About Us

Robert Ziarnick: Growing up in the remote mountains of North Idaho I spent a great deal of time hunting, fishing, hiking and camping. A knife was always in my pocket or on my belt. At 16 I started working with metal, welding and working on cars, this led me to my first knife build forged out of a rolled Chevy parts truck I had bought for the axles. I also joined the Navy while in high school with the hopes to join the SEAL teams after finding I was ineligible to even try out for BUD/S I dropped out of school to get out of the Navy. Two years went by and every day I regretted my decision. My grandfather, a retired LA county sheriff and Marine talked me into contacting a Marine recruiter. A month later I had my GED and was at the MEPS signing my life away to the USMC. I had a goal in mind to become a Scout Sniper and was quickly given that opportunity after being assigned to Lima Company to 3rd Battalion 1st Marines 1st MARDIV. My first school Urban Reconnaissance and Surveillance had me hooked and motivated. In March 2002 I graduated High Shooter from the legendary 1st MARDIV Sniper School at that point I had been a Marine for only a year and a month, 2 days later I was on the USS Belleau Wood LHA-3 with the11th MEU heading for the Middle East and Africa. During that deployment my good friend Buck and I came up with the idea to buy a used box truck to start a knife shop in the barracks parking lot. That idea never came to fruition because we were immediately redeployed on the USS Bonhomme Richard LHD-6 for OIF-1.  After returning CONUS I attended SERE School, DEST, PDHAS, CWSS, Mountain Scout Sniper, MCMAPS green belt instructor course, a few other schools and training evolutions.  A short time later I was back in Iraq for OIF-2. In 2005 I got out of the Marines with a TBI and PTSD my life was in a massive downward spiral and by august of 2006 I was on my 4th serious Suicide attempt that landed me in the hospital for 5 years of intensive inpatient treatment. Suicide saved my life. While in the hospital I attended college for machining and for automotive technician, which I turned into a career building high-end hotrods, retromods, off road vehicles and racecars. As a hobby I started forging straight razors and knives. My good friend (brother really) Buck was visiting and we drew up our dream knife it took a few years and a move for me to get around to actually make it and when I did get it done I knew I had something fresh that no one else was making. Gunfighter Design and Fabrication is born October 2018, which I started as a venture into my own fab shop, I quickly began making more and more knives and my hobby became a full time job and overtook my regular fab shop and car building. February 2021 I was hit head on by a drunk driver which forced a year off for recovery and rehabilitation. During that year production on knives and cars greatly slowed down and forced the decision to take on a temporary business partner. "AND LET US NOT GROW WEARY OF DOING GOOD, FOR DUE SEASON WE WILL REAP, IF WE DO NOT GIVE UP." GALATIONS 6:9. By the grace of God I have survived and persevered some of the most difficult and trying things the world has to dish out. I will relentlessly adapt and overcome!