Battle Horse Knives is rapidly approaching its 15th year in the business – and it’s been quite a journey to get to this point, with transformations, highs, and lows all coming together to form the BHK saga.
The Battle Horse story actually begins with the Blind Horse story – and that story begins all the way back in 2000, when eventual Battle Horse co-founder Dan Coppins and a buddy started making knives. “R.W. Wilson played a big role in teaching them,” says Alicia McQuain, Dan’s daughter. “They went to their first Atlanta Blade show and did so well that they stepped up their game and started making more knives.” It was the classic knife maker success story that every aspiring bladesmith hopes for. “In 2007, they quit their jobs and started Blind Horse Knives,” McQuain continues. “After they started gaining some popularity, they realized they needed help. That’s when they hired my husband (and current BHK knife maker) John McQuain in 2009.”
In 2013, the original Blind Horse Knives shop closed down, but was reborn as Battle Horse Knives, with Alicia, Dan, and John at the helm. They established their house style of pragmatic, reliable, comfortable custom fixed blades. “Our knives stand out for several reasons,” Alicia McQuain says. “They are simple, yet beautiful. They’re not too pretty to use but you can tell the time is spent making sure that they’re of good quality. Our fit and finish is top notch, and our handles are some of the most comfortable handles on the market.”
This philosophy is embodied by standby models like the Highlander, a testament to the no-fuss, high quality BHK ethos. “It has that classic look, nothing too weird or fancy about it,” McQuain explains. “It’s large enough to baton through a tree, but also capable of processing game. If you had to choose one tool to check a lot of boxes, this would be it.” As they say, there can only be one Highlander, but a whole slew of models have followed in its wake, including brand new ones this month like the Welsh, a feisty-looking, saber-ground user, and its beefier big brother the Icelandic.
It hasn’t been a smooth ride to today, however. In 2019 Dan Coppins retired and, shortly after, the shop suffered a major catastrophe. “We had a shop fire that started from a short in an extension cord on/off switch,” McQuain says. “We took extensive damage to a lot of our equipment and approximately 400 knives before they were able to put the fire.” This was, obviously, a massive loss for the small family shop. Not only did much cabling need to be replaced, but some machines were entirely destroyed – and to top it all off, the Great American Outdoors Show was a month away. But the close-knit community around Battle Horse came together in grand fashion. “Our friends, family and community all chipped in with cleaning supplies and helped us clean up what we could,” McQuain recalls.
Other changes were happening for the better, however. We found ourselves waiting on shipments of steel and our turnaround times were not what we wanted them to be. Getting our own waterjet was a game changer!” John McQuain learned the ins and outs of heat treating in-house to tighten ship times even further, and eventually the shop began to make its own nuts to avoid scrambling for part sources during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic. “We ultimately tried to figure out how to do as much in house as we could,” continues McQuain. “We struggled through COVID and selling knives with a terrible economy to where we are now, selling faster than we can make them.”
The transition to hands-on, in-house processes paid dividends and today, the Cambridge, Ohio-based Battle Horse is in a sweet spot. “Right now, we are exactly where we want to be,” McQuain tells us. The McQuains’ two sons are making knives alongside father John, and daughter-in-law Makayla McQuain makes the leather sheaths that ship with each piece. It’s been a long journey, but Battle Horse has settled into a generational family business. “We like having our shop being family run and operated,” McQuain concludes. “We are not looking to grow much larger, as we all enjoy a simple life filled with friends, family, and life experiences. Our goal is to take care of our family and to have time to enjoy each other.”
Knives in Featured Image: [Top to bottom] Battle Horse Knives Scout Platoon and Scant
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