James grew up on an Ozarks farm where tools like axes and picks were still used in the daily routine and the blades of stockman's pocketknives served their original functions. Receiving his first pocketknife at age four he got it open by himself nearly a year later and spent his formative years wandering the woods with a succession of ever larger knives, a book of matches and a rifle.
A veteran of Vietnam, James also served in Alaska during a stint in the Army, receiving his first intensive culinary training by setting a record for extra KP at Ft. Richardson.
Settling in the Pacific Northwest after his discharge, James crewed on sailing yachts in local races, backpacked hundreds of miles of mountain trails in search of good trout fishing, and occasionally attended college.
His first serious job as a civilian resulted from answering a Seattle Post Intelligencer want ad requesting someone who could lift 120 pounds repeatedly and wasn't afraid of fire. James apprenticed to John Frazier -- the most knowledgeable traditional foundryman in North America at that time -- for the next six years.
Returning to the Ozarks James made his living by growing ginseng on a hand-terraced wooded hillside and selling handmade wood turnery, furniture, sculpture and architectural carvings. James harvested trees from his own land, processing logs into posts and beams and turnery billets with saws, axes, froes and planes. Since many tools he needed were no longer available, James built his own forge from a barbeque grill, a vacuum cleaner and a 55 gallon steel drum, found a chunk of railroad track for his first anvil, and taught himself blacksmithing -- creating his own knives and tools from scrap steel and sweat.
Changing economic pressures eventually forced James back to the restaurant industry in Branson, Missouri, and later to even more success as a maintenance engineer for one of Branson's largest condominium resorts. Finally escaping to Indiana, James now makes his living telling true stories as a freelance writer.
Kyocera Ceramic 3 Piece Knife Set | Starter Prep Knives, Peeler Included Free
1 min read
If you’ve decided to step up to ceramic blades, consider this three-piece set with bonus peeler from Kyocera. Three sharp kitchen prep knives and a ceramic bladed vegetable peeler could bring modern ceramic slicing to your kitchen.
These are knives you’ll want to love, but adapting to them is more than just a little tricky. While ceramic blades do have real advantages over steel, the improvement isn’t universal. The three-inch paring knife, five-inch utility knife, and massive 16-inch chef’s knife wield blades of hard but fragile ceramic, with a sharper and longer lasting cutting edge than the best high carbon stainless steel. These blades never rust and, if used properly, will keep their razor sharpness for years.
If slicing and peeling make up most of your prep work, you could use these knives constantly — but only if you play by the rules. Unfortunately, there are lots of those rules, and to get work done, you’ll need a matching set of knives made of ordinary steel to back these up. Side pressure or dropping could snap the ceramic blades, and working with anything but wood or plastic cutting boards could do far more than micro-chip the edge. If you’re used to swiveling the blade’s cutting edge on the board while you slice or chop, you’ll have to give that up. A straight slicing cut is what these knives do. Don’t even run the edge over small bones. Ruin that edge and you’ll have to ship these knives back to the factory for reworking.
Something about these knives may convince you that ceramics are the wave of the future, but the future is still slightly out of reach. This Kyocera knife set is fun, and it makes you wish the company would solve the problems. You’ll like the knives, and then you’ll use something else.
James grew up on an Ozarks farm where tools like axes and picks were still used in the daily routine and the blades of stockman's pocketknives served their original functions. Receiving his first pocketknife at age four he got it open by himself nearly a year later and spent his formative years wandering the woods with a succession of ever larger knives, a book of matches and a rifle.
A veteran of Vietnam, James also served in Alaska during a stint in the Army, receiving his first intensive culinary training by setting a record for extra KP at Ft. Richardson.
Settling in the Pacific Northwest after his discharge, James crewed on sailing yachts in local races, backpacked hundreds of miles of mountain trails in search of good trout fishing, and occasionally attended college.
His first serious job as a civilian resulted from answering a Seattle Post Intelligencer want ad requesting someone who could lift 120 pounds repeatedly and wasn't afraid of fire. James apprenticed to John Frazier -- the most knowledgeable traditional foundryman in North America at that time -- for the next six years.
Returning to the Ozarks James made his living by growing ginseng on a hand-terraced wooded hillside and selling handmade wood turnery, furniture, sculpture and architectural carvings. James harvested trees from his own land, processing logs into posts and beams and turnery billets with saws, axes, froes and planes. Since many tools he needed were no longer available, James built his own forge from a barbeque grill, a vacuum cleaner and a 55 gallon steel drum, found a chunk of railroad track for his first anvil, and taught himself blacksmithing -- creating his own knives and tools from scrap steel and sweat.
Changing economic pressures eventually forced James back to the restaurant industry in Branson, Missouri, and later to even more success as a maintenance engineer for one of Branson's largest condominium resorts. Finally escaping to Indiana, James now makes his living telling true stories as a freelance writer.
The Diamond Edge Pro knife and scissors sharpener from Smith Abrasives combines electric and manual sharpening systems for quick and accurate refurbishing of knives...
If you’ve decided to step up to ceramic blades, consider this three-piece set with bonus peeler from Kyocera. Three sharp kitchen prep knives and a ceramic bladed vegetable peeler could bring modern ceramic slicing to your kitchen.
