Meet Nick Hancock | Blade smith

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nick Hancock and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nick, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?

I draw a lot of inspiration from Jesus, JRR Tolkien, punk rock and my wife and daughters.

The creative process is something that is so important for people to have, and I believe, to know the mind and heart of our Creator. Every piece I’ve made I know all the flaws and great things that are in it, but in spite of that I love and am proud of them all the same. I often think about how God must look at us so similarly.

Tolkien, his life, and his imagination and the world he created is again something I deeply admire, respect, and try to emulate. I highly recommend reading his essay “On Fairy Stories” to get a deeper insight into his thought process of creating a secondary world to free people from the prison of reality and to help lift their eyes to the possibility of heaven and a Creator. This deeply resonates with me.

Punk rock and the DIY ethic I have always been drawn to. I love people and art that challenges you, your beliefs, and provokes a reaction and response. It’s engaging and that mechanism can create a space for conversations outside of the mundane or pedestrian that our lives are too full of unfortunately.

My wife and daughters, are my big “why”. My wife encourages me all the time and has given me the courage to try new things and push myself not to be complacent in any area of my life. That safety to be myself and be creative free from judgement but with a kind honesty is the foundation of what I do. For my daughters I owe to them to show them what they can do if they set their mind to it and encourage their creativity and imagination.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

At Hancock Heritage Knife Co we make functional art and what that means are custom knives and swords that inspire creativity and add to the overall quality of life for the wielder of our blades.

During the pandemic there was only so much we could do and I had watched so many YouTube videos and all of Forged in Fire and wanted to give bladesmithing a try. So YouTube taught and DMs to a few well known blade smiths who were gracious enough to answer my questions are how I’ve learned and gotten to where I am today.

It definitely isn’t an easy thing to do but that difficulty was a great process for me to decide if this was something I really wanted to invest a serious amount of time and energy in. I love it and I’ve been doing it now for almost 4 years now part time.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned and want people to know is we all need to create, however or whatever that looks like is up to you, but find something and do it. It’s not guaranteed to be pretty when you start but if it’s something you love those first creations will fuel your desire to continue creating, and in this process I think you’ll find a lot of grace for yourself, for others, and hopefully get a glimpse of how our Creator sees us.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Definitely would do some hiking. Would try and plan a visit up north to the Grand Canyon and hike Bright Angel trail. Head down to Flagstaff and hit up Drinking Horn Meadery. Definitely at some point hit up Scottsdale Gun Club and send some lead down range and then probably end with a really nice dinner at Buck and Rider’s new location on Mayo Boulevard.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

So many people here that I want to mention and would love to talk about. My family and friend have been so supportive and encouraging.

But if I had to call out an individual it would definitely have to be my wife. She deserves so much credit for this business and what I’ve been able to do with blade smithing.

Website: https://www.hancockheritageknifeco.com/

Instagram: @hancockheritageknifeco