and she was very supportive. I had been making a few, but I didn't really know what I was doing. There were some aspects of it that I needed to vastly improve on. So, Kay looked into it and started saving money and getting our affairs in order so that I could take two weeks away and take the class. It was a wonderful experience. I did it, but initially, I didn't feel like I could do it. It took me a while to learn the techniques, but I finally got to where I could make some knives.
That started in 2002. Then, in June of 2009, at the Atlanta Blade Show, I got my Mastersmith stamp.
Lin’s path to Mastersmith
BDF: What made you want to become a Mastersmith?
(Image credit: Lin Rhea)
LR: In the beginning, I didn't have any real ambition to do that, necessarily. It turned out that when I went through the journeyman side of things three years earlier, I realized how much I had learned making those journeyman knives. As I continued smithing, I started selling a few blades here and there, and that motivated me to continue on. The more knowledge I absorbed, the better I got, and I started thinking it might be within reach to sell knives if I just tried hard enough. So, that desire to produce better knives and sell them helped me make the decision to try for the Mastersmith ranking. I started working toward it, and I did it.
BDF: What did you do before you were a full-time bladesmith?
LR: I was in home construction. I've been involved in different types of construction, but I always worked with my hands. I was a builder. Carpentry was my forte, so when it came to three-dimensional shapes, I was good at it. I understood it. I was the guy who cut out the roof sections and constructed complicated roofing. Everyone calls that stick-built roofs now. I was the one who laid it out and figured out the rafters and other pieces. That gave me an understanding of spatial orientation, three-dimensional things, and geometry, all of which apply to bladesmithing.
Lin’s very own specialty blade
BDF: You are known for your specialty blade called the X-Rhea. Can you tell me about that knife? How did you come up with that design?
LR: I was taking a class on historic lock making with Peter Ross a number of years ago—back in 2015, give or take. Some of the techniques got me thinking about how to apply them to knives. The more I worked with iron and steel within the context of blacksmithing and making some of those more complex mechanisms that the blacksmith had to deal with back in the 1800s, the more I saw that they didn't have to add a lot of material to these mechanisms. They used iron and steel. The combinations of those two things look alike, but you could interchange the character of the material by going to steel or work-hardening iron and making it act like a spring.
Anyway, that long drive home from North Carolina to Arkansas allowed me to think a lot about how I could apply the knowledge to knives. Could I make a knife that was one piece of material and make it functional? Could I make it look good?
I knew I had quite a challenge set for myself. I started with a small knife, and I worked out all the bugs and developed the process. I then adapted that process to a bigger knife. I added some things and subtracted some others. At first, there was a lot of wasted effort. The risk of my original process was so great that I felt I had to kick some things out and add some things, but now I've got it perfected.
“They like the idea of using as few materials as possible and appreciate that it’s more or less a concept and a philosophy.”
A lot of people might not appreciate the knife itself. I get a variety of reviews on it, but most people recognize that it is a challenge. Some makers who have that minimalist mentality like the approach because it is a very basic, very simple design. They like the idea of using as few materials as possible and appreciate that it's more or less a concept and a philosophy. Most people appreciate the whole notion of it. It is pretty challenging, but I do teach it to people.
BDF: Do you have a favorite style knife to forge? Other than your X-Rhea, of course.
LR: I enjoy the bowie knife. I'm also a hunter, so a good hunting knife is important. You need to have more than one of those. But the bowie is my favorite. There's something about it; you can go very basic or dress it up, and it is still a bowie. It has to be functional, but I like the historic side of the knife. The James Black story, for example, and the fact that the bowie’s roots are in Arkansas and this part of the country. I feel that it's what I should be making.
RELATED: UNSHEATHING THE LEGEND OF JAMES BLACK
The reward of bladesmithing
BDF: What makes forging so rewarding?
LR: I believe it's because I have my hands on every part of the knife from beginning to end. The knife would not have happened without me forging it first, preparing it to grind, and then doing the finish work.
“I know that there are some people that don’t understand what I do. They ask, “Where do you buy your knife parts?” I don’t buy my knife parts; I make them. ”
I make every part, and that's very satisfying to me, knowing that I didn't buy the parts already made or assembled. I know that there are some people that don't understand what I do. They ask, “Where do you buy your knife parts?” I don't buy my knife parts; I make them.
