We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jayden Simisky a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jayden, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Learning is at the root of human purpose. We are curious creatures, always seeking to understand the world around us. My whole life has been characterized by this idea. When I was young I would take apart TV remotes and radios to see how they worked. As I got older I started to shift my efforts into the world of metalwork and since then have felt no stronger call than expressing art through metal. Although I cannot fully explain the unyielding grip metal has on my soul, I think a large part of it comes from the depth of learning that can be found through the various arts of working steel. There are just so many things that can be done with it; I’m certain I could spend ten lifetimes as a learner of iron and never cover it all. This infinite progression is what really draws me in, I think because it forces an artist to choose a path of focus from a labyrinth of possibilities. You can spend a lifetime becoming the best maker of Damascus steel there ever was and still be a novice in every other field of metalwork. This choice is what sets one metal artist apart from another. This is why we must never stop learning: because there will always be more. The moment one closes off their mind to the possibility of being wrong or not knowledgeable enough to complete a task, they have let the art die. All too often I meet tradespeople and makers who have become jaded and stale from a lack of new knowledge. After all, it is the knowledge we ultimately seek not the product. The pathway, not the destination. This is what art is to me. The craft of lifelong learning. A manifesto against the mundane if you will. A commitment to never be complacent, not because anyone else says so, but because you are driven by your own unkillable hunger to see the full picture. The act of learning is a skill that one can hone over a lifetime and apply to anything. It is the biggest gift of humanity, so for the good of the world, go out and use it.

Jayden, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi! My name is Jayden Simisky and I’m 21 years old. I was born in Boulder, Colorado, and have lived here my whole life. I am currently studying environmental science and geology at CU Boulder. There are many things that I find identity in: knife making, the outdoors, problem-solving, making music, art, and more. I strive to be a lifelong learner and I hope to teach others to live the same way through my work. I’ve been a metal worker for 11 years and have started and run several businesses of my own. My whole life I’ve been captivated by how the world around me works. As a kid, I always used to take apart remote controls and radios to see how they worked. When I got older, I began building my own high-powered lasers from scrap computer parts and eventually moved on to welding, fabrication, and blacksmithing.

I’ve been making knives professionally for 5 years now and casually for almost 8. I first entered the metalworking world as a hobby welder at age 10. My father and I took a 1-day intro to welding course at our local welding shop. It was a Christmas present from my parents who had noticed my fascination with the trades and metal specifically. I became obsessed and we bought a cheap MIG welder that day. Over the course of years, I taught myself how to weld and started a small welding/fab business out of my parent’s garage. Eventually, I got involved with a local ornamental blacksmith named David Norrie and spent a year learning under him. Slowly I transitioned to blade making as my interest in bladed tools and metalwork converged. It’s all I’ve been doing since.

Although I make a wide range of blades and tools, chef’s knives have quickly become my main focus. Why? Oh man, where to start? Chef’s knives are the only blades in my experience that get truly loved and appreciated for their intended use. With the exception of dedicated hunters and bushcraft enthusiasts, most custom knives get relegated to box opening and showing off. This is fine, but when I put a piece of my soul into something I make, I want the person using it to experience the full depth of the piece. Chef’s knives are like a blank canvas for art. I can paint a nature scene in the steel with Damascus, or sculpt the wooden handle any way I please. They are the perfect platform to make a function-driven piece of art. I love that chef’s knives can be wildly variable from each other in design, materials, and aesthetics but also still function perfectly for their intended purpose. Art without function is pointless in my opinion. Chef’s knives make it easy for me to avoid that.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

The masters! The people who have already dedicated their lives to the craft you’re interested in. I am a completely self-taught knife maker which comes with its own ups and downs. I have always been a self-motivated learner and independent creative so at first the idea of paying someone for classes and education didn’t appeal to me. I felt as though I could teach myself anything so why bother wasting the money? Oh, how I was wrong! My first class with a master bladesmith was in 2019 under Jason Knight and it completely changed the way I made knives. I realized during that class that it isn’t necessarily about learning new techniques or secretive tricks of the trade, but about learning how to make beautiful knives efficiently and effectively. Small differences in method during the creative process compound your efficiency and leave you with more time and energy to create more art. The masters are masters because they’ve collected a lifetime’s worth of little efficiency-increasing tricks that add up to make their work the best in the world. Go get educated. That’s the best advice I can give as an artist. Learn from the people who have already made it in the world of professional art.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is one of those slippery slopes that everyone has their own homebrew advice for. It’s very difficult to separate fact from fiction from unsupported speculation, which makes it very difficult to know what to do. My personal belief is that a slowly built, organic following will always be superior to a meteoric rise based on one or two viral videos. I only have about 8k followers on Instagram (my main social platform) but consistently get 300-800 likes on posts and 20-80 comments from real people that I’ve interacted with in person or online in the past. These likes in my mind are far more valuable than thousands of likes from the random audience that is inseparable from viral videos today. I have friends who also make knives with upwards of 100k followers that only are getting 40-50 likes per post with 1 or 2 comments. The beauty of an organically built following is that each person who sees your work is far more likely to be a potential customer than is typical for people with large followings. The best advice I can give for building a social following is to meet and interact with as many people in your target audience as you can. Hand out business cards, tell everyone you meet about what you do, and wear your passion for your craft on your sleeve. You will eventually find success this way even if it’s slower. Don’t fall too deep into trends or try and be like the majority of “influencers” we see online today. In my opinion, giving up your uniqueness isn’t worth a massive following. I also highly recommend being an active part of your social media presence. What I mean by this is that you should be in front of the camera frequently. Be weird. Do embarrassing things that you normally do but are afraid to share on the internet. Make jokes you find funny even if you don’t think anyone else will. Be authentic to who you really are even if you’re a total weirdo. These qualities are what people are really buying when they choose to purchase your art. Sell yourself not just your art because your art is a part of you and you are a part of your art.

Contact Info:

• Website: Theslacksmith.com
• Instagram: @The_Slacksmith
• Facebook: The Slacksmith
• Youtube: The slacksmith

Image Credits
Coleman Becker