Daily Inspiration: Meet Jared Lees

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jared Lees.

Jared, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started out by putting some nice wooden handles on some pre-made knife blanks for a couple of Christmas presents… I made the mistake of posting a photo of a few of them on my Facebook page, and people started offering me money to make more right away. Eventually, this felt like cheating and I started researching how to make my own blades. I started by just cutting steel to shape with a hack saw and using a simple file guide I made to do my bevels. Even smaller knives took forever, but I kept at it and bought tools to make that part of the job easier as I went. Then I took a simple beginner blacksmithing lesson, and started to work on forging my blades. The whole time folks kept ordering knives, and I kept buying tools and reinvesting in my business.

When I started, I was staying at home with my boys during the day, teaching music part time in the evenings, and making knives whenever I had time. Eventually, demand led me got to a point where I needed to leave my job teaching, which led me to believe that I could really do something with this, and I made it my goal to be full time by the time my youngest son was in kindergarten… I ended up getting there earlier than anticipated, and I love it! I get to be creative, and make cherished tools that will out last me and their owners to hopefully be passed down for generations, and I think that’s pretty cool!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Honestly, I can’t complain about the journey… I’ve had some minor setbacks (and a few sets of stitches), but as far as starting a business from scratch goes I kinda lucked out with a perfect storm of time to build it, demand, and interest in what I’ve been doing right from the start.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I make hand forged kitchen knives. Everything from simple designs to complex multilayered Damascus steel patterns. Everything is made from raw materials in shop. My customers seem to really like the design, ergonomic exotic wood handles, and forged finishes I produce. I don’t know if proud is the word, but I’m humbled and lucky to be able to do something I really enjoy, that allows me to be creative, and in general, people seem to dig it…. and that makes me happy!

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I like being a bit outside of the main city in a somewhat rural suburb where we can have some chickens and big bonfires, and room for my boys to run around and play. But I’m also within 45 minutes of 3 of the bigger cities in our state(which is handy as a fairly active musician), and close to some amazing hiking trails. That said, the city I’m in doesn’t really have a very strong sense of community or like a little downtown area to walk around or hang out in.

Contact Info:

• Email: jleesknives@gmail.com
• Website: Jleesknives.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/jleesknives
• Facebook: Facebook.com/jleesknives

Image Credits
Jared Lees