About Us

 

Oldawan LLC is a locally owned and operated business in Santa Fe, NM. Founded by Bob Nash and Emily Franklin, we specialize in sales and support for knife sharpening systems & accessories, including the Wicked Edge Precision Sharpener, Edge Pro, Lansky, Gatco, DMT, Spyderco, and sharpening stones. Check back often - new products are being added all the time!

While working for Wicked Edge, Bob realized how many people, even those who were crazy about knives, were just like he had been at one time and couldn't get a knife sharp. Now he spends his time helping people learn about sharpening and in particular guided angle sharpening systems.

We pride ourselves on providing excellent customer service and quality products. We also provide technical and technique support, so feel free to call or email us with any questions about the products we sell.

​For more info, call us at 505.570.2040 or click the Contact Us button to send us an email.

Why "Oldawan"?

Oldawan is an alternate spelling for Oldowan or Olduwan. Oldawan refers to the oldest-known stone tool industry of humankind. Dating as far back as 2.5 million years, Oldawan tools are a major milestone in human evolutionary history: they are the earliest evidence of cultural behavior. Homo habilis, an ancestor of Homo sapiens, manufactured Oldawan tools.

First discovered at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, Oldawan artifacts have been recovered from several localities in eastern, central, and southern Africa, the oldest of which is a site at Gona, Ethiopia. Oldawan technology is typified by what are known as "choppers." Choppers are stone cores with flakes removed from part of the surface, creating a sharpened edge that was used for cutting, chopping, and scraping. Microscopic surface analysis of the flakes struck from cores has shown that some of these flakes were also used as tools for cutting plants and butchering animals.