At the age of five Ernest “Mooney” Warther found his first pocketknife and began whittling. As a teenager he began carving in walnut wood and bone. He became frustrated with store-bought knives because they would not stay sharp, so he began to design and make his own. Mooney Warther researched what steel to use and created his own techniques form tempering and sharpening a steel blade that would keep its sharp edge even while carving in hard materials like walnut and bone and later when carving ebony and ivory.