It's the start of Season 9 for Mark of the Maker so we look back a bit at 2025, talk about some challenges we all faced and then look forward to 2026 and our goals for the new year. 2025 was kind of a rollercoaster! We dig into shows, touch on trends, and chat about plans for where we all plan to be this year. Find us at our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

We wind out the last of Season 8 with a Holiday Picks episode, as we often do. Four categories, three picks each, and lots of laughs as well as some amazing knives to check out. Some are stinkers, some are gems but all will likely make you say "oh yeahhhh" or "oh no..." Hope you have as much fun listening to this one as we did recording it. Thanks for riding with us for another season, stay tuned for more in Season 9! Find us at our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

If there's one thing that knifemakers consume faster than candy or gas station burritos, it's audio content. Many like music, others prefer to fill their earholes with audiobooks or podcasts. This time we nerd out over audiobook selections as well as a few podcasts to the guys are enjoying and use as a tool to help stay focused on their work in the shop. Find us at our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

Our buddy "Farmer" Rob Baptie of The HateDust Project found a few minutes to sit with us and chat about his knife collecting journey, the origins of the project and its evolution. Rob and his wife Andrea have generated over $2.5 million in charitable funding for a huge array of causes over the last 10+ years. If there's one thing we're even bigger fans of than knives, it's people being good to other people, so it was high time for Rob to join us and reminisce for a minute. Find us at our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

Mark and Sean sit with Tom to hear about his experience at Blade Show West 2025. Pretty eventful weekend for Tom, winning Best MAC Knife and some cool stuff that he brought home with him. Join us to hear more about the show and whether you may want to add it to your schedule next year. Find us at our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

For this year's Halloween episode, we put together a picks episode about what you'd use to battle a monster (or monsters!) from the movie of your choice. As usual, we each went in a little different direction with our picks but we have a great time doing so. We'll share photos or links to our picks in the Mark of the Maker Facebook Group. Find us at our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

We sit down with Isaac Roesler to learn more about his adventure in starting a knife and EDC shop in Springfield, Missouri. Springfield EDC has been around for a few years now and Isaac shares some insight into what it took to get this business rolling and what it's like trying to launch a brick & mortar knife shop today. Find us at our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

We managed to get the whole crew back together for a picks episode, each finding three knives with "wildcard" as the only rule. Some of us made predictable picks, but some took the wildcard assignment seriously and colored far outside their usual lines. Super fun one and some gems we found, so watch our FB group or have your search engine warmed up! Find us at our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

Mark and Sean recap their participation in the Giant Mouse Grand Opening and 10 Year Jubilee. We talk about the event and share some clips from discussions with some friends at the event. It was a great time, the folks at GMK know how to host a fine party. Big thanks to the GMK team for providing us a space at the Jubilee and for the hospitality! Find us at our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.

Mark, Tom and Sean recap the 2025 Pacific Northwest Custom Invitational show. Mark and Tom recorded a bunch of clips from the show floor so this one's got lots of great interviews and fun stuff inside. It's a great show, be sure to check it out next year! Find us at our Patreon and follow us on Instagram @markofthemaker or join our discussion group on Facebook for more conversation.