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.
Black Ultimate Ninja Sword from Pachi Paradise | Fantasy Martial Arts Tanto w/ Throwing Stars, Shuriken, Caltrops
56 sec read
Whether you’re about to storm a castle or run from a band of armed samurai, you’ll be well equipped with the Ultimate Ninja Sword from Pachi Paradise. Of course, it’s a fantasy mission and largely a fantasy weapon assortment as well, but it’s good enough for fun.
The 43-inch-long, display-quality sword comes with a black wooden sheath and a straight, tanto point, single-edged blade of high carbon stainless steel. The sword is not tempered for heavy work although it’s certainly enough blade to be dangerous. Sharpening is up to the owner — edge holding ability will be marginal.
Apart from that, the sword forms the foundation of a weapons set simple enough to actually work. Nothing here should be considered a toy, even though the set doesn’t meet combat weapon standards. The hilt of the sword disguises squared ninja throwing stars and a spiked palm claw separates from the sheath, which also holds several spike-style shuriken. A few handy caltrops are also included, and they’ll be great for slowing down those pesky castle guards as you fade into the wilderness with the treasure.
This fantasy weapons set is lightly built and would survive on a display shelf much longer than on a camping trip, but it’s still an intriguing set of tools for fans of ninja movies and for gamers who crave a genuine loot drop now and then.
An alternate assortment of castle-storming ninja weapons is available as the Ninja Warrior Sword with shuriken (stars and spikes) plus hidden surprises.
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.
Whether you’re about to storm a castle or run from a band of armed samurai, you’ll be well equipped with the Ultimate Ninja Sword from Pachi Paradise. Of course, it’s a fantasy mission and largely a fantasy weapon assortment as well, but it’s good enough for fun.
