My name is Julian Lee and I make things using carefully sourced materials in combinations which interest me. This includes furniture, knives and kitchen ware, paintings (occasionally) and English yew longbows. (although not for a while). All my items are functional, most are one off or from a limited collection. Following a visit to Takefu, Echizen in Japan, I am focusing in 2020 on designing and making blades and furniture influenced by the great craftsmen of that region.
Some of the blades are left with forge marks except for the cut and edge areas. These rough sections have iron ore collected by me from Pyrenean mountains and hammered and forge welded into the surface. The steel is high grade carbon. The handles are either rosewood or certified black Suffolk bog oak, which is at least 4000 years old. Others are more typically tanto in design, fully polished with Bokote handles. (a very rare hardwood from Mexico)
In furniture, I have been making tables. All are bespoke commissions, some practical some not! The 'tip toe' table in the picture is carved English walnut with white ox horn feet. The garden table in a Pyrenean mountain house is weather greyed oak on a base of 3mm folded steel. The plank tables are very old oak from the Dolomites, weathered on these mountains so the grain is deeply incised. My tables use carefully sourced wood often with natural edging and exposed joints on riven surfaces. They are usually made to order and built to last several lifetimes.
I am open to commissions and I make stuff because I always have. And I always have because, I suppose I like it!
I will be adding items all the time to this new site, I hope you enjoy looking at them.
Thanks Julian