About the Knifemaker

Fran Simcick of Dennis Township, NJ is learning the trade of custom knifemaking one blade at a time.  His connection to the knifemaking industry is ages old, as he is a great-great-grandson and a namesake of the original John Brown Francis Champlin (JBF) of Cattaraugus Cutlery fame from the late 1890 thru 1960's. 

Fran was raised in Little Valley, New York within the 100 mile ring and where cutlery as the great American industry was formed by  Cattaraugus Cutlery, Case Brothers, Kinfolks and many others. Born in 1952, his first hand knowledge was limited as Cattaraugus Cutlery closed its doors in 1963, but in 2004 an interest in family history ignited a spirit to investigate his heritage and FKS KNIFEWORKS is the result. Fran is currently practicing handcrafting of sheath knives and honing his fabrication skills part time, nights and weekends, so production of the one of a kind finished blades are limited.

Please contact Fran at his email address or utilizing the contact form page for more information on available options and pricing.



I have finally made the move to retirement from my full time job, however finding time to work in my shop has been difficult as my spouse has been experiencing some health problems that seem to take all my spare time. With completion of her treatment by mid-January I hope to begin work on several new knives I have in mind and promise to publish photo when done. Thank you all for your support.                                                                                                                
Fran Simcick, Knifemaker  January 8, 2014