February 01, 2023

BONUS EP! Cuts Like a Knife ft. Master Craftsman Brandon Hampton of Meglio Knives

56 minutes

In this weeks BONUS EPISODE, we chat with CEO and Founder of Maglio Knives, Brandon Hampton.

Brandon has been developing blades for the culinary world & military for well over a decade. Known for his unique, one of a kind blades, there is no question he err 's on the side of innovation. His entire business is built around sourcing, creating, and using the best possible materials for the knives he designs and creates. You don't want to miss Aaron chatting with one of the worlds best knife-smiths!

Art comes in many forms. For my guest this week, it is in the form of designing and crafting masterpiece knives.

Master Knife Craftsman, Brandon Hapmton, is a skilled artisan with decades of experience in the art of knife making. He transforms raw materials into stunning, one-of-a-kind knives that are both beautiful and functional.

In college, Brandon began working at Strider Knives to help pay for his studies. While working, Duane Dwyer took him under his wing, eventually apprenticing Brando in learning the craft of knife making. Materials technology, blade geometry, metallurgy, and more were handed down from the master bladesmith to Brandon over the course of over five years. Above all else, Brandon learned from Duane that in the end, the knife should be better for the effort put in.

What we chat about in this episode:

0:28 - Guest intro

2:59 - Brandon's journey in Jiu Jitsu

5:50 - What is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

9:49 - How BJJ is related to psychological healing

12:17 - How Brandon's love for cooking to his knife-making business

19:11 - Artistry VS Creativity

24:45 - Understanding the beauty of Meglio Knives

31:57 - Brandon reveals his VIP tattoo clients

38:58 - What is Meglio Knives' passion project

42:41 - How tattoos can make people happy

49:13 - How finding character and excellence has helped Brandon in his career

53:10 - Brandon gets a new tattoo!

Quotes:

"I think in order to get good at jujitsu, the first thing you need to do is be really good at not being good at something… 'Is that comfortable for you?' And, that discomfort is either going to lead you to go well, 'I want to overcome this,' or it's going to say, 'I don't like people seeing me in this vulnerable situation,'… And you have to be okay with not being good in front of other people. And it takes a long time to get better.' - Meglio Knives

"I love art. But to me, art is more about eliciting emotional responses whereas craft to me is a little bit more about creating something with a given function. And I am not making a qualitative judgment. It's about going with spirit." - Meglio Knives

"There's a difference between those two things: creativity and artistry. Artistry might be more of someone who can sculpt or paint like creativity, that's decision-making. You made decisions that others wouldn't have and a lot of the decisions I can tell right now were the right ones…" - Aaron Della Vedova

"Tattoo matters." - Aaron Della Vedova

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