Melissa Miller has become one of the most recognizable faces in the knife industry. Better known as “Melissa Backwoods,” she has gone from survival enthusiast to TV personality to one of the most prolific social media influencers in the knife community. Thanks to her close relationship with Tim and Suzanne Kell of T.Kell Knives, she can now add knife designer to her resume with her WharnEDC.
The T.Kell Knives WharnEDC
Unveiled at the 2025 Blade Show in Atlanta, Melissa’s WharnEDC is a practical, pocket-sized Wharncliffe fixed blade. It combines her well-reasoned personal preferences with some of T.Kell’s innovative design features and manufacturing methods. The result is an extremely functional, easy-to-carry alternative to a traditional utility folder.
Tim Kell and T.Kell Knives
T.Kell Knives is the brainchild of Tim Kell, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with a penchant for manufacturing ultra-reliable gear for armed professionals. He began his production efforts in the firearms industry, but later began experimenting with knifemaking for personal reasons. Specifically, he wanted a high-performance, fixed-blade knife as a handgun-retention tool.
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After searching the available options and coming up short, he decided to design and make his own. He was not only successful but soon drew the attention of his established clientele, who wanted one for themselves. His business paradigm gradually shifted, and in 2019, he launched T.Kell Knives, specializing in knives geared toward tactical and combative applications.
While Tim focuses on the manufacturing side, his wife, Suzanne, runs the business and marketing aspects of T.Kell. Her responsibilities include identifying and contacting insightful influencers and members of the media. In 2023, Suzanne sent Melissa one of T.Kell’s Nightstalker models to review on her YouTube channel.
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Melissa was extremely impressed with the quality and performance of the knife itself. She was equally impressed with the Kell’s commitment as a small, veteran-owned company committed to making their products entirely in the USA. One thing led to another, and they soon began discussing a design collaboration.
Melissa Backwoods
A native of Central Michigan, Melissa Miller graduated with high honors from the University of Michigan in 2016 with a degree in Education. A self-described “nature nerd,” she pursued her interest in environmental education by working at the For-Mar Nature Preservation and Arboretum in Burton, Michigan.
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There, she taught natural science to students of all ages and led educational programs for special needs students and senior citizens. She also developed an intense interest in primitive skills, including fire making, trapping, fishing, archery, and foraging. An avid researcher of indigenous cultures, she soon began teaching wilderness survival courses and day camps to share her knowledge.
Melissa’s survival skills ultimately caught the attention of the producers at the Discovery Channel, who cast her in the popular survival challenge reality show, “Naked and Afraid.” She became the only contestant to be featured in three different seasons of the show, using her primitive skills to survive for weeks on end in the Amazon jungle, the Selati Basin of South Africa, and the Florida Everglades.
Springboarding off her notoriety from “Naked and Afraid,” Melissa became a brand influencer for the Discovery Channel. As a content creator, she also began focusing more heavily on knives and officially partnered with Blade, RECOIL, and OFFGRID magazines.
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For several years, she lived a nomadic lifestyle, traveling the country, visiting trade shows, and creating digital and social media content for those magazines. She has since returned to Michigan and settled down. Now, she focuses exclusively on her own social media channels, particularly her MelissaBackwoods YouTube channel.
In Melissa’s words, “My ultimate goal is to expose the world of knives to a wide variety of people and to hopefully bring more people into this hobby.”
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It would seem she’s well on her way to achieving that goal.
Designing the WharnEDC
When Melissa became a full-time content creator, she began receiving knives from a variety of makers for review. Although she was accustomed to traditional bushcraft and outdoor blade shapes, she noticed the increasing popularity of Wharncliffe blades.
As she worked this pattern into her EDC rotation, she developed a newfound appreciation for its versatility. Capable of everything from serious cutting power to scalpel-like precision, Wharncliffes tackle almost all cutting chores extremely well. As such, when T.Kell presented the opportunity to design a knife, a Wharncliffe seemed the perfect blade pattern.
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Although Kell focused primarily on knives suitable for combative use, Miller wanted to create a knife for utilitarian applications. Specifically, she wanted a folder alternative that could be comfortably carried in a pocket but was simpler and more robust.
