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.
Columbia River CRKT Lift Off 2 Folding Knife, Plain Edge | OutBurst Assisted Opening Locking Blade w/ Pocket Clip
1 min read
Columbia River Knife & Tool outfits the Lift Off 2 with both Outburst assisted-opening and Firesafe lock. Included in many of CRKT’s newer folders, this combination approach finally makes legal one-handers fast instead of just awkward.
The Lift Off 2 would be a temptation even without the new technology. The knife’s 3-inch, hollow ground AUS 8 stainless steel blade presents a modified drop point with false upper edge and enough jimped spine for top pressure and control. Closed, the knife is almost five inches long — you’ll need the handy stainless steel pocket clip for convenient carrying. On the left handle slab, CRKT embedded a decorative stainless steel herringbone pattern in the dark Zytel scale, making this knife a fine presentation piece as well as a practical one-hander.
The true beauty of the Lift Off 2 is how well it works. Assisted opening knives could fire off in the pocket if accidentally triggered. Designers at CRKT solved that problem without using push buttons or slide releases on the handle of the knife. If you have to stop and locate the safety, it’s not a fast knife. Firesafe combines thumb stud and lock for opening with only one movement.
Pressing the spring-loaded thumb stud pushes a steel plunger against the liner lock side of the handle. That pulls a locking pin from the base of the blade and allows thumb pressure to swing the knife past the detente. Then the powerful Outburst assisted-opening mechanism swings the blade out and into the fully locked position. To close, press the liner lock to free the blade and swing it shut until you feel the pin drop into place again.
The only bad news is that if you’re left-handed, you’re left out. The special construction makes this version of the Lift Off a right-handed knife.
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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Columbia River Knife & Tool outfits the Lift Off 2 with both Outburst assisted-opening and Firesafe lock. Included in many of CRKT’s newer folders, this combination approach finally makes legal one-handers fast instead of just awkward.
