About Sanctuary Knives & Holsters LLC

Sanctuary Knives started out as a hobby for me as a young man. I am creative my nature and need to find outlets for that creativity. I started leather crafting when at 16 years old I discovered a Tandy Leather Shop near my cousin’s house in Chicago Heights Illinois.

I was already a wood worker, tinkerer, and maker at that age, getting into my dad’s workshop and using his tools to make things so leather craft just became another outlet for that creativity.  I made wallets, key chains and other leather items that I gave away to my family and friends as gifts honing my carving and tooling skills with each piece I completed.

Several of my friends who have a passion for shooting and firearms asked me to make them custom holsters for rare pistols that they could not find holsters for, that turned into custom hand made holsters to order.

In 2015 I start watching Forged in Fire on the Discovery Channel and realized quickly that the idea of creating tools that others could pass down to their family for generations intrigued me. Leather and wood could be heirlooms and if taken care of would last several generations, but steel could be forever. So, I started experimenting with blade making!

I am not a technically a Bladesmith because I do not forge my blades in fire, instead I use a process called Stock Removal. I take high quality steel blanks forged by a steel manufacturer and I then cut the blade from that to make a high-quality knife. Steel making is a science and requires technical skills that take years to learn and master. Although I have the passion and understanding for it,  I do not have the time or tools needed to create the quality steel I need for my knives; therefore, stock removal is much more effective for my style of knife making.

Although my plan is to achieve Master Smith ranking as a Bladesmith, commercially I prefer the stock removal method as it is more efficient and leaves the science to the experts. I am an artist and the creativity comes in shaping the blade, grinding bevels and adding handles, custom made pins and then making the sheath out of leather, wood or kydex, depending on the style of the knife and its ultimate function.

One of my other creative outlets is jewelry making which I studied when we moved to California. The Wenrics Jewelry School taught me how to solder metal and set stones, create wax molds and make silver and other semi-precious metals into jewelry. I am currently using natural stone beads to make men’s and ladies’ bracelets which I hope you will find both creative and exciting to wear.

I look forward to creating for you!

If you can’t find what you need on this site or you are looking for a custom designed piece, please email me at tony@sanctuaryknives.com I will do my best to meet your expectations.

Regards,

Tony Montagnino
Owner/Designer

Sanctuary Knives & Holsters LLC
26817 N. 90th Ave,
Peoria AZ, 85383