Slow-Fashioned: Daggerfish
Our Slow-Fashioned series celebrates process-driven individuals and brands committed to crafting thoughtfully designed products in a variety of industries. Like GenTeal Apparel, these brands demonstrate a dedication to quality materials, innovative concepts and great adventures.
Founded by Adam Nelson, Daggerfish is an outdoor and sporting goods company specializing in hand-crafted gear that helps people connect to the wilderness. The company produces handline fishing reels, leather goods, campfire grills and foraging accessories.
The Beginning
Daggerfish Founder Adam Nelson worked in a high-stress role for a technology start-up when he had the idea to craft a handline reel for fishing.
“I was really burned out with the work that I'd been doing,” Nelson said. “I was working really hard and not making a lot of progress. I found myself watching a bunch of videos of other people going camping as my relaxation.”
Nelson, the son of a National Park Ranger, grew up camping, hiking and fishing. As he watched the content creators on YouTube, Nelson noticed one of them fishing with a handline reel and wanted to try the technique. When Nelson searched for a reel to purchase, he didn’t find any good options for sale, so he decided to make his own.
“I was a tinkerer my whole life,” Nelson said. “I always liked building things.”
Nelson was happy enough with his creation that he took it to a local outdoor store and asked if they’d be interested in selling his product. They accepted his offer, and the small run that Nelson made for Father’s Day sold out.
From there, Nelson continued growing his business until he was able to make Daggerfish his full-time job.
The Process
When he started making his hand reels, Nelson used a lathe with different attachments to create the reels one at a time. As Daggerfish expanded, Nelson modified the process to increase efficiency, while maintaining the company’s commitment to hand-crafted products.
“As demand has grown, and as the spectrum of products I make has grown, I’ve separated the process out into several different tools, all of which are specialized and customized to what they do,” Nelson said.
To create a hand reel, Nelson starts with raw lumber from a local lumber distributor. He primarily uses domestic, abundant hardwoods like maple, cherry and walnut. Nelson then mills the lumber into turning blanks, and those blanks are drilled on both sides using a custom drilling jig.
The turning blanks are turned by hand on a lathe, and the operator utilizes a duplicator to ensure that all reels have a consistent shape. Once it has been turned, the reel is hand-sanded and hand-finished. The fishing line is also wound on by hand. After that, each reel is packaged with tackle and boxed for shipping.
Nelson and one part-time assistant produce and package every hand reel, creating an estimated 95 reels per week. They also craft the brand’s leather products in-house using lasers for cutting and etching.
Learning on the go
As Nelson has added more products to Daggerfish’s lineup, he’s learned the skills he needs to create them along the way. When he created his first handline reel, he learned to use a lathe in a maker space in Pittsburgh, Pa. He also taught himself how to use a laser to cut and etch leather and has relied on YouTube videos for help with a variety of techniques.
“So much of our style and the functionality of our products develops out of the tools we have available,” Nelson said. “And I’m kind of running up to the edge of that now, where I’m actually trying to go back to school to take classes on new techniques.”
Still, Nelson credits his willingness to learn things as he goes for much of Daggerfish’s success.
“I think it's really beneficial when you're trying to start something to not know what you don't know and try things and see what’s possible,” Nelson said. “That, at least, has worked out well enough for me going to this point.”
