An award winning custom knife-maker even before he met the legendary Col. Rex Applegate, Bills' work for him improving the Applegate Fairbairn line of knives resulted in the industries "Best American Made Knife Award." This is how Bill got started in the world of Tactical knives. In this field Bill has done work for individuals in all branches of the United States Military including Army Special Forces, Marine Fighter Pilots, Air Force and those guys in the Navy known as SEAL's. His work has gone to members of Britain's famous counterterrorist group, the SAS and Germany's GSG-9.

Perhaps the best known Harsey project to date is the Army Special Forces (Green Beret) Yarborough knife, designed by Bill and issued upon graduation to each individual who passes the "Q" (Qualification) Course to become a Special Forces soldier.

Harsey knives are recognized for highly refined no-nonsense function. Bill says "Good knife design is like good airplane design, if it doesn't need to be there, it isn't"! "Knives have to be able to function in any environment on or near the earth, this includes total darkness and numbing cold above or below water." This last quote by Bill makes sense when you speak with him and learn that his knives are designed to orient quickly in the hand without having to look at them. When the knife is gripped, the handle shape gives the user both control and precise reference to the edge. One of Bill's great interests is metallurgy and heat treat of the exotic tool steels. The result of this is the owner of his knives getting the highest quality steel possible in a Harsey knife.