My origin story :D

Humble beginnings

Ever since I could remember, I was searching for ways to let out my creative juices. I started with popsicle sticks and hot glue, and made larger and larger things until I eventually got to a massive hammer the size of an oil drum.

After reaching the upper echelon of what was capable with popsicle sticks and hot glue, I began “carving” blades out of boards that I got from The Home Depot. I thought that this was the logical progression of materials at the time, as all I really needed was a saw. I didn’t make many things this way, as it got boring fast.

Throughout all of my “wood age”, I’ve been thinking of how to make my work pieces more “permanent”. The wood that I had been working with had the tendency to break easily. I needed something better.

I had been watching a bunch of blacksmithing videos on YouTube out of boredom. But one day, rather than just watching, I thought to myself “what’s stopping me from forging my own blade?”

This was the first blade I ever forged. I wanted it to be some kind of dagger, but as you can tell, it's fairly rough looking.

This was the first blade I ever forged. I wanted it to be some kind of dagger, but as you can tell, it's fairly rough looking.

I ended up trying to forge "bevels" in another session, totally ruined the dagger look, and used a Dremel tool to try and grind it sharp.

I ended up trying to forge "bevels" in another session, totally ruined the dagger look, and used a Dremel tool to try and grind it sharp.

This was all the tools I had to my name at the time.

This was all the tools I had to my name at the time.

Let’s fast forward a little bit

After messing around with craft on and off for 3ish years and creating knives with questionable quality, I decided it was time to get some nice tools and kick everything up a notch.

One of these was a #165 Peddinghaus Anvil. I had been using a 15 pound cast iron anvil from Walmart beforehand.

I also got a 2x72 belt grinder from Beaumont Metalworks around this time. I was using a 4x36 sander meant for wood before: It was severely underpowered, and impossible to get plunge-lines on.
This was my first ever chef's knife. Obviously there's things wrong with it, and I definitely spent money in the wrong places.

This was my first ever chef's knife. Obviously there's things wrong with it, and I definitely spent money in the wrong places.

This was my third every chef's knife. The profile is way better, the handle is more comfortable, and the finish is undeniably better than my first one.

This was my third every chef's knife. The profile is way better, the handle is more comfortable, and the finish is undeniably better than my first one.

This was my first custom chef's knife that sold for $300. This one was a turning point for me because I finally sold a knife as opposed to it sitting in my mom's knife drawer or in a box.

This was my first custom chef's knife that sold for $300. This one was a turning point for me because I finally sold a knife as opposed to it sitting in my mom's knife drawer or in a box.

The Origin of Hu Handmade Knives

The dream was always to eventually make money by selling knives; however, as a 16 year old with no exposure, it’s a difficult task.

I knew that I had to make a name for myself someway, and I had no money to pay for a website or advertising. I ended up turning to Instagram. I had been posting pictures of my work to my personal account for a while, but interests didn’t mix well, and the fact that it was a private account made it virtually impossible to build up a focused audience. This is how the idea to create Hu Handmade Knives came about.

The name itself is really nothing special. It is literally my last name + handmade knives. It could even be considered lazy.

Turning a hobby into a business

After selling one chef’s knife, it kind of just took off. I started getting many requests for custom chef’s knives, some with more specifications, and some with zero. I was very lucky, as I always had a project to work on.

I didn’t let making chef’s knives for customers stop me from trying out bigger things. I had always been infatuated with Japanese blades (i.e. katana, wakizashi, tanto). I watched countless videos of people making them on YouTube and even bought a few books on the subject.

I did experience a period of burnout when I was making only chef’s knives, and making things like this Wakizashi were the best way to help me get out of that dip.

Present Day

Nowadays, I am attending the University of Michigan for a dual-degree in engineering.

I became an instructor for the blacksmithing club, and am having a lot of fun teaching basics to beginners, and improving my own fundamentals as a byproduct.

I also ended up changing my business name to JhuBlades. Hu_handmadeknives was always a fairly janky name, and doesn’t roll off the tongue at all. I’ve been thinking about a new name since literally the beginning, but the time just never felt right and all my ideas were unoriginal.

At about the time I launched this website, a few things clicked. It was the perfect time, and the name JhuBlades popped into my head. It’s not necessarily original, but it’s simple enough to where originality doesn’t really matter.

JHuBlades is here to stay.