In February of 1805, in a cold village along the upper Missouri River, a teenage Shoshone woman gave birth to a baby boy. Two months later, she strapped that baby to her back and headed for the Pacific Ocean. Her name was Sacagawea. Her son was Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, affectionately nicknamed “Pomp” or “Pompy” by William Clark. And before mother and child returned, they would travel thousands of miles through some of the wildest country on the continent—up the Missouri, across the Rocky Mountains, down the Columbia to the Pacific and all the way back again. Not bad for a new mother. A Girl Taken From Home Sacagawea was probably about eleven or twelve years old when she was taken...

Hello everyone. This is Woody in the Woody Shop. Being Friday and all, I thought I’d tell you another story. Last week we started these Frontier Stories with Jim Bridger — Old Gabe — a fellow who could tell a tale with the best of them. This week’s story is different. For one thing, Hugh Glass didn’t have to make his story any bigger. It was already almost impossible to believe. In 1823, Glass was traveling through what is now South Dakota with a party of fur trappers known as Ashley’s Hundred. He was an experienced frontiersman — a hunter, trapper and scout — and while moving ahead of the party one day, he surprised a grizzly bear with two...

Hello everyone. This is Woody in the Woody Shop. Being Friday and all, I thought I’d tell you a story. And seeing as how this is the first of our Frontier Stories, I figured we’d start with a fellow who was pretty well known for telling a few himself. His name was Jim Bridger. Although depending on the story, you might know him better as Old Gabe. Bridger headed west while he was still a teenager and spent most of the next half century in country that, when he first saw it, very few Americans had ever laid eyes on. He trapped beaver. Blazed trails. Guided wagon trains. Helped establish a trading post. Found routes through the Rockies that other...

For six Fridays, Frank “Woody” Bridwell is heading back to the American frontier—sharing six remarkable stories and the six one-of-a-kind handmade knives they inspired. Some names you'll know. Others you may not. Every one left behind a story worth telling.

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, Frank "Woody" Bridwell reflects on why the milestone inspired a special collection of custom handmade knives. More than a commemorative series, it's a tribute to four generations of craftsmanship, the customers who carried Woody Brand to all fifty states, and the enduring American spirit of building something meant to be used, treasured, and passed down.