For many longtime friends of Wendell August Forge, Will Knecht is a familiar name. Will spent most of his career at Wendell August, serving as president and carrying forward a family legacy that was intertwined with the Forge for generations.
On October 13, Will begins a new chapter with the release of his first book, More The Man: More of the Father. More like Jesus. More the man God made you to be.
While More The Man is ultimately a book about faith, identity and discipleship, parts of its story will be particularly familiar to the Wendell August community.
A Story Shaped in Part by the Forge
Will's years at Wendell August included some of the most challenging and defining moments in the company's history.
Among them was the devastating fire that destroyed the historic Forge and led to an extraordinary period of rebuilding. In fact, The Fire is the very first chapter of More The Man. Will recounts that day not simply as a chapter in Wendell August history, but as part of his own journey of leadership, faith and learning what it means to move forward when you don't have all the answers.
That approach carries throughout the book. Will shares experiences from different seasons of his life, then uses those stories as a bridge to Scripture and to questions readers can consider in their own lives.
The result is a deeply personal story about moving away from measuring life by achievement, titles and the approval of others and toward an identity grounded in faith. At the heart of the book is a question Will believes has the power to reshape a man's life: not simply "Who am I?" but "Whose am I?"
Life After Wendell August
After leaving Wendell August, Will founded More The Man in 2024, a ministry focused on reaching and mentoring men. Today, its twice-weekly newsletter reaches more than 21,000 subscribers.
The new book builds on that mission.
Written especially for men wrestling with questions of purpose, performance and what matters in the next season of life, More The Man combines Will's own experiences with Scripture and reflections on faith. Will describes himself not as an expert who has arrived at all the answers, but as a fellow traveler whose own story is still being written.
“For decades, Wendell August has been part of so many families' lives, including mine, but I didn't write this book to tell the company's history. I wrote it because the hardest lesson of those thirty-five years was realizing the business had become my identity, and I'd spent most of my life trying to earn something God had already given me; and if that sounds familiar, for you or for a man you love, I wrote it for you.”
— Will Knecht
Celebrating the Next Chapter
For those of us at Wendell August, the release of More The Man is also an opportunity to celebrate someone who has played an important role in the story of the Forge.
Will and the Knecht family helped steward Wendell August through generations of change, including one of the greatest challenges our company ever faced. Many members of our community came to know Will personally over those years, while many others know his story through their own longtime connection to Wendell August.
We're grateful for that shared history and excited to see where Will's newest chapter takes him.
More The Man by Will Knecht will be released October 13, 2026, by Encouraged Life and will be available in hardcover, paperback and ebook formats.
