CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Coastal Bend man has taken his hobby of bladesmithing to the next level.
Mickey Allen who is originally from Orange Grove and now lives in Corpus Christi is a self-made bladesmith who has turned his passion into a profitable job.
"I make everything from novelty railroad spike knives, fillet knives, even Bowie style knives," Allen said.
According to Allen, his craft started as something he did in his free time until fate took a twist. A welder for the last 20 years, he was laid off from his refinery job back in October and needed a way to earn extra money.
"Made a couple of little knives from railroad spikes, posted pictures on my Facebook, and not long after that started getting messages like crazy," Allen said.
Mickey Metal was born.
Allen says neighbors don't seem to mind the noise. Many have become customers themselves.
"A rail spike knife just starts as a railroad spike like this," Allen showed us. "When I'm done, I end up with something like this."
Allen has progressed to other types of knives and even customizes them for his clients.
"Started hammering them out, and coming up with little twists and turns on the handle," Allen said.
Allen hopes to one-day fine-tune his skills enough to be featured on the Tv show Forged in Fire on the History Channel.
"I'd like to keep doing it as a profession. More a side job though, I don't want to ever to get tired of it," Allen said.
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