Hi there! My name is Bill Bernhardt and I am the author behind BestPocketKnifeReview.com.
I was born in 1960 in a small town in western North Carolina in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains called Lenoir (named after Confederate General William Lenoir). My father (who spent most of his life working for the U.S. Forest Service) was an avid outdoors-man and conservationist and he instilled in me from an early age both his values and his love of the outdoors. Around the age of eight, after watching my father fly fish while we camped on Slick Rock creek, I convinced him to buy my first fly fishing outfit and I have been obsessed with the sport ever since. Due to my father’s employment with the U.S. Forest Service, I have lived, fished, and hunted in some of the most exotic locations the U.S. has to offer such as: Juneau, AK., Jackson Hole, WY., and Marathon, FL. (which is located in the Florida Keys) as well as several other places.
Because of my love of the outdoors and my interest in outdoor survival, I discovered at an early age just how useful a good knife could be and this has lead me to a lifelong love for and fascination with cutlery. Consequently, I started collecting knives at about the same age that I started fly fishing. Since, then, I have endeavored to learn as much as I possibly can about both production and custom knives and thus, I was aware of both Bo Randall and Bob Loveless when they were in their prime and in fact, my father owned three original Randall knives.
Ever since I was a little kid I have wanted to become an outdoor professional. In pursuit of that dream, I now make my living as a professional fly fishing guide and instructor. About fifteen years ago, while I was managing and guiding for a local fly fishing shop in Lenoir, I met a fellow whose cousin owns a small barrier island located just off of the coast of Georgia and he invited me to participate in the first organized bow hunting trip there for feral hogs and deer. I have been hunting with the same group of friends there every year since our first hunt.
A few years ago, I decided to start guiding my own hunting trips there each winter as an expansion to my fly fishing business. But, I have always been aware that to be fully accepted as a true professional in my field, I also needed to become a writer. I am now an official contributor to Southern Trout fly fishing magazine. I write survival knife review articles for BestSurvivalKnifeGuide.com, deer hunting articles for a site called DIYDeerFoodPlots.com, various outdoor related articles for LotzOutdoors.com, and you can find me writing about my passion for fly fishing at NC-FlyFishing.com.
Due to my extensive and varied outdoor experience combined with my love for and fascination with cutlery, I have had the opportunity to try many different knife designs in the field and this experience has led me to develop some strong opinions about what does and does not work for a particular purpose. However, because of my chosen outdoor activities, I have to admit that my opinions are biased since I tend to view any knife design through the eyes of a hunter and outdoor survivalist. Also, please note that since I am not trained in the art of combat with a knife, I do not consider myself qualified to offer an opinion on the usefulness of any particular knife design for tactical use.
I am well aware that my assessment of any pocket knife design may not agree with that of my readers. You are welcome to disagree with any of my opinions and I hope you share your thoughts in the comments of this site. If fact, if everybody thought exactly as I do, there would not be nearly so many cutlery companies in business today, and the few that did exist would not be producing nearly so many different designs. So, although you may not agree with my opinion of any knife that I review on this site, I urge you to keep an open mind and view each of my articles as the educational experience that I intend for them to be. In the end if this site helps you find the best pocket knife for you, then it will have served its purpose.
See you in the comments, or connect with me on Google!
Bill Bernhardt
Professional Fly Fishing and Hunting Guide, Outdoor Writer, and Cutlery Aficionado
Affiliate disclosure
If you click on product links I’ve added to this site, you’ll be redirected to Amazon.com – and if you buy from Amazon.com within a day then I’ll earn a small commission. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and you pay exactly the same price whether you clicked on my link or go direct to Amazon: hopefully you won’t mind since it’s how I pay for the research work! However, if you want to avoid this, just copy the amazon link to a new browser.
bestPocketKnifeReview.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.