Matthew Parkinson was inspired as a child watching a blacksmith work in a museum; this seemingly small moment stuck with him. Later, as a young teen under the direction of his grandfather, he made a knife from an old file, which ignited a desire to make knives. He has been a professional bladesmith since 1998. In 2005, Matthew, along with Jamie Lundell and Peter Swarz-Burt, formed Falling Hammer Productions, which designs, manufactures, and installs high-end custom interior and exterior ironwork, running this part of the business until 2019. Under the Dragons Breath Forge name, they market their swords, knives, axes, and armor to clients around the world. Matthew has taught at craft and art centers throughout America and has had his personal work featured in publications around the world. Matthew has published several articles on knives and writes for Knife Magazine, “Turning the World to Dust.” In 2015, Matthew was a contestant on the first episode of Forged in Fire on the History Channel. He won by making a katana in five days that split a bullet. In 2016, he returned for the championship round, where he placed second with his Scottish claymore, which also split a bullet. That same year Matthew attained the rank of journeyman smith from the American Bladesmith Society—one of fewer than 200 bladesmiths to do so.