By Jesse Christen, for the Sioux Falls Business Journal

Some things are meant to last a lifetime.

That's the idea behind Frislie ToolWorks, a tool and woodworking business in downtown Sioux Falls.

"I make things with the notion of them being here 100 years from now with the idea of another woodworker looking at them to see how they were done," owner Jeremy Frislie said.

The storefront at 214 S. Main Ave. is filled with high-end woodworking tools and cutlery items. Frislie said the idea for the store started after selling tools out of his backpack to other woodworkers.

"People were going to Iowa and Minnesota to get these items," he said. "There was no place in town selling any of this stuff."

Frislie prides himself on the fact that all his store's items are made in the U.S., Europe or Japan. High-end tools play a crucial role in woodworking. He said poor-quality tools can make woodworking a struggle and cause many beginning woodworkers to leave the craft behind.

Along with selling tools, Frislie creates wood furniture and carved items. Although he exhibited a natural talent for woodworking as a teenager, it wasn't until he was injured while serving as a heavy machine gunner in the Marine Corps while in Iraq in 2006, that woodworking became an integral part of his life.

"I wanted to stay in the Marines, but I was wounded in combat," he said. "I planned to make the Marines a career that I would retire from."

Frislie faced a long recovery period. While he was in therapy in Encinitas, Calif., he found a woodworking class. His natural talent impressed his instructors, and woodworking helped with his recovery.

"It kept my brain working," he said. "With each project I had that new 'I just graduated from high school' feeling."

The passion for woodworking that helped him overcome his injuries is still evident in his work. Frislie's furniture is all handmade with no use of power tools. He takes great pride in the fact that his furniture uses no glue or screws to hold it together.

He also enjoys using highly figured woods to create his pieces. He said there are some great woods to work with in South Dakota and he tries to use locally produced wood.

"We have some of the best walnut in the country," he said.

In addition to new furniture projects, he also restores older wood objects and tools and knives.

Karyn Veenis, a retired Sioux Falls schoolteacher, owns a table featuring highly figured maple made by Frislie. She considers Frislie's work to be more like art rather than a craft.

"When I saw the table it was like a work of art," she said. "I wouldn't put anything on it for the first few months, so I could look at it. The maple moves when the sunlight hits it."

Interest in handcrafted wood items is on the rise. Frislie said many people are becoming interested in the hobby, especially among young adults.

"You can find people from the baby boomer generation who know about this type of woodworking skills," he said. "People in their 20s are picking up on the hobby. For years, people were into disposable items. When something doesn't work, you throw it away and get a new one. People are going back to the old way."

And Frislie wants to pass on his woodworking knowledge to others.

"This was once considered a dying art," he said. "I want to pass this (skill) to the community."

He offers a variety of personally instructed classes on knife and tool sharpening and woodworking. He also gets work by sharpening knives and other tools for chefs, woodworkers and others.

Tattoo artist Tim Jewell is taking woodworking lessons from Frislie. He said being able to work with his hands is a great way to relieve stress. Jewell likes the connection to America's past.

"It's old school," he said. "And it's part of a tradition that otherwise would be lost if people don't keep it going."