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.
Damascus steel hand-forged by master smith Manfred Sachse forms the two-inch blade of this mother-of-pearl handled gentleman’s folder from Boker Knives of Solingen, Germany. Three hundred layers of high carbon steel give the blade exceptional toughness and edge-holding ability. Closed, the knife measures only 2-1/2 inches long, but the wide handle and strong build make this more than the average dress knife. The drop point blade locks back for safe use. A slender gent’s folder would twist in the hand if you actually needed to use it, but this knife has enough width to grip.
Highly polished bolsters seamlessly join the pearl handle slabs for a look that’s hard to criticize unless you’re looking for a bigger knife. For a dress knife that fits unobtrusively in a pocket but still has enough heft to be useful, the Pearl Lockback is a great choice. Sachse has made Damascus blades for Boker for twenty years, creating steel in the style of legendary Persian weaponry. Makers of modern equivalents brag about putting thirty layers in the blade — three hundred is special. Years ago when I bought my first laminated steel knife, I was skeptical. The hard cutting edge sandwiched between two layers of spring steel outperformed anything I’d ever owned. Three hundred layers bring steel into a realm that’s magical.
Since the blades are handmade, each one is unique, but still conforms to the drop point style. Some think that Damascus steel was the secret James Black, maker of the first Bowie knives, forgot. If he’d made blades this good, I believe we’d know.
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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Damascus steel hand-forged by master smith Manfred Sachse forms the two-inch blade of this mother-of-pearl handled gentleman’s folder from Boker Knives of Solingen, Germany. Three hundred layers of high carbon steel give the blade exceptional toughness and edge-holding ability. Closed, the knife measures only 2-1/2 inches long, but the wide handle and strong build make this more than the average dress knife. The drop point blade locks back for safe use. A slender gent’s folder would twist in the hand if you actually needed to use it, but this knife has enough width to grip.
