From above the winds on January 11, 2016, Shalane heard his name being called and has gone on to join his GrandPappy.

                                                              RIP Shalane, we will remember you always.

                                                             Introducing Larry's Grandson Shalane Benoit.

Shalane is the son of Larry and Iris's daughter Zana.

Shalane was the little boy that Larry wrote about in chapter 18 (First Blood) in his book "The Beginning-Where it all began".

Zana and her family lived just up the road from Larry and Iris, therefore Shalane spent many hours in his grandpappys knife shop learning the tricks of the trade.

Now he is all grown up and making knives that will make his pappy proud.

           Here is a little history in Shalane's own words:

    Where it all began. Living in the shadows of a legend.

I grew up going to my Grandparents house every chance I got, weekends and all summer on school vacations. The time I spent with him was wonderess. He had so much knowledge and taught me many things every day.

Most of our time was spent in his knife shop or in the woods. He showed me the wonders of the outdoors and how to respect it. He showed me what to eat and what the animals did and why. Most of all, it's his respect for all living things I remember as he taught me never to kill what you do not use. He was a deer killing master, but also loved them with all his heart because they were the true champions of the forest.

My time in his knife shop is my favorite memory. He showed me all the intricacies of making a beautiful piece of art. With patience and persistence, he said I could also make such a thing.

 I would wait all year for him to go deer hunting. I knew that was my chance to go into his knife shop. I would mess up his tools, ruin his grinding wheels, and cut up antlers he was saving. I would try my best to make a knife. When he would come home from his hunting trip, at first he would be mad. I remember he would look at what I made and with his own special sarcasm, he would pat me on the back and say It's ok grandson. I see you have been grinding on that for a very long time, now I will teach you the right way. He would then say, By the way, next time I'm gone hunting, stay the hell out of my shop. He was so patient and a great teacher. He would show me what I did wrong and then always showed me the right way. Now I am proud to say that after many years of practice, I can make a knife.

I only hope that he would be proud as he is no longer here to guide me. He was the greatest man I ever met. His knives were legend. I hope that someday mine are too. It takes a lot of work to do what we all want to do. For my grandfather it was to bag the biggest buck of his life, which he did every year without a fault. For me it is to let my grandfathers legend live on, to make him proud of what he taught me. The impossible dream is not, it really can happen.

                                                                      Check out Shalane's Knives here!