Austin Jackson
Owner: Austin Jackson, grandson of Clarence Risner (Founder)
Hello! I am Austin Jackson, owner of C. Risner Cutlery. My grandfather, Clarence Risner founded C. Risner Cutlery in 1974. Grandpa founded the business through his hobby of collecting, selling, and trading traditional pocket knives.
Grandpa and I shared the same passion of buying, selling, and trading quality traditional pocket knives. Clarence had me holding, opening and closing, sharpening and cleaning pocket knives at a young age. Growing up as a kid, I attended knife shows with Grandpa in Cincinnati, Louisville, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville and many other locations. At these knife shows, I began getting involved with the National Knife Collectors Association (NKCA) Youth Club.
I enlisted and served in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating high school. During this time, I was able to obtain a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science with a minor in American Sign Language. As the years passed, I grew into helping Clarence full time with the knife business before eventually taking over the knife business when Clarence passed in 2016.
I am thankful to have created so many memories with my grandfather. Those memories will be with me for the rest of my life.
Brian
Hey guys! My name is Brian. I have been friends with Austin since grade school! After graduating high school, I enlisted in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer. I deployed to Afghanistan from 2012 to 2013. I found an interest in tactical knives during my service in the Army.
After serving six years in the Army, I enrolled in college and obtained a Bachelors Degree in Geographical Science. During my time in college, I helped Austin with the business part time. This is where my passion for pocket knives took off!
Today, I am full time and help Austin with a variety of tasks! I manage the website, capture pictures of new inventory items, and I even design knives on CAD for Austin. I am excited to see where the future takes me with C. Risner Cutlery!