Lin’s Inspirations
BDF: What are some things that inspire you when making a blade?
LR: Well, of course, history inspires me, but I don't always stick to that. I make what I envision as a functional, safe, and useful blade that is pretty. I want it to be both pretty and functional. Function comes first; you can't get away from that. As they say, ‘form follows function.’ I have realized more and more as time goes by that you cannot make something that functions well without it having some degree of aesthetics. It just looks better when it's made right.
BDF: You have been a bladesmith now for over twenty years. What are some changes you’ve seen in the industry?
(Image credit: Caleb Royer / Lin Rhea)
LR: We have a lot of discussions in our groups, and we have meetings about that very thing: what changes have been taking place in the last year? What are we looking at in the near future?
We see the laws changing and what materials are acceptable to use. It’s important to be open to new materials. Never underestimate your contribution to what new and acceptable material might be. I know it sounds funny coming from a person who makes knives with only one piece of material, but I also use materials that have formerly been viewed as a “lower price” or having “no class.” If someone tells you that, then make it classy! Your imagination is the limitation. Try to contribute to the industry.
“Your blade shouldn’t stand just on material alone. It should stand on its overall form and its function. ”
Government regulations are cracking down so hard on some materials that they aren’t worth using anymore, so we have to use our imagination. We have to use different combinations of materials. We still have plenty of good stuff. Your blade shouldn't stand just on material alone. It should stand on its overall form and its function.
BDF: When you were learning this craft, was there something about the process that was particularly challenging for you?
LR: Going back to that day I started in 2002, we watched someone forge a blade, and I was trying to get my head wrapped around how to shape hot steel with an anvil and hammer. That was challenging. Without me knowing it, I was learning geometry. You might know geometry, and you might even see the physical geometry in your mind, but can you impart it to that piece of steel? After that, can you grind it? You're walking up to a stationary grinder, and you are performing a little dance in front of that stationary grinder. The belts are moving, but the machine is not doing anything to help you. You have to do the rest.
So, getting the geometry you're supposed to have on that blade and then making it look good was a real challenge. That doesn't happen overnight. One of the challenges is to stick to it and stay with it. Spend the time repeating the process and making the needed adjustments. That's why so few are doing it in this manner: forging and grinding and not sending anything out. It is a challenge because you have to have access to the equipment, and you have to spend the time in front of it doing the work.
“One of the challenges is to stick to it and stay with it.”
All in all, the biggest challenge is the discipline it takes to keep doing it and improving yourself. It takes repetition and discipline.
Lin’s work with the Historic Arkansas Museum
BDF: You mentioned earlier that the bowie knife is your favorite knife to forge. I read an article that said you were working on cataloging bowie knives made by James Black. Can you tell me about that project?
(Image credit: Lu Waters)
LR: I have worked for the Historic Arkansas Museum for a number of years. There are three James Black knives housed at that museum, so I had access to them. I could not go and handle them every day, of course, but they were on display, and I could study them and look at them. From time to time, when changes were being made to the gallery, the knives would be out, and I could put the white gloves on and handle them. I could measure them and look at them from every angle, measure their thickness and height, and even weigh them. So, I got to know them from the outside.
In working with the museum, I gravitated toward a group interested in history. Many of them are in our early Arkansas reenactment group. We have architects, archaeologists, historians, and knife makers. You get all those people together, and everybody has their own reason for looking at these historic knives. Some of us are looking at it from the makers' perspective, a historical perspective, or from the condition and environment to determine what made these bowie knives look exactly the way they look. What do the marks, scratches, and handle material mean? What story can they tell us about the blade? The archaeologists had a lot of insight and helped us to understand some things. Our group is diverse, but we found that it has assisted us in our understanding of these knives.
We added one other point of data to our research as well, and that's an x-ray of the blade. It is a hot topic that brings with it a lot of questions and some things that we can't talk about.
BDF: What makes it a hot-button issue?
