

Yesterday, KnivesShipFree announced that Owner and Founder Dr. Derrick Bohn had suddenly passed away.

KnivesShipFree got its start as a part-time eBay storefront to help pay the bills while Derrick completed an extensive theological education that included an undergraduate, two Master’s degrees, and a doctorate. In 2010 Derrick served as Pastor for Singing Hills Christian Church in Hillsboro, OR and when he left the Church in 2012, established KnivesShipFree as a full-time venture.

Bohn was behind the modern incarnation of the venerable Northwoods Knives brand. He purchased it from Founder Dave Shirley with the promise to maintain the company’s reputation for quality, US-made cutlery. Bohn turned the Northwoods name into a staple of the traditional and fixed blade knife categories.

He teamed up with partners like Bark River Knives and Great Eastern Cutlery to produce limited runs of high-performance, highly desirable models, many of which he designed himself. Today, the Northwoods brand also encompasses leather goods and a collection of kitchen cutlery.

Bohn was widely known for his personal kindness, love of quality knives, and a ‘no junk policy’ that barred many budget brands and models from the KnivesShipFree website.

In 2015, Bohn moved KnivesShipFree from Oregon to Escanaba, Michigan. He had recently announced that KnivesShipFree would be moving from Escanaba to Chatanooga, Tennessee. The move is scheduled to happen later this week.