There's a difference between work an artist sells and work an artist keeps. These are the ones Everett Noel kept—nine knives from his personal collection, each singular, each loved. They've never been available before and won't be again.
Noel’s story is improbable: born by candlelight in an off-grid cabin built by his father, Noel learned to forge knives from YouTube tutorials and an eighth-grade apprenticeship with a local blacksmith. At 27, he’s operating at the highest levels of American craft. Noel’s handles are carved from salvaged hardwoods—manzanita, redwood, madrone burl. His blades develop patina with use. “The object becomes like a friend,” he says.
Noel belongs to a lineage of California makers who have sought to collapse the distinction between art and life, between the object made and the existence from which it emerges. He has been making knives since 2011. His work has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, SF Standard, American Craft, and on German television. He has exhibited at West Coast Craft (where he won the Best Booth Award in 2019), Blunk Space, and Mercado Sagrado.
ABOUT THE SALE
These nine knives will be available to see at The Jones Institute on 21 February from 3-6. The knives are for sale at the exhibition or you can also bid online HERE from 6 PM on 20 February until the exhibit closes at 6 PM on the 21st. Email me at info@thejonesinstitute.com with any questions.
01_OSAGE BELT KNIFE
Materials: Carbon steel, Osage orange, Stainless steel, Leather, Thread
Year: 2013
Measurements: 7-1/4” x 1-3/4” x 7/8”
Provenance: I carried this knife with me for many years. I would keep it in my backpack and use it for little tasks like cutting an apple, opening a package, and whittling wood.
Memory: This is the main style of knife I made for the first 7 years. A small knife with a sheath designed for everyday tasks.
02_UTILITY KNIFE
Materials: Carbon steel, Black G10, Brass
Year: Circa 2015
Measurements: 7-3/16” x 1-1/16” x 9/16”
Provenance: Almost all of my knives have very smooth curves, this is one of the only more angular knives I’ve made.
Memory: I made this knife in high school, I was experimenting with materials and shapes, and made this knife inspired by a box cutter.
03_MADRONE PARING KNIFE
Materials: Carbon steel, Madrone, Brass
Year: 2018
Measurements: 8” x 7/8” x 9/16”
Provenance: The handle of this knife is made from a Madrone tree that fell on the property where I grew up. I would always go through the firewood pile and pick out the best pieces before they got burnt.
Memory: As I got older, I transitioned from making belt knives to kitchen knives. This knife was made at the beginning of that transition.
04_ACACIA BEARDED CLEAVER
Materials: Stainless Steel, Acacia, Brass
Year: 2019-2024
Measurements: 9-5/8” x 2-3/8” x 3/4”
Provenance: Before I came up with my bearded chef design, I made the bearded cleaver. Combining a veggie cleaver and a bearded hatchet, I came up with this multi use design for the kitchen.
Memory: This is one of the first designs I made and knew I wanted to make multiples of. I cut out about 10 of these knives in 2019 (instead of making each of them 1/1), and then finished this one in 2024.
05_MANZANITA MINI
Materials: Stainless Steel, Manzanita, Brass
Year: 2019-2024
Measurements: 3-15/16” x 1/2” x 1/2”
Provenance: This knife is made out of a scrap of left over steel from the bigger knives I make.
Memory: When I first started making knives I would spend all my money on a little chunk of steel, so I would use every bit of it. I started making mini knives out of the left over pieces of metal, and ended up loving them. I still save all my scraps to make mini knives with.
06_KITCHEN KNIFE
Materials: AEB-L, Maple, Brass
Year: 2021
Measurements: 11-1/2” x 1-3/4” x 9/16”
Provenance: Up to this point, almost all of my designs were 1 of 1’s, I had only done a couple batches of about 10 knives. When I made this design I realized I wanted to replicate it. I cut out about 100, and then completed them over the next couple years. This is the last knife of this design I still have.
Memory: This was one of my everyday knives when I lived in the cabin. With its stainless steel blade, this was the knife I used when I had to run out the door without time to clean it.
07_PARING KNIFE
Materials: AEB-L, Maple, Brass
Year: 2021
Measurements: 8-1/4” x 1” x 9/16”
Provenance: I designed this knife to accompany the “Kitchen Knife” and also made about 100 of these. I began making knives similar to this with the “Brazilian Cherry Picnic Knife, Circa 2013” and it became a staple, so this is one of the designs I decided to replicate. This is still one of the main styles of knife I make.
Memory: The handle is from a Bigleaf Maple tree that fell behind the cabin I grew up in. My dad cut the tree into three foot long pieces, and I painted the ends and stored the wood in my shop to cure. After a year or more, the wood was dry and I was able to make knife handles with it. It was so exciting to reveal the wood grain after waiting for so long.
08_EVERETT’S BEARDED CHEF
Materials: O1 tool steel, Rosewood, Brass
Year: 2022
Measurements: 12-1/8” x 3-1/2” x 3/4”
Provenance: This is the main knife I use every day in the kitchen. I love the flow of the design, how thin and light the blade is, and how smooth the Rosewood handle is.
Memory: I came up with the “Bearded Chef” design in 2019. I was making both kitchen knives and hatchets, the hatchets had a “beard” that extends the blade down over the handle and I had the idea to try this on a kitchen knife. The beard lengthens the blade while not increasing the overall length, and allows a satisfying rocking motion while cutting in the kitchen. This has become the design I am most proud of and best represents my work. I love how it is a beautiful and intriguing shape while on the wall, and then once you start using it, the knife becomes a very functional tool. This was one of my “traveling knives,” a project where I let my knives live with my close friends and family. This knife lived at my parents house, my mentor’s house, a couple of my friends, and Japan for a show. I love the idea of this knife getting to live a life of its own.
09_DAMASCUS KITCHEN KNIFE
Materials: 1095/15N20 Damascus, Walnut, Copper
Year: 2023
Measurements: 11-7/8” x 1-3/4” x 7/16”
Provenance: The blade of this knife is made of hand forged Damascus steel.
Memory: Damascus steel is made by stacking layers of different types of steel, heating them up to a glowing bright yellow color, and hammering them until they become one. Most of the time these days it is made with a power hammer, which delivers a huge amount of force instead of by hand. I hand forged this steel with a friend, we took turns using a sledge hammer to pound the steel together. It took 2 full days of hand hammering to combine the layers.