Grindhouse Knives

Kansas City–based custom knife maker — Sam Jones’s Grindhouse Knives produces handmade, high-end tactical and practical knives from a downtown Kansas City workshop, selling nationally through its own site and specialist knife retailers while remaining rooted in the city where it operates.

Description

Grindhouse Knives is a Kansas City–based custom knife maker founded and operated by award-winning knifemaker Sam Jones. The operation produces handmade, high-end tactical and practical knives in small batches, with each model described as “an insightful design executed with precision using premium grade materials.” Jones’s motto — Esto Quod Esse Videris (Latin: “Be What You Seem To Be”) — anchors the shop’s identity around quality, creativity, durability, and authenticity.

The knife lineup centers on flipper framelock designs: the FOK Flipper (standard and Mini FOK), the TMA and TMAx Framelock Flipper, the FaTMAxx, and the KD series (various numbered configurations). Models are available in standard and Damascus steel variants. Finished pieces are sold direct via the Grindhouse Knives website and through specialist national retailers including Arizona Custom Knives, BladeHQ, Knife Center, and GP Knives.

The business operates from a downtown Kansas City location and can be reached in person by appointment as well as via email and phone, making it a working studio-shop rather than a walk-in retail store. Its presence in the national custom-knife market — carried by multiple established knife specialty retailers — marks it as one of the few KC-native makers with a recognized production line.

Ownership and history

Year	Event
c. mid-2010s	Sam Jones founds Grindhouse Knives in Kansas City, MO
By January 2016	Business is publicly operational; BladeForums thread documents a completed customer order1
Ongoing	Knives carried by Arizona Custom Knives, BladeHQ, Knife Center, GP Knives
2026	Active; website, social media, and national retailer listings current

Owner: Sam Jones attended William Jewell College in Liberty, MO (KC metro suburb), establishing at minimum a strong KC-area educational footprint.² No public source confirms whether Jones is KC-born or raised; this is the primary unresolved verification gap. He is described across sources as an “award-winning knifemaker” with significant experience in crafting custom steel, though which specific awards are not named in available public sources.

Links

• Official site: https://www.grindhouseknives.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrindhouseKnives/
• BladeHQ listing: https://www.bladehq.com/cat—Grindhouse-Knives-Custom—2138
• Arizona Custom Knives: https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/knives-by-maker/grindhouse-knives/

Sources

Disputes

None at this time.

Footnotes

1. https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/grindhouse-knives-very-cool-just-ordered-one.1356130/ — BladeForums thread, January 2016. Asserts: customer had ordered a Grindhouse Mini FOK; photos posted; establishes business was operational no later than early 2016. No founding year stated. ↩

2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-jones-88aa3190 (via ZoomInfo) — LinkedIn profile for Sam Jones, Knife maker at Grind House Knives. Asserts: Sam Jones holds a Bachelor’s degree from William Jewell College (Liberty, MO). Note: LinkedIn profile not directly fetched; attribution via ZoomInfo aggregation. ↩