Michael Walker is an American custom knifemaker and sculptor based in Taos, New Mexico. Walker began his career as a jeweler, until 1975 when his wife, Patricia Walker, gave him a Gerber Knife and a copy of American Blade magazine. Walker began making knives full time in 1980 with fixed-blade art knives. In 1985, Walker became a voting member of the Knifemakers’ Guild. In 2004, Walker was inducted into the Blade magazine’s Cutlery Hall of Fame.

        Walker has patented or trademarked over 20 different mechanisms related to locks and composite cutting blades on pocketknives. These include the “Lake and Walker Safety System” or LAWKS, BLADELock, Linerlock, Ball bearing lock, and Tough Lock.

        Walker has collaborated with numerous companies in efforts to make his designs more accessible to the public as his original handmade knives are in demand and sell in the thousands. Some of the production companies he has partnered with include Spyderco, Columbia River Knife and Tool, Schrade, Böker, and Klotzli.