As you draw near 3 Trails Forge, a metallic and rhythmic clang, clang, clang echoes into the streets of Independence. Entering the newly opened blacksmith studio, you hear the screech of a belt grinder as it sharpens steel to a fine point, or the roar and hiss of the forge as it heats metals to 2,000 degrees so it may be shaped. It’s a mixture of percussion, heat, and hum with blacksmith Daniel Yoka at its core, the composer of the industrial symphony.

After 23 years in the restaurant industry, Yoka was frustrated at every turn in his inability to find a kitchen knife that suited his needs. In 2018, it finally broiled over, and Yoka decided to take matters into his own hands.

Inspired by the show Forged In Fire, Yoka blazed his own path, learning to blacksmith through YouTube videos and

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