Biography

Welcome to the Spider Ridge Forge Web Site. My name is James R Shaver II and it is here on

a ridge top in WV that I forge and finish Damascus and Carbon steel knives. After having

seen custom knives in a magazine and visiting my first knife show I was hooked!

I enrolled in a damascus steel forging class that was taught by Hugh Bartrug in 1993 at the

Cedar Lakes Craft Center in Riply WV. By 1999 I had gathered and built the equipment I

needed and have been making knives and attending shows ever since.

In August of 2005 I was voted into the Knifemakers Guild as a voting member. My goal has

always been to make the best custom knife I can. I believe quality and not quantity is the

most important thing in a custom knife.