These are the people that have inspired me! Plus fun
Tom Mills & PaleoPlanet www.PaleoPlanet.net
Tom Mills has truly been one of our greatest contributors to the Primitive Archer & the Atlatlist. He has given hundreds, if not thousands of hours of first hand- one on one instruction in the art of bow building, flint knapping, and atlatl making.. Combining the knowledge of many experts in these fields, he created and hosts an on-line discussion forum site that is viewed & respected world wide. Featured on:
The Discovery Channel ( L.A. 10,000 B.C) & History Channel (Bulls-Eye)
Warriors (Maya Armageddon) & Bowyer's Bible ( Book 4)
I have been good friends with Tom since the late 1980's. He is extremely talented craftsman, a deadly accurate archer and atlatlist.
Larry Yien Articles by Larry
Larry Yien is a Traditional Archer in every sense of the word. He holds several Word Longbow Championship titles and avidly hunts big game in North America. In addition, he values the crafts of archery making his own arrows, bow strings, quivers and selfbows. Interview with Larry
He has written articles for Traditional Bowhunter, Archery Magazine, U.S Archer, and Western Bowhunter.
Larry is also featured in the DVD, Masters of the Barebow-volume 2 and 3.
I have had the great pleasure of shooting and hunting with Larry for over 20 years. Through his insights, pearls of wisdom, and his continual quest to shoot the perfect arrow, I have adopted many of his hunting strategies and philosophies. Larry's Blog
Bows by McCullough 517 626-6365
John McCullough has combined his many years experience of building Primitive bows and woodworking knowledge, to design a modern laminated glass longbow. His bows shoot with grace and performance. He designed a grip that is very comfortable and provides consistent hand placement for great control..
Whether I am target shooting, or hunting the high country at 11,000 feet, this is the bow I keep at my side.
John has been selling his highly prized Griffin Longbows since 1995
Breck Wilson * Freelance Art Direction 310-418-7502
Art Direction is the determining factor for any successful commercial application. He must blend just the right amount of colors, product representation, and formatting in order that the consumer understands the true value of the given product.
Breck is one of my oldest and dearest friends. Our friendship spans over a 30 year period of playing music, shooting archery, hiking and working together on commercial ads. As a former commercial photographer, I can tell you that an art directors input is a defining factor.
One of the easiest individuals I have ever worked with, he will get the job done while you will both laugh, laugh laugh!
Michael Tobias & MTD Bass Line www.MTDbass.com
Michael Tobias is world renown for being one of the very finest Bass guitar builders. His 35 years of innovations in both designs and wood combinations have set a guideline of excellence amongst luthiers.
He is always experimenting and perfecting his technique. The Sound and Feel of one of his fine instruments is simply amazing! And I am the proud owner of two of his unbelievable instruments.
One visit to his website and you will see where I got my love & knowledge of beautiful woods!
Benny Rodriquez & BJR Guitars
www.BJRguitars.com
When I first met Benny in the mid 1980s he was working for Tom Anderson Guitarworks- as his very first Employee. He worked there for ten years perfecting his craft and now owns his own guitar shop in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Benny specializes in repair & restoration of stringed instruments. He has an eye for detail and will make your instrument play and sound the best it can!
My Knife Teachers
D'Alton Holder dholder.com
I owe so much to this world renowned knife maker. He has generously shared his years of expertise openly and freely. I can honestly say that I would not have been able to reach the level of accuracy and finish quality without his help.
Ken McFall www.knifeandgun.com
Ken McFall owns and operates K & G finishing supplies. Not only does he carry the very best in knife building materials, but he is always been willing to tell you about his latest knife making procedures. Read more about him under my Stabilization and epoxy section.
Greg Barnes
Greg was my first real knife teacher. A understudy of Bob Loveless & Bob Engnath he passed on his hard learned lessons and enabled me to get started in the fascinating world of Knife Making. I owe Greg much. He is one of the kindest human beings I have ever met and would give you the shirt off his back. And there is no one that can out talk him!
Jon Rogers
It all starts with the edge! If you don't understand the concepts of how to sharpen, then a knife is not much use to you. Jon spent years teaching me how easy it is to sharpen a edge! Jon also influenced me in my use of the Integral Steel-wood Guard system.
Jon is a Traditional Archery hunter like myself. We have hunted Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico and California, chasing after Elk, Deer and Bear. Lots and lots of fun.
James Stankovich
It all started here with James! His custom knives were the first knives that ever felt really good in my hands.
A very important part of knife making is safety. As a professional buffer James taught me a steadfast system of buffing in a safe manner. He also taught me the basics of Pin making, an important part of my knife designs.
Listening to my friends and customers has made my designs better!
Everybody has suggestions. Not all of them are good.
These are some of the people whose suggestions and Ideas have helped improve my designs and how they work.
Thank you:
Jon Rogers, John & Tim McCullough, Greg Barnes, D'Alton Holder, Larry Yien, Christian Torricelli, Al Rodriguez & George Papac.
Web Site
Thank you to my dear friends who's help greatly contributed to this web site!
Julian Chan, Larry Yien, Kevin & Phillip Zamora, Breck Wilson, Milton Swan, Sadja Herzog, Doug Ross, Jerry Wilson & Charles Neumann.