GINGER WORX
What a name for a company… It might not surprise you that I happen to be a fiery red headed ginger. From a young age I realized that my greatest characteristic was the color of my hair. From older women coming up to me and saying, “Oh my, I wish I had your hair! I bet all the girls love it!” to the snot nosed little shits saying, “hey it’s a f’ing ginger” in which I would reply, “yeah… you want some?” That phrase was taught to me by none other than my Father who has supported and encourage me in nearly every aspect of my life. Love you dad! I thought it was only natural to embrace this gift from God and that’s just what I did. From hating it to loving it. . . with much gratitude to my Mother for always showing me the brighter side of things and not allowing me to cut or dye all my hair!
My name is Aaron Bakke, I am a 23 year old maker from South East Wisconsin. My interest mainly revolve around metal, but, with a defined focus on edged tools. My beginning in making things started when I was very young and on construction sites with my father. I would take a handful of nails and head to the cut-off pile of wood and start hammering pieces together making whatever my young mind imagined like forts, shields, and swords. During my middle school and highschool years I began to grow an interest in welding. When it came time to start thinking about college and making a decision I choose to attend a tech school for welding and metal fabrication at Waukesha County Technical College. It was there that I really began learning about metal and what was all possible with it. In my second year I had a course where we had a one week unit on blacksmithing. It was a simple introduction learning about forging and forming steel by hammer and anvil.
DING. . . I was absolutely hooked.
My design is still a work in progress. Every knife I create and handle shape I form is a step in the right direction in creating the Ginger Worx look. I hope you enjoy looking through my collections of past work and see the evolution of my work.
“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself, ‘I have to go to work as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what i was born for- the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?’”
Why Knives?
The knife is arguably the most useful tool in the history of all man. For a great duration of time the knife or edged tool was carried by every man, woman, and child. It gave ease to a task that would be challenging had the person not had a knife. Then it was used in food preparation, quartering an animal, mending clothes, building shelter, starting fires, cutting a path, cutting firewood, hunting, and defense to name a few daily task. Today men and women carry knives to maybe alleviate the opening of a box by cutting that pesky tape, slicing up some cheese and sausage while out on the trails, or to show their love of collecting an item. That item having an innate connection to their human past of fighting wild beast, building our nightly shelters, and eventually leading to humans building the greatest cities. I have that same feeling every time I pick up a knife. From the young age of 5 years old when I received my first knife to today when I finish one of my hand crafted knives I think “ Wow! What this knife could do. . . Where it could go. . . What it could build. . . What conversations could it start.”
I LOVE HIKING
If I’m not in my shop or at a jobsite I’m on the trails!