This started a long time ago. Back when I was a kid, honestly.
I've been collecting in some capacity for as long as I can remember. I just always loved knives. Not casually either… like really loved them. The kind of thing where you show someone a badass Spyderco or a clean Emerson piece and they just don't get it.
I got that a lot.
I always felt a bit off showing people this stuff. Like I was into something they couldn't see. But to me, it wasn't just a knife. It was the grind, the maker, the feel in hand. The stories. The history.
That's what drives us.
I've always appreciated everything from traditional Case knives to full customs, art pieces, and hard-use tactical blades. One knife turned into two. Two turned into ten. Ten turned into a collection.
And somewhere along the way, something shifted.
I wasn't just collecting anymore. I was researching makers, learning steel, chasing limited runs, trying to understand why one piece felt different from another. I was spending more time doing that than anything else.
I'm the kind of guy who would track down a maker from the 1980s who hasn't built a knife in a decade, just to talk to them. Not to buy anything. Just because they made something that got me fired up. If their number was in Blade Magazine, I was calling them.
That's when I knew this wasn't just a hobby anymore. It was just… what I did.
So I built something around it. Tactical Elements started in 2016 — not because I saw some big opportunity, not because it made sense on paper, but because I genuinely couldn't stop.
That's how this started. And truthfully, not much has changed.
This shop is still just an extension of that same obsession. Not the other way around.
We carry what we would actually buy. That's it. That's the filter. If it doesn't excite us, it doesn't make it on here. Simple as that. That's why the selection isn't massive. But what's here, we stand behind completely.
Over time, something else happened. I started meeting the people behind the work.
Makers like Ernest Emerson, Rick Hinderer, the Demko Brothers, Mick Strider, Les George, Ryan Johnson, Bastien Coves, Alan Folts, and Ken Onion. Real relationships, real friendships — not just ordering product. Actually knowing the people, hearing the stories, understanding where things come from.
That changes how you see everything.
When something special is coming, we usually hear about it early. And when we can get it, we bring it in.
We're not a warehouse. We're not chasing trends. We're not pushing whatever sells fastest.
This is a small team of collectors who care about the same things you probably do. The details. The feel. The story behind the piece.
Every order that comes through here means something — because most of the time, it's coming from someone just like us.
If you've got questions, please reach out.
— AJ, Eli & Team