LR: For example, if you had a Monet or Rembrandt painting and another artist was told exactly how it was created—all the ingredients, materials, and all earmarks of that original painter—it would make the painting more prone to be replicated and counterfeited.
By the same token, we have to be careful because we learn specific things from x-raying the bowie knives. Our purpose behind doing it is to tie one knife to the others. If this one looks like that one, that's a connection, but it's just circumstantial. They only look similar. But if one of the knives has good provenance, then we can be sure James Black made that knife. If that's the case, we can use the knife we know was made by James Black and compare it to others from the same period and better determine if others have the same qualities. If they do, then circumstantially, we can determine that that knife was also made by James Black.
So, we've got a body of work now that we've shown to have all those earmarks of Black’s work based on many different things.
BDF: You mentioned some of those knives are in museums. Where are you getting these other bowies to look at?
LR: This is where we have to give credit to the museum. They had confidence in me because I worked there for so many years, and I'm part of that group. So that confidence extended to the group; they allowed us to take those very important, historic knives to have them x-rayed at a radiology lab. That was no light decision to make.
Once we did that, it gave credibility to the project, and other people who have private collections or had a knife made by James Black have come forward. It gave them confidence in our research. Over time, we have been able to handle and x-ray the majority of James Black's work. There's still some out there we have not had the opportunity to look at, though.
To clarify, every good experiment or research has to have those pieces that are found not to be authentic, and we've had those, too. To get the database and all the information fleshed out properly, we have to be fair. We can't just let the narrative, or what we think is the proper narrative, direct the research. The facts speak for the project.
The state of Arkansas owns some of these knives, and the University of Arkansas houses lots of documents and archives. We've studied those and are still doing that as we speak. The archives inside the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville have documents that discuss riverboats, travel, and other things that were part of everyday life back in the early 1800s when some of these knifemakers were living and creating the body of work that they left behind. So, in addition, if we can find anything written in newspapers, articles, letters, or anything like that, we get more insight because a lot of these people purchased knives from James Black. Some were governors, judges, attorneys, and mayors, and many kept journals back then. They didn't have the technology we have today. So, we have a lot of that stuff to fall back on, but we have to take the time to read it all. The state of Arkansas has been behind us in this research.
BDF: That project sounds fascinating. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into it! That same article also stated that you were named Arkansas’ Living Treasure of 2023. How does that feel?
LR: It was surprising, but it's also a great honor and responsibility.
Lin’s advice for would-be bladesmiths
BDF: Well, congratulations, it is much deserved. Last question, and I’ll let you get back to work. Do you have any advice for aspiring bladesmiths?
(Image credit: Lin Rhea / Jocelyn Frasier)
LR: There's a saying, “If you want to soar with the eagles, you gotta quit hanging out with buzzards.” In other words, if you want to be really good at it, hang out, watch, study, and spend time with the people you want to imitate. That's the way you get better. Study under the people who are at the top of their game. That's the best advice I can give.
Also, when you create a good knife that you think is special, get it photographed professionally. In my opinion, the best advertising in the business is professional photography. It costs you money, but it is worth it.
“Study under the people who are at the top of their game. That’s the best advice I can give.”
I also want to say that in a lot of knifemaking organizations, there are “politics”. If I were to talk to a new maker, I would say, do your work, learn what you can from this organization, accept their help, and give back. But don't play the political game. Be your own person.
BDF: Who were some of the eagles you soared with?
LR: My first instructors. I do admire their work. Joe Keesler is a good man, too, and always encouraging. His style was something that I liked; he bucked the crowd when it came to his favorite way of making a knife. He made it recognizable and popular. It wasn’t a conscious effort to do that with the X-Rhea, but it turned out that way.
Jerry Fisk has always been willing to help me. He knows the business, marketing, and promoting, and he's been really good. He always went out of his way to help and assist me.
JR Cook is another one I admire as a person and a knifemaker. There are several who I have always admired, but those are three that have influenced me. Two of those three are from Arkansas as well.
To see more from Lin, follow his Instagram @lin_rhea_knifemaker, Facebook at Lin.Rhea and visit his website at rheaknives.com.
If you buy something through this post, BDF may get a share of the sale. Click here for more info.
TRENDING
About The Author
More Interviews
