Career
Hartsfield"s designs have influenced other knifemakers, primarily Ernest Emerson. Hartsfield joined the United States Navy at 17 and served as a sonar technician. After serving 4 years, he was discharged and worked as a television repairman.
After six months of working for a repairshop, Hartsfield opened his own repairshop at the age of 22 while making knives part-time.
In 1977, he closed his television repair business and became a full-time knifemaker. Hartsfield"s blades are Japanese-influenced, each one was hand ground from A2 tool steel, and differentially edge hardened to Remote Control 60-61 on the Rockwell scale with the remainder of the blade hardened to 58-59 on the scale to allow for flex during the cut.
This strength protected the life of a Special Forces advisor in El Salvador when a Hartsfield knife stopped a 7.62×51mm North Atlantic Treaty Organization rifle bullet fired by a guerrilla. Hartdfield"s blades were zero-ground, meaning there is no secondary bevel edge on the knife which allows the knife to cut without parasitic drag.
The majority of Hartsfield"s blades are designed as tools with little to no ornamentation.
However, Hartsfield makes museum quality pieces, some of which are on display at the Canadian Army Museum at Halifax Citadel as examples of Samurai Swords. Hartsfield built a unique hand-driven grinder, the "Lil Cranky," after his electric grinder had a mishap. While grinding a blade, a piece of metal embedded in the wheel and caused the wheel to explode.
After a four-hour surgery and months in recovery, Hartsfield designed his machine and sold them from his shop to other knifemakers.
Hartsfield"s knives are used by the United States Navy SEALs and the United States Marine Corps MARSOC teams. Hartsfield died on May 20, 2010 at his home in Newport Beach, California after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.