With no prior CNC experience, Jesse Jarosz went from a first blank scale to more than 1,000 machined parts across two Makera machines—without giving up the hand-finished character of his knives.
“My Carvera Air helped me grow my business in ways I couldn’t have imagined.”
— Jesse Jarosz, Jarosz Knives
For custom knifemaker Jesse Jarosz, every knife has to balance a distinct personal aesthetic with the performance of a real working tool. That balance has guided Jarosz Knives from Jesse’s first handmade blade in 2009 to a full-time business built around high-end folding knives.
For years, nearly every operation in his shop was manual. Jesse outsourced titanium liners and blade blanks for Wire EDM cutting, then shaped, fitted, finished, and assembled the remaining components himself. The process delivered the craftsmanship his collectors expected, but it also limited how much complexity he could add without making a project impractical to produce.
A desktop CNC changed that equation. After starting with a Carvera Air and later adding a Carvera, Jesse found a way to introduce intricate inlays, repeatable handle components, and batch-friendly knife mechanisms while keeping the handwork that defines his brand.
From Collector to Full-Time Knifemaker
Jesse’s path into knifemaking began as a collector with a lifelong interest in knives, DIY projects, and working with his hands. After making his first knife during the winter of 2009, he was hooked. He spent the next few years building knives for friends and family, then moved into the craft full time in 2012.
His early work focused largely on simple fixed blades. As he prepared to turn knifemaking into a career, he taught himself how folding knives worked and developed a style rooted in the tactical knife world. Over time, that style evolved into a recognizable combination of clean forms, detailed finishing, and practical function.
“Aesthetics are a big part of what I do, but I also want my creations to be more than just a display piece. Even the fanciest of my works will function as well as the more straightforward practical-looking pieces.”
That philosophy also explains why new technology had to earn its place in the shop. CNC would not replace craftsmanship; it would need to expand what Jesse could make while preserving the fit, finish, and reliability at the heart of every Jarosz knife.
The Manual-Work Ceiling: When More Detail Stops Making Business Sense
Before CNC, Jesse had reached a point where he was confident in the fundamentals of his folding knives and ready to introduce more complex construction. Intricate handle work and inlays were possible on manual equipment, but the time required made them difficult to offer consistently.
That created a familiar challenge for independent makers: how do you keep experimenting artistically while still producing enough work to support a business? Jesse had made inlays by hand before, but the effort was so great that he rarely used them. More elaborate handles faced the same constraint.
“CNC gave me an opportunity to effectively add greater complexity to my knives in a way that was actually practical from a business standpoint.”
Jesse purchased the Carvera Air primarily to explore the detailed inlay work he could not produce efficiently before. It was also a calculated risk. He had not found many examples of people using the machine in a real small-business production workflow, and he had zero CNC experience.
Three Days from Zero CNC Experience to Real Business Parts
Jesse did not arrive with a machining background. His starting point was the ability to create drawings in 2D CAD. He learned the basic workflow by running Makera’s sample projects, watching YouTube videos, and then immediately programming his own components.
His first original project was intentionally simple: a blank handle scale with the outer profile and mounting holes machined. Fixturing and the path from CAD to CAM to a physical part required experimentation, and the first attempts needed refinement. But within three days of receiving the Carvera Air, he was already making real parts for Jarosz Knives.
The decisive moment came when he compared a CNC-machined set of scales against titanium liners that had already been precision-cut by Wire EDM. The dimensions matched. The result showed him that the machine was capable not only of adding decorative complexity, but also of producing components that could integrate with an existing high-precision workflow.
“I was absolutely blown away by the quality of the part. The dimensions were absolutely spot on and matched my liners perfectly.”
In his first month, Jesse ran nearly 50 projects on the Carvera Air, and most of them generated income. He worked primarily with G10, Micarta, and carbon fiber, using contours and pockets to make handle scales, backspacers, inlays, and other two-dimensional precision parts.
Progressing to Precise Two-Sided Machining
As Jesse became more comfortable with the workflow, he began moving beyond simple contours and pockets. One important milestone was machining his first two-sided G10 components—a process that required accurate alignment after flipping the workpiece.
The operation went smoothly, producing clean, consistent parts ready for a light bead-blasted finish and wax. It was another sign that the Carvera Air could support increasingly complex components as Jesse expanded its role in his knife-making process.
New Mechanisms, Lighter Knives, and More Creative Freedom
Once the basic workflow was proven, the Carvera Air became a prototyping tool as well as a production machine. One early milestone was a titanium knife built around an inset lockbar. The finished prototype weighed just 3.1 ounces (about 88 grams), and Jesse was able to validate the mechanism before moving the lockbar components into batch production with EDM.
