Meet Nathan TwoEagles-Downing

We recently connected with Nathan TwoEagles-Downing and have shared our conversation below.

Nathan, so glad you were able to set aside some time for us today. We’ve always admired not just your journey and success, but also the seemingly high levels of self-discipline that you seem to have mastered and so maybe we can start by chatting about how you developed it or where it comes from?

My self-discipline comes from my time in the Marine Corps, and growing up up with a single parent who rocked two jobs all the time. I’ve spent enough time watching others stumble through life, not understanding that it takes discipline to stay on the right course. It’s through my self-discipline that I found that I can almost do the impossible, like telling people how I was able to bring a South African martial arts instructor to the US on a Visa and have him share his art with us all. Where others said it couldn’t be done. I was also told throughout my life that if I were to buckle down and do what I need to, that I could accomplish any goal I set my mind to.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

In 2017 I decided to make my knives public. Though I kind of jumped off in a big way, I reached out to a well-known martial arts community that was using a very cheap and expendable folding knife, and I said that I can make something more robust that was better than what they used at the time. It was through all of that where I was able to make my first 300 sales in less than a year internationally. That knife is still my flagship blade and it is called The Mongoose. It has been published a handful of times now with the help of M3 tactical alliance, and it still serves as the official blade of the Piper Blade Combatives system. I continue to try to do as much as I can in-house with my other designs, and I’ve even moved on to making swords and some axes. I try to make tools that may not be pretty but they are very functional and will serve for generations to come.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I honestly think that three qualities that are great to have when doing this kind of work is mental stamina, knowing your metal, and being able to adjust on the fly. Because there are times when things feel really sluggish and slow, but if you keep grinding or hammering, you can overcome any setbacks that may come up.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

When I am feeling overwhelmed I just remember back to my track record so far is 100% because I got up that morning ready to work. That the situation I’m in right now is not so bad and it’s easily fixable.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silverline_knife_designs/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16aMW7oAaD/

Image Credits

In the last picture is me (left), Nigel February (center) and Ed Calderon (right) During the first US seminar of Piper in April 2018

All pictures of the knives were taken by me