STAN CHEN

Approaching my 30th birthday, I was at a crossroads in my life. Something needed to change. My successful corporate career was making me insane, and I needed to pursue a passion of mine that I'd had since childhood: namely, the custom 1911 pistol. I carefully considered the move; after all, this would mean giving up the illusion of security that comes with corporate life.

I plunged in head first, pouring years of pent up passion and drive into my new craft.

About 18 years have passed since then, and it has been an incredible gift and blessing that I've been able to turn a lifelong passion into my professional life's work. That there are those that appreciate what I do is a gift I am grateful for every single day.

My father Sam was an extremely talented artist. From him, I inherited his creative flair, perfectionism to a fault, and attention to detail. A thoughtful observer of the world, he would say to me,

"Son, no matter what you do,
be the best at it, and you'll do fine."

Well it's not for me to say whether I'm the best at anything, but I truly love my work, and strive for utmost excellence in just about everything that I do, especially these pistols which bear my name. I love to create, innovate, and push myself and the boundaries of what can
be accomplished.

I look to the future with tremendous excitement. Swirling in my head is an endless stream of ideas, which I'm eager to put into metal. I believe the best is yet to come!

*L to R: Sister Charlene, Stepfather Bill, Stan and The Bear. Family Ranch, Northern California c. 1986*

In the media

*You can find Stan's story featured here*

You can find Stan's work featured here — *You can find Stan's work featured* *here*

ThanKs

Over the years
I've been blessed with some
very meaningful relationships with simply great people in our industry. Here's a shout out to a few of them.

Pete Single - One of the true unsung heroes of the industry,
I was fortunate to learn from the very best from the beginning. Pete is a master metalsmith whose precision metal checkering is simply unsurpassed. I owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for all his help to me over the years in many aspects of metalworking including machining, tooling, fixturing and TIG welding. Pete's pistols and machine work are truly mechanical works of art.

And to Chuck Rogers, Ned Christiansen, Ted Yost,
Jason Burton, Steve Bailey, John Harrison, CT Brian,
Don Williams, Randy Lee, Scott Folk, Mark Graff,
John VanZyck, Bob Perkins, Ryan Perkins, Kyle Lamb,
Pat Rogers (RIP), Henk Iverson, Mike Hueser, Roy Huntington, Jim Shepherd, Rob Garrett, Sammy Reese, Frank and Pete Brownell, Jeremy Clough, Paul Earhardt, Julie Golob, Dave Douglas, Patrick Sweeney, Rich Grassi, and so many others....Thank you all for your help, support, friendship and camaraderie over the years!