People in the 10: Knives made by local artist used on TV show

(Riverton, WY) – Riverton resident Jason Keen is an artist of many trades – tattooing, bladesmithing, and sign making just to name a few.

His work can be spotted not only in Fremont County but across the U.S. And recently, he had four knives make their debut on a TV show.

Jason has done metalwork for as long as he can remember, he noted. However, he started forged knife-making around 2014 after spending nearly 15 years serving in the U.S. Navy.

He learned from local knife maker Chris Amos, who also set him up with his first forge.

Since then, he’s made connections and friends through blade shows – one of whom is Fort Worth-based Terry Shanks. Terry is well known in the blade-making world, according to Jason, and makes a variety of blades and items including brass knuckles.

The two teamed up and made a knife with a brass knuckle-type handle, which was shared on Instagram where actor Jason Momoa became interested in it for the Apple TV drama series See.

He commissioned them to make three of those knives and a fourth for the show that has an antler handle, which was provided by Momoa.

Jason only makes knives when he has the time, so you can generally find him at his tattoo shop, Pure Quill Tattoo, located on Webbwood in Riverton.

In addition to tattooing and knife making, he has built tattoo machines since about 2005 and has been making signs for many years as well. He also does gold gilding on windows.