Kell already had several Wharncliffe patterns in his product line. He also had a small, pocket-friendly fixed blade called the Piranha that Melissa had carried extensively and liked a lot. Combining those tried-and-true elements with Melissa’s preferred blade length of three inches, he crafted a resin prototype.
While it achieved the target goals, for medium and large-sized hands, it only offered a three-finger grip. To solve that problem, he incorporated one of his other design innovations—a unique kit featuring three different handle-scale options. That addition and a bit of back-and-forth fine-tuning soon yielded a knife that satisfied all Melissa’s design goals.
Given its intent as a utilitarian Wharncliffe, they christened it the WharnEDC—an appropriate play on words (and letters). Introduced at the 2025 Blade Show in Atlanta, it was an immediate hit.
Design Details
The WharnEDC I received for review was the deluxe model with three handle-scale options and a Nitro-V stainless steel blade. It came packaged in a zippered nylon pouch with “Melissa Backwoods” and “WharnEDC” patches, a T.Kell Band-Aid®, and other accessories. From a product-presentation standpoint, A+.
While the bevels of most knives are shaped with a grinder, the WharnEDC showcases Kell’s unique “step-milled” bevels. Produced by a painstaking CNC machining process, they ensure extremely precise and symmetrical flat surfaces. They also keep the bevels narrow and create a consistent behind-the-edge thickness.
Best of all, like a hammered tsuchime finish on a Japanese chef’s knife, they reduce the blade’s contact surface during cutting. That, along with a “battle-worn” Nickel Boron coating, provides an ultra-low-friction cutting experience.
As delivered, the WharnEDC was extremely sharp and boasted a clean, symmetrical edge. The product of T.Kell’s proprietary sharpening process, it features a 400-grit finish that shaves cleanly while offering an aggressive micro-serrated edge.
The spine of the blade has a machined cusp and two sections of jimping—one on the thumb ramp and one near the tip. My only minor complaint is that the heel of the edge, adjacent to the index-finger choil, is crisp and bites easily if you’re not careful. Don’t ask me how I know…
Get a Grip
As delivered, the WharnEDC had the short Piranha grip scales installed. They keep the knife’s overall length to a compact 5.82 inches. However, for my hands, it only offered a three-finger grip. Using the supplied hex tool, I first swapped the obverse-side scale for one featuring a ring. It works in concert with the short reverse-side scale and extends the knife’s length to 6.70 inches overall.
Like a ring on a bird-and-trout knife, it provides a home for the fourth finger and enhances grip security. If the knife is carried in the pocket, it also helps balance concealment and a quick draw.
Swapping the scales again, I attached the long set. They offered an overall length of 6.69 inches and a comfortable, four-fingered grip.
The Piranha and Ring Grip scales are CNC-machined from black G-10, while the long scales are crafted from anodized aluminum. All feature Kell’s “Grenade Texture” for a non-slip grip and are secured to the handle with their proprietary “lashing screws.”
Designed by Kell and custom-machined for them, these slick screw-style fasteners sit flush into countersunk holes in the scales. They not only hold the scales securely in place, but also offer a hollow center. That feature makes the attachment of lanyards or lashing the knife to a pole as a spear extremely easy.
Carrying the WharnEDC
The WharnEDC comes complete with a custom-molded Kydex® sheath that provides a secure snap fit. The sheath is equipped with a unique wire J-hook-style clip that Tim Kell co-designed with UltiClip®. Known as the APH clip, it provides comfortable, angle-adjustable carry on a variety of belt widths. The package I received also included an UltiClip Slim 3.3 clip for vertical inside-the-waistband carry.
Overall Impressions
I found the WharnEDC to be an extremely handy, incredibly well-crafted knife. It vividly reflects the synergy of Melissa Miller’s experience as a survivalist and T.Kell’s innovative approach to design and manufacturing. Its interchangeable handle scales allow it to be fine-tuned to meet individual tastes and preferences. The knife’s sheath and unique APH clip also work extremely well and make it a pleasure to carry.
As a die-hard Wharncliffe enthusiast, I like the WharnEDC a lot.
