Meet Mississippi Knifemaker Kade Daniels

Kade Daniels, a talented blacksmith from Lumberton, Mississippi, shares his passion for creating knives and provides a peek inside the Speak Easy Forge. He takes raw bars of steel and skillfully creates unique, functional, pieces of art. What started as a childhood passion for knife collecting, unexpectedly takes him down the path of a self-taught knife-maker. After testing his skills on Forged in Fire, he continues to hone his craft. This short documentary is part of my Mississippi Portrait series, a collection of films about interesting Mississippians and their passion.

https://youtu.be/f8plGyhAFQg?si=JTa5UlfRD9EqTJq3

Shaping the Craftsman

As a child, Kade was fascinated with knives and loved collecting them. After his collection was lost in a house fire, he wanted to replace them. However, the many hours of blacksmithing within the Skyrim video game, introduced the thought, what if I did this for real. After a few “how to” videos, he convinced his mother to allow him to build a make-shift forge with her hair dryer. That first attempt of making a knife, lit the forge of creativity within Kade and melted the hair dryer. Over the years he continued to learn from his mistakes, honing the craft of a true artisan. Kade even had the opportunity to compete on a well-known TV show, History Channel’s Forged in Fire. He modestly held his own throughout the episode. The best part of that experience for him was being around like-minded craftsmen and getting to solve the unique challenges.

Inside the Shop

The shop itself holds a unique past, for many years it was the woodworking shop of Kade’s great-grandfather before passing down to grandson. Standing in the shop with Kade you can feel the family history but it truly comes alive when the forge is burning. You can’t help be immersed in Kade’s world, hearing the roaring fire and the hammer hitting steel. Seeing the creative passion in his eyes makes one want to grab a hammer and create too.

The Why

Kade recently met a ten year old boy at a knife show, who is making knives at a higher level than when he was that age. The boy is passionate and teaching himself the same way Kade once did. Seeing the kid’s passion and talent, felt like looking at his ten year old self. There is great satisfaction in seeing that creativity in the next generation. Ask Kade why he keeps at it and the answer is not really about knives. He feels the majority of individuals spend their time consuming, never creating. Knife-making is Kade’s creative outlet and a way to share his creative spirit with the world.

Contact the Craftsman

If you want to see more of Kade's work or would like to contact him, you can go to his Facebook or Instagram pages.

Watch More Mississippi Portraits

This film is the second entry in my ongoing series about interesting Mississippians and their unique passion. Catch up on the rest of the series on my YouTube channel, including a Mississippi beekeeper and a private pilot, with more portraits on the way.

If you know someone in Mississippi with a story like Kade's, someone who has quietly become exceptional at something most people never think twice about, reach out through my contact page or leave a comment on the video.