This Article was taken from the Lyndeborough Views quarterly publication.
Local Business Update: Pinnacle Mountain Custom Knives
By Adrienne Colsia
Once you see a knife made by John Miller, you will never look at knives the same way again. The quality, strength, and craftsmanship of each knife are immediately apparent, but the most interesting parts of the knives to me are the beautifully patterned, dyed, hand crafted wooden handles.
John and his wife, Joanne, both grew up in northern Vermont near the Canadian border and were high school sweet- hearts. They settled in Lyndeborough on Cemetery Road in 1991, and raised their two now grown sons, Ian and Ryan. They love the town and particularly the friendliness and openness of its citizens.
John owns a software consulting company called Lyndeborough Objects Technology, which specializes in high perform- ance embedded systems. He has always had a love for woodworking and took up the hobby over thirty years ago. He creates beautiful pieces of furniture, such as high chairs and tables, using inlaid wood, while his wife makes unique wooden pens.
John has always been fascinated with knives and has collected them for twenty years. He started making his own knives ten years ago and opened his business 1 1⁄2 years ago. To maintain his standard of high quality, he does everything on site in his workshop, which is quite impressive.
John’s donation of a knife to the silent auction was a big hit!!
He kindly showed me around his workshop, telling me the different steps involved with creating a knife. He starts with steel bar stock and, using ceramic belts, he grinds it into the shape of the final knife. When the steel is 90% ground, it is hardened in ovens at temperatures up to 2000 degrees.
What makes the steel of the knives so durable is the nitrogen quench (cryogenic treatment) they endure at temperatures 350 degrees below zero. This finalizes the hardening process and stabilizes the steel. Finally, the steel goes into another oven for approximately two hours, a double cycle, to temper it and bring it to the appropri- ate hardness range. At this point the steel is ready to be finished. He offers four different finishes.
The beautiful wooden handles start with a block of acrylic stabilized wood. The acrylic is key to helping prevent cracking. Wood patterns are dyed adding wonderful color to the knife. Each knife comes with its own custom-made leather or kydex sheath.
Most of John’s knives are custom ordered. Pinnacle Mountain Knives come with a full warranty for life against defects other than normal wear and tear. Check out his website at www.pmknives.com which includes his contact information, a page on how to order a knife, and nice photos some of his knives.
The knives are heirloom quality and have a variety of uses. John is easy to work with, takes great pride in his work, and is one more very talented member of our Lyndeborough community.