William Henry Knives

The only sounds on the William Henry shop floor are the steady whirring and buzzing of engraving and sharpening machines. All around, heads are bent in quiet concentration. Visitors might garner a quick smile, but they won’t interrupt any conversations. Crafting world-class pocketknives requires intense focus. Especially when those knives contain 10,000-year-old fossils.

Lawrence McCormick, Head of Marketing, reaches into a box and pulls out an ancient walrus tusk… a woolly mammoth tooth… a slice of the Gibeon meteorite. If merely holding them is intoxicating, imagine the allure of owning something so exotic. William Henry makes that dream a reality, transforming ancient relics into unique pocket knives, pens and golf tools. “If you carry a piece of a shooting star in your pocket,” Lawrence’s child once asked, “do your wishes always come true?” The creators of William Henry pieces seem to share this same mysticism, as each knife is lovingly crafted and meticulously honed, sometimes taking nearly eight months to complete, and involving collaboration from artists all over the world.

William Henry is an award-winner purveyor of pocketknives to royalty and celebrities, including former President George W. Bush, the King of Jordan, Helmut and Donna Swarovski, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and jazz legend Arturo Sandoval. The knives, which have enjoyed cameos in “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” and “The Matador”, have also earned the company at least ten Blade Magazine Investor/Collector Knife of the Year Awards. Despite this elevated profile, these exceptional knives are readily available to the common man on-line and through select retail jewelers.

So what brought William Henry to Yamhill County nearly a decade ago? Owner Matt Conable quickly ticks off a familiar list: the available labor pool, local culture, easy pace and cost of living, proximity to Portland and the coast. “McMinnville just seemed like a place where a business like mine could thrive, maintain a low profile and bring some small measure of good jobs to a great community.” The McMinnville Industrial Partnership and Business Oregon were instrumental in making the move a success, and after only 60 days, Rick Thronburg, VP of Operations, could see the benefits of the new location. Production and quality had already reached pre-move levels, and William Henry had assembled its best team ever.

New neighbors are always given a warm welcome in Yamhill County, so when Eyrie Vineyard owner, Jason Lett, had to cull the first pinot vines planted in the Willamette Valley, he knew just who would appreciate their rich legacy. William Henry was eager to incorporate the historic vines into its elegant writing instruments and, in homage to its new home in wine country, named the pens after the myriad fine wines to be found here.