About ME

Where to begin......

I will start with my name. Those who have met me often say,
“you don’t look Chinese”! Well it goes like this..... I was
adopted at birth by my parents, Fred and Sybil. My dad was an
Aeronautical engineer for LTV designing military aircraft and
such (A7, MLRS, XC142,...). Before I was born my dad actually
worked with Werner Von Braun! My mother was a chemistry
professor before I was born, after that she was a stay at home
mom. Mom is Irish! I also have the world's best brother, Eric.  
One of my dad's brother's was the first Chinese Lawyer in
Texas, another was a WWII pilot! His sisters are the smartest
people I have ever met.....I am proud of my family!                     

Now for a little twist. The character I use on my pocket clips is
Ye, my family name. When my grandfather, Ye Wing Chew,
came into the United States at the turn of the 20th century
a mistake on the paperwork changed the last name (at least
that's the way I remember the story). I put the Ye character on
my knives to honor my family.

Small world......the guy that owns the local Chinese Buffet
noticed the clip on a knife in my pocket and said "that's my
name!" He is from Canton China, same as my grandfather.
Perhaps we are cousins!!

I made my first knife in 1988, it was actually a letter opener I
made for my mother. After that I was hooked. I made knives as
a hobby until 1997 when I left my employer began pursuing
knifemaking full time. By this time I was knee deep in the
development of my VooDoo Pivot System. I was also
developing a double action auto mechanism with Alan
Elishewitz that is the foundation of what I am doing today. I
have made everything from martial art specific weapons to
fancy and complex double action automatic folders.

On October 15, 2003 I hit a Coyote while riding home. It was
dark and I was in a turn traveling around 60-65 mph. The
Coyote came out of the dark right into my path with no time
to respond. My left wrist was messed up! I could tell because
my hand was facing the wrong way and there was a hole
where a bone poked out. I also tore a tendon in my right
shoulder and gave up a pound or so of flesh from here and
there. I got to wear the external fixator you see in the picture
until new years eve. The rehab is still ongoing, but I was able
to start using my left hand after a few months and after 6 or 7
months I had as much range of motion as I was going to get
back. I have to say thanks to Terry for his help during my
rehab. The stay in the hospital turned up some other health
issues, one was learning I had type 2 diabetes. It has been a
tough past couple of years trying to get back to where I was,
but I can say that learning how to use my hand again has
made me even more critical of my work, and I'm told it shows. I
have continued to make knives full time and I am looking
forward to bringing even more innovations to the industry in
the years to come! I'm slow but I'm good! If you are in a hurry
you better go somewhere else!

My work has also appeared in a few magazines. Some of the
more notable are in:

Knives Illustrated
Tactical Knives
Blade Magazine

I have also received the BAKCA Award for most innovative
design twice, 2002 and 2004!

Larry