Our friend's thoughtful gesture of gifting his children and their significant others with custom handcrafted knives for Christmas would have ended up turning into a truly unique and meaningful gift. We came up with the idea to incorporate woods native to their state, particularly wood from the State tree, for the handles, which added a special touch of authenticity and local pride to the gifts. Our friend requested his children to provide a piece of wood from their state tree, without telling them why. I also recommended electrochemically etching their state logo onto the blades to further personalize each knife, making them not only practical tools but also cherished keepsakes. This thoughtful gift idea would have created a gift that provided lasting memories for his children but instead turned into the birth of our Florida Series knives.
The passing months brought no sign of the requested wood. With the deadline for Christmas gifts approaching rapidly and the custom knife-making process requiring a significant amount of time, the father was faced with a dilemma. After brainstorming together, we all decided on a creative alternative. Given that all three children had been raised in Putnam County, FL, we collectively agreed to choose a local Florida wood, Live Oak to be exact, from Putnam County. To add a personal touch, we decided to electrochemically etch each blade with the outline of the State of Florida. This thoughtful gesture not only honored their roots but also imbued the gifts with a unique and sentimental touch that would surely be cherished by the family.
Once everything was in place, and I had a template for the Florida state logo, I started electrochemically etching the Florida logo on any knife that I had harvested the wood for and knew where it was sourced. To be honest, there are a few Florida knives out there that were built and sold prior to this process, but this is how the "Florida Series" started.
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