Conroe Courier October 22, 2023

Jacob Sewell went to his first Houston Area Blacksmiths Association meeting when he was 12 years old with his grandfather Bob and the experience forged a path to bring his blade work to the worldwide stage. 

“I took to it like a duck to water,” Sewell, 34, said of creating custom knives, swords and tomahawks. “I liked being able to make my own knives. It’s cool to be able to take a piece of steel and form it into something that it wasn’t originally.” 

ON YOURCONROENEWS.COM: Get a sneak peek at Target’s New Caney store complete with EV charging, drive up service and more

He has especially developed a passion for handcrafted tomahawks and from his workshop behind his northeast Conroe home, his creations are shipped all over the world. He’s sent pieces as far as way as Europe and Africa and has a solid fan base in Canada. 

He said he’s one of the few blade makers in the country that does mass production of tomahawks, creating 100 to 200 a year. 

“Jacob has unending passion for the craft of bladesmithing, as handed down from his family,” said Mike Thomas, Sewell’s co-producer in the upcoming Texas Custom Knife Show. “He cares greatly for the quality of his products and is always willing to help other bladesmiths learn and improve.”

In May 2019, he was a featured blade maker on the History Channel’s “Forged in Fire” series that has amateur and professional blade makers take on knife-making challenges and then the challenges are judged by a team of experts and a champion is crowned. 

The episode is currently streaming on The History Channel platform. 

The Air Force veteran had tinkered with knife-making projects for years making projects for friends, family and just for fun. 

In 2018, he launched his Bravehawk Forge business and got a major boost when his “Forged in Fire” episode aired eight months after his business began. His day job is still an electrical services technician. 

He’d been an avid fan of the show when in the same year, he was spurred on to apply for the show. 

“On one episode they were making a railroad spike knife. I’d make those as a kid and I thought, ‘I could make those better,'” he said. He received the invitation to be on the show just days before the first Texas Custom Knife Show in Conroe where he was a vendor. 

As his wife, Sabrina, and grandfather, Bob, manned his booth as he flew to Connecticut for the show’s filming.

The episode begins with four blade makers. On his episode there were two professionals and two amateurs. They are tasked with an initial challenge on the show. Their challenge was to make a blade out of gym equipment. 

ON YOURCONROENEWS.COM: The Wheel Kitchen’s Thelma Portillo opens 2 farm-to-table restaurants in Conroe

Sewell made a seax knife inspired by the Vikings out of a dumbbell and frame from a weight bench. His work landed him in the final round where he and competitor Braxton Cox, also from Texas, were challenged with making a nagamaki Japanese sword. 

They returned home to their Texas workshops to make the swords with camera crews filming their progress. Sewell said this sword is his most challenging and wildest creation. 

The long sword is comparable to an adult’s height and the handle is made from wood with a faux crocodile and Japanese style Ito wrap. 

They brought their swords back to the competition where Cox emerged as the winner after the blades went through a series of tests to determine the strength, sharpness and ability to carve an object. 

“Both swords performed admirably. His had just a little better look,” he said. Sewell’s first sword broke in initial testing and caused him to rethink his progress on the project. 

He called this experience a fun time and something he’d like to do again. He is still friends with Kyle Reese, from Missouri, who was on his episode. 

Sewell said bladesmiths make up a tight community and are as close as brothers while still being competitors. 

The Houston area is fertile ground for knife makers and for this reason in 2018, Mike Thomas and the now late Guy Harris launched the debut Texas Custom Knife Show in Conroe. They found that there were many of the competitors from “Forged in Fire” living in the Houston area. 

This show is now in its 6th year and is set for Nov. 4-5 at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds with Thomas and Sewell as co-producers. 

“Forged in Fire” judge Doug Marcaida is returning to judge the blade-making competition on Saturday. He’ll be joined by J. Neilson Nov. 4-5 who is also a judge on the show. 

Marcaida was Sewell’s judge on the show. 

“He’s just an all-around nice guy,” Sewell said. 

Its Sewell’s hope to pass the family business along to his 2-year-old son, Beau, who has already shown interest in what’s going on in dad’s workshop. One of Sewell’s passions is teaching the art of blade making and he hosts classes at his workshop. 

Visit the show website for more on the upcoming event in Conroe.Â