Ed Halligan "Big Daddy K.I.S.S." was the
second noted knifemaker to work with CRKT.
After 37 years as an aircraft technician with
Delta Airlines, he founded Halligan Knives
in Sharpsburg, Georgia, in 1985when
he says his background in scrimshaw and
leather working fell in line with his interest
in stock removal knifemaking. In 1996 he
earned a Mastersmith rating from the American
Bladesmithing Society and won the B.R.
Hughes award for Best Knife by a Mastersmith.
He does all his own work, including
heat treating, forging, and making Damascus
steel for his own use in various patterns. In
addition to three-dimensional carved knives,
he makes self-defense, military and folding
knives. He is the inventor of the K.I.S.S.
(Keep It Super Simple) single-sided knife
series which has been widely copied, and
has been translating his custom versions
of it into CRKT production knives, which
have proven to be exceptionally popular with
knife enthusiasts and the general public.
He teaches bladesmithing seminars and
knifemaking at the college level.