Inset locks were not new to the knife industry, but they were new to what Jesse could produce in-house. The design relies on precise features and is particularly well suited to repeatable CNC machining. By adapting proven liner-lock geometry, Jesse confirmed the concept in a single functional prototype.
The larger benefit was creative freedom. Instead of filtering ideas through the limitations of his existing manual process, Jesse could focus on finding a fixture, toolpath, or machining strategy that would make the design possible.
“I don’t see any real limitations on what I can produce on a Carvera. If I have an idea, I just need to find a solution in order to achieve the final result.”
Intricate inlays soon became one of his favorite uses for the machines. Handle scales, backspacers, thumbstuds, pivot screws, fixtures, and other components followed. Some projects still took more total time than before, but that time created more detail and greater value rather than simply repeating manual operations.
Two Product Lines, One More Predictable Workflow
The new capability helped Jesse define two clearer sides of his business. His Standard Line uses simpler inset-lock construction that can be produced in larger batches and offered at a more accessible entry point for a custom, machine-assisted knife. His Signature Line pushes in the other direction, using intricate inlays and upgraded details to create more elaborate builds.
That distinction gave him more room to take creative risks. A monthly production rhythm could include a dependable number of standard configurations alongside several ambitious Signature builds. Instead of feeling stretched between experimentation and the need to complete enough sellable work, he could plan for both.
Jesse is careful not to reduce the change to a simple time-savings claim. CNC did not eliminate the manual processes that define his knives. It added capabilities that were previously out of reach, while improving the consistency and fit of smaller components such as backspacers.
In a typical batch of 10 to 15 knives, the machines produce two scales and one backspacer per knife—roughly 30 to 40 components for a batch of a dozen. After several months, Jesse estimated that the Carvera had produced hundreds of parts, with more than 1,000 parts made across the Carvera and Carvera Air combined.
Why Jesse Added a Carvera
The Carvera Air proved that desktop CNC could support the business. The next question was how to make the workflow more efficient as batch sizes grew. Jesse added the original Carvera for its larger, more robust construction and, above all, its Automatic Tool Changer.
For a batch with a two-hour cycle, automatic tool changes allow him to keep the job moving while he handles grinding, fitting, finishing, communication, and the administrative work of running a one-person business. The Carvera Air remains active beside it, giving the shop two complementary machines rather than replacing the first one.
“I can run a batch of parts in the machine with a two-hour cycle time and continue to work on other things in the shop. It is a big gain in efficiency.”
The machines sit side by side on a large tool chest and connect to a shared dust collection system routed into Jesse’s grinding room. Filtered air and negative pressure help contain the fine dust generated when machining G10 and carbon-fiber composites—an important part of integrating long CNC runtimes into a working knife shop.
Precision Supports Craftsmanship—it Does Not Replace It
Jesse still performs a large share of his work manually, and that is intentional. CNC handles repeatable geometry, intricate pockets, and parts that must align precisely with components produced by other methods. Jesse remains responsible for the design decisions, fixturing, finishing, fitting, assembly, and the final character of each knife.
One of his favorite examples is the Samsara, a Signature build featuring an array of mother-of-pearl inlays and a Damasteel blade. It represents the balance he was looking for: a highly functional folding knife with a level of detail that would have been impractical to produce regularly before CNC.
Collectors have responded positively to both sides of the new workflow. The lightweight inset-lock knives make custom work available to more people, while detailed inlays give Signature builds a stronger visual identity. In both cases, precision is valuable because it supports the quality of the finished tool.
What Comes Next for Jarosz Knives
Jesse’s immediate goal is not simply to make more. It is to refine a repeatable schedule that lets him release new work consistently, remain accessible to collectors, and preserve enough time for communication and business operations. Once that routine is established, he plans to explore additional mechanisms, new knife designs, and potentially projects beyond knives.
He also sees room to add more CNC capacity. The first Carvera Air opened new creative and commercial possibilities; the Carvera made larger-scale production more practical. Together, they have become an essential part of how a modern independent maker can combine artistic risk, precision, and a sustainable business.
Jesse’s Advice for Makers Considering Desktop CNC
“Don’t be afraid to try and to fail. Your first project won’t be perfect. It’s going to be difficult at times. But if you have a vision, stick to it and find a way to accomplish your goal.”
For Jesse, having no formal CNC training was not only a disadvantage. It encouraged him to approach problems without assuming there was only one correct method. Sample projects provided a starting point, but programming his own parts—and learning through a few imperfect iterations—was where the machine became genuinely useful.
That same willingness to experiment has shaped Jarosz Knives from the beginning. Desktop CNC did not change the standard Jesse sets for his work. It gave him more ways to reach it.
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