Meet Adam Pener of North

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Pener.

Hi Adam, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Sniper Bladeworks was formed in or around 2009 by knife designer, Benedictine College graduate, and lifelong Kansas Citian Lance Abernathy. Lance’s innovative ergonomic handles and cutting-edge tactical blade designs quickly propelled Sniper to the top of the knife industry. His DMF was featured on the cover of Blade Magazine, and his iconic DMF won Tactical Folder of the Year in 2013. There was a waiting list for his knives, which he hand-made in a shop in North Kansas City. In 2015, it all came crashing down after Lance’s father, Gary, passed away.

I grew up at the Abernathy’s house. It was like a second home for me. Lance’s younger brother, Nick, was my best friend. We went to Pembroke and became friends, likely because there weren’t many of us that didn’t fit the mold. Lance was like an older brother. He watched out for us and often tried out his new Jiu-Jitsu moves on us and otherwise tortured us like the good older brother he was.

Following Gary’s stroke, I helped Abernathy transition the family business from Gary to Nick and took an active role. This gave Lance a first-hand look at the businessman I had become. I got to know Lance again. He had been a deputy sheriff in Platte County and a team leader. He took down drug houses and occasionally was brought in by the DEA. His knives weren’t only brilliant works of art; they were reflections of his experience in extremely dangerous situations. He designed them to give our women and men in uniform and on the streets an advantage if needed.

Lance first raised the idea of partnering with him on Sniper in 2015. I wasn’t in a good place to take the project on, and Lance lost his heart for knifemaking when Gary passed. Sniper lay dormant for four years when I called Lance in 2019. We spent long hours talking about whether he would want to revive Sniper and how we could make it better. We share a passion for helping Vets and protecting our troops. Mostly, I like seeing Lance create. I think he likes watching me run the business. An odd couple, to be sure, we make a good team. We signed the papers on a new company, SBW Holdings, LLC, in 2020 and relaunched the company via a Kickstarter campaign that was wildly successful. Today, we are one of, if not the fastest-growing knife companies in the U.S.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a smooth road?
There is no such thing as a smooth road when launching a company. By definition, entrepreneurs “organize, manage, and assume the risks of a business or enterprise.” It’s the “assuming the risk” part that gets nervy. For us, changing from a highly controllable hand-made model to an offshore production model was fraught with risk. We spent nine months on Zooms going over every detail possible. Once the purchase order was submitted, it took another six months to receive the knives. We had the prototypes, but we didn’t have the experience to be fully confident in the 2,000 knives we were buying. Kickstarter had to be successful for the plan to work. We rolled up our sleeves and dug in. It was also a nine-month process. No one took a salary. Lance worked as a security guard to pay his bills. My wife went back to work full-time. The entire bet, from pre-sales to production to quality, was fraught with risk. And yet it always has a Hand of G_d feeling. We trusted the process and the path. Were there struggles along the way? Absolutely. Still are. Sleepless nights too. Start-up life is not for the faint of heart.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Lance is a true artist. His designs are brilliant. The knives look like artistic work. Some 15 years after his first knives hit the market, his ground-breaking “pistol grip” handle design is still the standard to which all high-end knives are compared. Put simply; Sniper knives feature an ergonomic grip to improve performance and comfort. What really sets Sniper knives apart, however, is Lance’s attention to detail. Every millimeter of his knives are perfected before release into the market. The end result is a robust, overbuilt knife that is both practical and a showpiece.

The steel thread that connects my companies and products is story-telling. I believe that people want to connect with the maker, not just the product. When considering this project with Lance, it was important for me to understand his motives. I was drawn to his authenticity and produced a short “Maker” film to try to connect Lance with his customers. The result was a beautiful work of art that helped propel our Kickstarter to a Top One Percent global performance on the platform. I continue to try to tell the Sniper story at a personal level. No longer is Sniper just Lance. It now embodies parts of Nick, Lance’s brother and our national sales director, and me. It is now our story. Telling it is a privilege. I try to do it justice.

Our Maker video of Lance can be viewed here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sniperbladeworks/the-award-winning-tactical-knife-set-by-sniper-bladeworks or on our website: www.sniperbladeworks.com.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I believe that risk lies at the heart of the human condition. Love is a risky endeavor – you must lay yourself out there. Taking the first step is risky. You don’t know where the path will take you. Leaving for college, taking a new job, starting a business, talking to someone you don’t know. It is all risky. But how boring life would be if we didn’t take chances! There’s a book that I’ve read to my children many times and a line that I love: “You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly, they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?” Sniper has been the highest-stakes business risk I’ve ever taken. Three years in, the outcome remains unknown. I’ve thought a lot about whether I would do this again if I had the chance. I honestly don’t know the answer. But Lance, Nick, and I have always shared a dominant trait: we roll up our sleeves and work. It’s who Sniper is.

Pricing:

• DMF: $425
• LPC: $295
• MAMU: $195
• Customs: Knife-by Knife Basis

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sniperbladeworks.com