Our founder, Ron Diefenbacher, has many years of experience as a professional woodworker and furniture designer. Ron’s family comes from a long line of violin makers going back to the late 18th century, and he first became interested in woodworking as a teenager in his junior high school shop class.
After completing college and spending a few years teaching, Ron made the decision to become a full-time woodworker. He earned an MA in Woodworking and Furniture Design at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. After finishing his degree, he moved to St. Louis where he established himself as a designer and maker of custom furniture.
In 1998, Ron started Diefenbacher Tools as a way to make some of his favorite hand tool brands available to other woodworkers.
In 2016 the tool distributor Frank Mittermeier closed, and Diefenbacher Tools took over from them as the US importer for Dastra woodcarving tools.
The business is now located in Denver, Colorado. Since 2020 it has been managed by Ron’s daughter Rachel.
See a gallery of Ron’s work here.
