Knives Illustrated – August 2019

Kaila lets the sparks

fly while creating her

custom knives.

K

nifemaker, tactical

firearms shooter,

hunter, and backwoods

survival practitioner

— that’s the essence of Kaila

Cumings, and it’s still only

scratching the surface.

From a very early age, Kaila was

immersed in all things outdoors. From

hunting and trapping to survival and

self-reliance to spearfishing and archery,

Kaila (learning from her father) excelled

at activities not typically associated

with a young girl — and that trait only

expanded from there.

Kaila, during her teenage years,

surpassed all the boys on her rifle

team. Her skill with a rifle eventually

led to a pursuit in tactical firearms

training, home defense and knife

fighting classes — the latter of

which magnified her love of knives,

and ultimately her passion of

knifemaking.

In a world composed primarily of

men, Kaila has made her mark on

the custom-knife world, creating

and reviewing all things knives. Her

“FROM AN EARLY AGE I WAS ALWAYS OUTSIDE

PLAYING IN THE WOODS, EXPLORING, BUILDING

SHELTERS, PLAYING IN THE BROOK NEAR MY

PARENTS’ HOUSE, AND SO ON.”

positive, adventurous attitude led her

to take on the 21-day challenge from

the television show “Naked & Afraid”

(followed by a 40-day challenge),

where she put the culmination of all

her skills to a true test and came out of

both experiences stronger than ever.

Kaila now shares her secrets of how

she keeps pushing herself to and past

her limits, what it’s like working in

a male-dominated profession, and

16 KNIVES ILLUSTRATED • JULY/AUGUST 2019 knivesillustrated.com