Lehman grinds the bevels onto each knife blade by hand.
Justin Lehman, toolmaker apprentice at Sharonville Transmission Plant, recently launched a new business, Makers Knives, offering handmade custom knives. Lehman credits the apprentice program for allowing him to develop the skills needed to make his company a reality.
“I couldn’t do it if it wasn’t for the skills I’m learning in the apprentice program. I mean, we’re the best in manufacturing. [Journeyman toolmaker] Marcus Wolter helped me out quite a bit with how to go about making everything. He was super helpful with the whole thing.”
When Lehman applied to the UAW-Ford Joint Apprentice Program in 2019, “Toolmaker was the first thing that was offered to me,” he said, “but it was the last thing I picked.”
Taking a chance, Lehman accepted the position and found that it worked out for the best.
“I fit in it like a round peg,” he said. “It was built for me. I definitely landed right where I was supposed to be.”
Lehman hired in at Sharonville Transmission Plant on Nov. 26, 2012, as a manufacturing technician. Over the years, he was a team leader in many different areas, and in July 2019, he started in the UAW-Ford Joint Apprentice Program.
During the initial three weeks of core skills training, Lehman decided to try to make a knife.
“It sounded like something fun to do while we were up there [in Dearborn],” he said. “I went to Barnes & Noble to try to find a book and couldn’t, so I watched YouTube videos.”
Lehman was instantly hooked on the challenge and used all the skills he learned from his toolmaker classes to refine his knife-making process.
“A lot went into it,” Lehman said. “A lot of trial and error. I took my time.”
When the time was right, Lehman turned his knife-making hobby into a business.
“I had this idea a long time ago, and I’m finally going to try to see it through,” he said.
The website for Makers Knives went live in November 2022.