JORDY THE KNIFE MAKER

By Libby Hopkins

Jordan Cox found a silver lining in the COVID-19 pandemic. Cox was a chef for many years and decided to make a change. “One can only make so many linguine and clam dishes before it ends up feeling like work,” Cox said. “So, I made the logical transition to the car business from 2015 up until the pandemic.”

Cox’s whole world fell apart when the pandemic hit. He got laid off from his car business job and he couldn’t fall back on his culinary career because all the restaurants shut down during the pandemic as well. “I was stuck,” Cox said. “You can say I hit the reset button pretty hard. I moved out of my highrise apartment, got rid of my expensive car, and moved into a 10x20 shed behind someone’s house in Lakeland on Lake Hunter. I started an apprenticeship with metals sculptor and blacksmith in Lakeland.”

Cox’s six-month apprenticeship was for free and he worked eight hours a day, five days a week learning how to be a blacksmith. This was the beginning of Cox’s business, Jordy the Knife Maker. “I started my business with stimulus checks I had received during the pandemic,” Cox said. “This is how all of this came about, like I said, I hit the reset button hard.”

The earliest iron artifacts, dating from about 4000 BCE, were made from meteoric iron and were therefore rare. Smelting iron from its ores came into general use about 1400 BCE in the Middle East.

During the next 500 years, iron began to displace bronze in the manufacture of weapons and tools. In Europe before the Middle Ages, iron was mainly a utilitarian metal, with only sec- ondary efforts in decoration. Arms, armor, and firearms were often decorated, however, usually simply but sometimes with elaborate ornamentation.

During the Middle Ages, iron began to achieve wide uses for a variety of domestic needs. Ironclad doors offered an added degree of protection but also provided new opportunities for decoration. Chests wrapped in iron provided both security and beauty. Wrought iron gates, grilles, railings, and balustrades not only fulfilled a functional requirement for strong structures but also provided the artisan with a new means for expressing ornamentation in architecture.

From the 16th century, ironwork developed highly ornate designs, with scrolls, leaves, flowers, and interlaced patterns. As iron became more common, it found wider use in household utensils, fireplace implements, stoves, grates, pans, cauldrons, locks, and hardware. Lanterns, torch holders, candleholders, and chandeliers were also wrought from iron. Most ironwork was forged with a hammer and anvil until the 19th century when cast ironwork became common. (www.britannica.com/art/ironwork)

Cox has come a long way from his apprenticeship. He now has a building where he hosts knife-making classes. “There are not a lot of knife makers and a lot of people don’t know the value of blacksmiths,” Cox said. “I wanted to let people know the value of blacksmithing, so I decided to teach how to make knives.”

Cox’s knife-making class has taken off but not the way he expected “I have women buying classes for their husbands, boyfriends, sons or brothers,” Cox said. “I thought I would get policemen, firefighters, or military coming to my classes but it’s women purchasing a class for their husbands or boyfriends, families, and couples looking for a unique experience.”

This has led Cox to focus on creating other blacksmithing experiences for his clients. “I’m now working on creating a knife-making class that will include a food pairing, this way couples or friends can have more of a unique experience when they come to my shop,” Cox said. “I’m also working with local homeschool groups in the area so that their children can come and learn about blacksmithing. It’s all about the experience of blacksmithing and learning about knife making.”

If you are interested in taking one of Cox’s classes, you can visit his website at WWW.JORDANCOXKNIVES.COM OR CALL 646-241-4263.