Everything in the Shop Wants to Kill You (and How to Stop It) A Knifemaker’s Guide to Shop Safety By Nate “Tuna” Grant

Knife making is one of the most rewarding things you can do with your hands… right up until it isn’t.

Your shop is full of things that do not negotiate. The grinder wants a piece of you. The forge does not care that you are wearing gloves. That innocent-looking piece of steel you just quenched has murder on its mind. One distracted moment, one “I’ve done this a thousand times,” and suddenly you’re explaining to the ER doc how you lost a fingertip or your eyesight.

This book is your battle plan.

Written by custom knifemaker and ABS Journeyman Nate "TUNA" Grant, who has made (and learned from) pretty much every stupid mistake in the book, it delivers practical, shop-tested advice without the dry corporate safety-manual voice. Expect real talk, a few dark laughs, and the kind of checklists and protocols you can actually use when it is 11 p.m., the music’s loud, and something just went sideways.

Inside you will find:

• Straightforward, actionable safety guidance for every major hazard in a real knife shop: grinders, forges, heat treating, hand tools, chemicals, sharpening, and the sneaky stuff that gets you when you are tired or rushing.
• First aid focused on the injuries knifemakers actually get.
• Ready-to-use checklists, quick-reference charts, and shop protocols you can laminate and post.
• Shop layout and workflow ideas that build safety into how you work instead of making it another thing to remember.
• Witty safety callouts and reminders designed to stick in your head when you are in the zone.

Printed in a large 8.5 × 11" format with custom colored tabs, blue callout boxes, and a layout built for fast flipping when you need the answer now.

Whether you are a parent of an interested child, working on setting up your first garage shop, or you have been forging for decades, this guide will help you work smarter, safer, and longer. Keep your fingers. Keep your vision. Keep building the knives that make you proud.

Your shop wants to kill you. Don’t let it win.

Book Details

• Pages: 216
• Size: 8.5 × 11" paperback (large format for shop reference)
• ISBN: 979-8234054883
• Published: May 2026