Benchmade Catalog Gold Class Blue Hunt Black autographed Les De Asis

Description

Benchmade/ Pacific Cutlery Founder Les De Asis Autograph.
2018 Benchmade catalog. Signed with a Gold metallic sharpie. Featuring Gold Class, Blue Class, Hunt Class & Black Class knives.
Also including email correspondence requesting the autograph.
Les De Asis
Lester de Asis
Dec. 7, 1951 - Feb. 21, 2020
Lester de Asis, 68, died peacefully surrounded by his family Feb. 21, 2020 following a stroke. Les will be remembered as a loving husband, father and grandfather, a visionary and humble leader and an inspiring advocate for the community. His love of family, kindness to all and passion for the knife and shooting sports industry will leave a lasting mark on the many people he impacted during his full, well lived life.
Les was born in Oakland Dec. 7, 1951 to Nora and Leon de Asis. He attended University of Arizona and USC. In 1979, Les began building handmade custom Bali-Song knives in a small shop in California, where he incorporated the company Bali-Song®, Inc. Over the next seven years, the company expanded its product offerings, and evolved its name to Pacific Cutlery Corp. In 1987, Les and his family moved from California to a facility in Clackamas, Ore., and began producing knives there under the name Benchmade Knife Company, Inc. To respond to growing customer demand, in 1996, Benchmade moved from the 15,000 sq. ft. shop in Clackamas to its current location in Oregon City, which covers approximately 144,000 sq. ft. today.
Over the course of Benchmade's history, Les worked with world-class custom knife makers like Mel Pardue, Warren Osborne, Bill McHenry and Jason Williams. Under his guidance, Benchmade knives have become some of the most ubiquitous in the world, supported by innovations like the AXIS® lock and, of course, the Bali-Song®. Benchmade continues to bring the highest quality products to the world by focusing on innovation, customer needs, responsible business ethics and world class operations.
Les was especially passionate and proud of the knife and shooting sports industries. He was a co-founder of the American Knife & Tool Institute in 1998 and was inducted into the BLADE Show Cutlery Hall of Fame in 2017.
Les greatly valued the beautiful state of Oregon in which he built Benchmade. During his career, Les was recognized by several organizations for his contributions to Oregon. Les was a founding member, board member, and long-term supporter of the Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition (PNDC), with their Annual Defense & Security Leadership Award named after him since 2014. Les was the recipient of the 2016 Excellence in Family Business Award from Oregon State University's Austin Family Business Program. As a champion of Oregon City, Les was a lifetime honorary member of the Clackamas Community College Foundation Board of Directors after serving six years as an active member. Les was a co-founder of the Joanne Truesdell Military Families Scholarship Endowment which provides tuition scholarships to active and inactive veterans and their families.
Les is survived by his wife of 41 years, Roberta; daughter, Melissa; son, Jon; daughter-in-law, Christelle; and grandson, Enzo.
Condition is "New". Shipped with USPS First Class.