New Cladding Patterns, Jay is GONE, & Coy hosts the Triple-T Pod! TFN

Friday again!

Last week’s drama with our local power company left us without power in the thick of a steep production day. Add a massive unforeseen $30K bill for a transformer upgrade and you have the makings of a rough week for management. Fortunately we’ve faced more than our fair share of challenges through the years and by mid-morning Monday we could already see the light at the end of the tunnel. Dylan Davis from Hypercut Manufacturing showed up early in the week to help install our

new set of patterning dies. Prior to this HUGE upgrade our patterning setup limited us to a pretty narrow billet (generally speaking). But with the combination of our recently acquired 200-Ton Franklin press and these custom milled extra large patterning dies we are closer than ever to increasing our patterning ability to previously unattainable sizes. The future of Baker’s material is certainly impacted by this upgrade and we couldn’t be more thrilled about it after the week we had prior.

Even with the extra-challenging days and unforeseen bills, every difficult step brings us closer to a long term goal. This is CERTAINLY the case with what we hope is the final chapter of the stainless damascus saga around Baker HQ. With our power upgraded all the way from the county poll we are closer than ever to the Stainless drop we have been promising for a few months now. Not only do these steps mean a drop is coming, they represent the exciting conclusion of a production line that has taken us over a year to build and hopefully the beginning of some really exciting growth around our little Appalachian-based company. 

Some of you may have caught our CEO, Coy’s sponsor-takeover of the Triple-T podcast this week. As a long time sponsor of the show Coy has joined the guys as a guest many times but with Dennis Tyrell out of town this week, Coy & Matt from GripTec Composites joined Jerrid as guest hosts. A more relaxed and goofy episode, the podcast was a lot of fun and I recommend ya’ll give it a listen! Find it here.

Jay finally used some vacation time, putting in for a long weekend and taking off Wednesday for the rest of the week. Knowing how vital his role is to our production, he set up the manufacturing staff with all of the information to get through the second half of the week without him. Armed with plenty of order information and a detailed schedule, head Engineer, Cole and Coy join forces to fill Jay’s boots while he takes some well-deserved time off. 

Coy let me in on some recent R&D he and the staff have been noodling with. I can’t say much but the guys are close to releasing some exciting new cladding patterns. With elements that have never been done before, we expect you’ll not only notice a few new patterns in the autumn drop lineup, they may just be the most mind-boggingly yet! Stay tuned, as always we try  to release the really juicy stuff HERE first! 

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Inside the Media

Among the usual load of  weekly media to produce, Waylon had his hands full with a few blades coming through the  HQ for Baker Studio work. One of which, a Stainless Damascus fixed from Entiat River Forge really blew me away. Not only is Nooah’s work something to be admired, Waylon’s top-down shots of these blades have really hit “next-level” status. In a world of studio knife photography that often leaves us pleased with how the piece was showcased but disappointed with the lack of “personality” to the photo, Waylon has arrived at a lovely combination of both. If you’re looking for more unique and exciting content from your best blades/pieces be sure to hit us up at Baker Studios!

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Sneak Peek 👀

This weekend, we’re thrilled to reintroduce CopperMai Ni-Shim in two beloved patterns: Ladder and Ripple. Featuring a 45-layer copper/1084 Damascus cladding over a nickel shim and an 80CRV2 mono-core, this layout creates a stunning interplay of black, bright nickel, and coppery hues. After a break from our lineup, it’s back with a batch of flat-ground sizes to suit any project. With recent drops selling out quickly on the Baker Forge App, secure yours TODAY at noon EST for the best selection, or join the full release Saturday at 8pm EST.