Memoir of a Blacksmith
James H: M.R. Thompson aka @Upland_ish on Instagram, a bladesmith, artist, and an avid upland bird hunter. What started first? Hunting or knife making?
M.R. Thompson: Knife making. I remember trying to heat up steel in a homemade forge when I was 11 (no parental supervision) it took all day but I heated the metal up cherry red and dented it with a hammer. I was hooked.
James H: Where did your interest in bladesmithing spark from? (No pun intended...)
M.R. Thompson : Probably the old Conan movie with Arnold. I was also reading a lot of books on survival and bushcraft as a child and always loved trying various things in that genre and knives were usually an integral part.
James H: How long have you been making knives?
M.R. Thompson: Off and on since an early teenager, so going on close to 30 years in some form or fashion.
James H: What was the hardest skill to learn with bladesmithing?
M.R. Thompson: grinding plunge lines was a real challenge.
James H: I personally have your “Sharptail II” with the Moose Antler handle, how did you obtain moose antler?
M.R. Thompson: I found the shed antler while spring bear hunting. Ideally I like to use handle materials I find in the field, shed antlers, wood I stabilize etc, I wish I had enough of these material to put into every knife.
James H: You specialize in skinning, filet, and chef knives, have you ventured into making any other styles of knives or cutlery?
M.R. Thompson: I am dipping my toes into the folding knife world. Folders are exponentially more involved than fixed blades to make, but I like their practicality. I have a few designs I’m working on but it’s such a new concept for me I’m going slower than my normal snails pace.
James H: Since your passions go hand in hand, do you field test your knives?
M.R. Thompson: Absolutely. That’s the best part of what I do and I draw a lot of inspiration from field use. I really appreciate small knives with versatile handle ergonomics that allow you to hold it like a scalpel or really choke down and do jobs probably better suited to larger knives.
James H: What has been your favorite piece you’ve created and why?
M.R. Thompson: If I had to choose it would be a chef knife with live edge maple handle that came from a tree in my yard. It’s hard to sum up every thing I loved about that knife other than it had a lot of character. Other than that my favorite is whatever I’m working on at the time
James H: Growing up in the Pacific Northwest , what was your favorite Upland bird to hunt for?
M.R. Thompson: I really loved hunting ruffed grouse in the cascade foothills, besides all they offered as a game bird I never ran into other people hunting them the way I did with pointing dogs.
James H: Are you a waterfowl hunter as well?
M.R. Thompson: I grew up ten minutes away from Skagit bay, and did a ton of duck and goose hunting. Nowadays I am pretty casual about waterfowling, i prefer jump shooting to watching decoys. I’m thrilled to get one or two birds to take home and try a new recipe with.
James H: For Upland hunting, do you have a preferred breed of dog/dogs that you stick with?
M.R Thompson: I have owned and loved a few breeds but I think I will be sticking with Gordon Setters. They are smart and tough with a goofy side.
James H:What would you say is your favorite Upland bird to cook? Why?
M.R. Thompson: I really like young Sharptails on the grill, they taste almost like sirloin steak. Also the September prairie is great place to be.
James H: Now that you’re in Montana, will you be hunting more big game?
M.R. Thompson: That is the plan, I really miss spring bear meat and the abundance of other big game here is almost overwhelming.
James H: Being a blacksmith, have you ever made your own arrow tips?
M.R. Thompson: I have not, I used to do a lot of primitive and traditional archery and have napped my own heads out of obsidian. If I ever get the time I would love to try making some out of steel.
James H: Any exciting future plans for Upland_ish in the hunting and bladesmith world?
M.R. Thompson: As far as hunting goes l want to explore Montana as much as possible.And for blades I’m looking forward to getting back at it full time and creating new designs. And Do more Damascus and stainless knives.
James H: We appreciate your time to shine some light in the world of a blacksmith! Any final words you’d like to leave the people with?
M.R. Thompson: I’m grateful for all the support and interest people have given me and my knives. There are a lot of makers out there and it’s humbling every time someone chooses upland knives.
Thank you to Michael R. Thompson
To follow his journey and see his work, you can find him on Instagram @Upland_ish