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.
W R Case Mini Trapper Pocket Knife | Model: Yellow #029 w/ California Clip Blade
58 sec read
Case’s practical pocket knives are some of today’s best choices for everyday use. Case knives gather few concerned glances if pulled out discreetly for some minor emergency at the restaurant table or bus stop. Made for work rather than tactical situations, Case’s older styles like this 3-1/2 inch (folded length) Yellow Handle Mini Trapper date back to times when most people worked in forests and on farms. Built to handle older emergencies like harness troubles and the occasional rock stuck in a horse’s hoof, these old concepts work as well on modern simple problems.
The Mini Trapper’s main blade, a clip point style meant for general purpose farm work and wherever you need a sharp point, is called the California clip. The story behind that name is that the stainless steel blade vaguely resembles the state of California (only if you count the tang). Both blades pivot from the same bolster of the slightly asymmetrical handle, but the cross section is small enough that there’s no imbalance in use (unlike the more awkward and complex Swiss Army knife). The spey blade, nearly as long as the clip point but with a rounded tip, found use on farms as a castration blade. Today, it’s used for any purpose requiring careful slicing instead of puncturing.
The yellow handle slabs may have the look of old ivory but actually are a modern synthetic called Delrin. Like most aspects of Case knives, Delrin has been around long enough to trust.
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.
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Case’s practical pocket knives are some of today’s best choices for everyday use. Case knives gather few concerned glances if pulled out discreetly for some minor emergency at the restaurant table or bus stop. Made for work rather than tactical situations, Case’s older styles like this 3-1/2 inch (folded length) Yellow Handle Mini Trapper date back to times when most people worked in forests and on farms. Built to handle older emergencies like harness troubles and the occasional rock stuck in a horse’s hoof, these old concepts work as well on modern simple problems.
