Emerson Archetype™ Lucas Emerson

Most of my youth was devoted to life in the knife factory. I still sometimes feel as if I have spent more time there than at home, and I have since grown quite familiar with the knifemaking lifestyle. My father, Ernest Emerson, taught me everything he knows about knives and the processes needed to produce them from start to finish, both for customs and production. He showed me more than just the means to manufacture; he taught me his design philosophy and shared his deep, unwavering motivation. Once I truly understood these concepts, I felt unstoppable. I only wish that I had started my knifemaking career earlier.

While I only officially started my knifemaking career several years ago at the age of 21, I have actually been working on customs with my Dad since I was about 10. He showed me everything from proper sanding techniques to setting up and running our machines. When we weren't in the shop, I would spend countless nights watching my Dad sketch out his knife designs on our living room floor. It was also at this time that I had felt inspired to design a knife of my own, which I named the “Conjuror.” My father later created custom versions of this knife, and I had the pleasure of watching my design being one of the first to sell off the table at his lotteries. Little did I know that this would foreshadow the career ahead of me, but this didn't occur to me until much later.

Growing up, I never truly thought about being a knifemaker. What I really wanted to be all the way until the end of high school was a Navy SEAL. It was a dream I always had growing up, and it was likely a direct result of having been trained and taught by several SEALs from a young age. One of my earliest mentors, Mark Semos, spent numerous hours training me both physically and mentally. He taught me discipline, he taught me principle, and he taught me what it meant to be the best of the best. He brought me under his wing and molded me into a highly competitive and competent athlete driven by pure will and motivation. I was gifted the innate drive to excel, and it has propelled me to be the best at everything I do, a propensity that still thrives in my soul to this day.

The first time I went to a range was under the direct supervision and instruction of a dear friend and fellow SEAL, Larry Yatch, a teacher I would have traded for none other in that regard. He showed me the destructive nature of firearms and how they could be controlled and under what circumstances they could be used. He took the time to make sure that I truly understood their potential, and he succeeded. These initial fundamentals were later combined with physical training to ensure that I had a well-rounded understanding that would be on par with or beyond any given military training. Furthermore, I received extensive training in Jiu-Jitsu and boxing under two of Royce Gracie’s black belt instructors as well as from Royce himself on multiple occasions, and I also trained in Judo under the instruction of Dave Murphy, a former Judo champion. Later, I had the opportunity to train under my Dad’s former mentor, Sir Richard Bustillo, one of Bruce Lee’s last living protégés. All of this training helped shape my understanding of what it meant to be a warrior both in the literal and philosophical sense. My Dad’s knowledge of the warrior philosophy and his willingness to share it with me further bolstered this understanding. Consequently, I know what it means to be dangerous, and I know what it means to be in control.

One thing was for sure, though, and that was that I loved to make things (and also take them apart). Tinkering and inventing are and always have been part of my nature. This interest is ultimately what led me away from my childhood dream and brought me to pursue computer science in college. In doing so, I felt that I had betrayed a part of who I am. I was never meant to work at a desk as a “career.” This is where I realized that the golden opportunity had been in front of me the whole time, and after one year of following an obscure path laid out by a hastily designed system, I chose to abandon my pursuit of computer science in favor of what I already knew, and had known, how to do since I was a child: making custom knives. Any other interests I sought to learn could be attained much more efficiently through reading and learning independently.

The difference between me and other knifemakers is that I don’t make knives for the sake of making knives. I make them because I am drawn to something greater than myself, and knives are simply my medium for expressing this pull. They allow me to take everything I’ve learned and embody it as a tool that can last for generations; a tool that is perfect in its practicality, durability, and usability. Unfortunately, this concept cannot be easily illustrated, but it can certainly be felt. When you carry my knives, you take a legacy reminiscent of the moral clarity and absolute devotion to the truest of Warrior principles that have now been passed on to me. When I mention “knives that have soul,” this is what I refer to. Everything is done with intention.