Hands On Sawmill, LLC is a husband and wife team that specializes in Mesquite wood since 1991.

THE STORY OF

WILL NAVE

-THE ENTREPRENEUR-

At age 5 he was selling his rock collection to my customers whenever he had a chance. He also sold old broken bottles with sunflowers in them. Later he sold "Redneck Weapons" consisting of blowdart guns (made from Straws and toothpicks with earcleaner tips) and Frog Giggs (made from bamboo).

Then by the age of 9 when he wanted to sell his go-cart and buy a 4 wheeler, he started hand splitting firewood and selling it. That moved up to knives and forged fajita flippers by the age of 10. At 12 he had purchased two different 4 wheelers and 2 different dirt bikes and was making a $200 a month payment to his favorite banker - Mom.

BTW - thank to all the local residents who encouraged him by purchasing these items just because a cute little kids was trying to make a buck.

Will's Knife Making Journey

THE BEGINNING - BLACKSMITHING:

In November of 2014, my 10 yr old son said, "Mom, every redneck boy needs to know how to pound steel. Would you teach me how to be a blacksmith?" And naturally, I replied, "We will learn together".

We had been acquiring the equipment for some time because my husband and I had a bit of interest in blacksmithing. So with Will's interest, I proceeded to plan some "B" Days as my son calls the days we fire up the forge for Blacksmithing.

In the beginning, he made a couple knives out of RR Spikes, and a few machetes from lawn mower blades. He got pretty good at making Fajita Flippers from 1/4" square steel. He added deer antler handle and sold them to support his dirt bike/4-wheeler habit.

SAWBLADE KNIVES

Since the blacksmithing began, he transitioned to making knives from old table saw blades (he started this at 11 years old - 2015). He got really good at this and has a great eye for shape and form. He even did his own heat treating.

To encourage him, I purchased a plasma cutter for cutting out the handles and spine of the knife. But, of course, he refused to cut the blade portion with the plasma because he didn't want to get it too hot. (Smart Boy).

When I had a booth at a Gun Show (March 2016) he took orders for his knives. He later decided that he prefers to make whatever style excites him at a particular time, and then offer it for sell.

Fall 2016- when all the other 12 year old boys were playing video games and watching TV during fall break, my boy was making knives. In 5 days, he and his buddies made 12 knives.

I believe he might be the only 12 year old boy who made a $200 a month dirt bike payment earning the money himself selling knives. During the Christmas season, he had over a dozen orders which put him really close to paying off his dirtbike.

PRODUCTION MODE:

Next on his list was a 2x72" knife makers sander/grinder which he purchased in February of 2017. It was custom made by John Carman in Houston. With this he bewcame the happiest kid in the whole world. Tommy Allen, owner of Interstate Rental in Kingsville, offered him a free booth at the South Texas Gun Show in July.

He had 25 knives for the gun show (July 2017). He was the only kid who had their own booth and the only person there who completely sold out. He also came home with orders for over a dozen more knives.

HIS FIRST TRUCK:

Right after his 13th birthday, he decided he was saving for a truck. It didn’t take him long. By the end of the summer he purchased a 1972 Dodge 300 Custom with a flatbed.He named her "Daisey" First thing he did was hang a raccoon tail from the antenna and declared that if the girls don’t like that then they aren’t good enough for him. He had planned to fix it up so it would be perfect when he turned 16. That didnt quite happen, but during his JR year in High School, he did disassemble the entire truck clear down to the frame. He spent a ton of money on parts for the truck. Hopefully he will have it restored and back together soon.