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.
Conan Atlantean Barbarian Fantasy Sword | Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie Replica Bargain
53 sec read
Patterned after a sword used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first starring role as Conan the Barbarian, the Conan Barbarian Sword has been reproduced in many levels of quality over the years. This is one of the least expensive which still shows accurate detail.
You won’t find combat quality steel in this movie replica, but the appearance of this heavy sword does compare well to versions of the Atlantean Sword costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Details in the cast metal bladeguard, for example, vary only slightly from those in Atlantean Sword replicas at the top of the price range. The movie weapon did have darker highlights than this version’s bronze-colored castings, but the differences are not striking.
Instead of tempered high carbon steel, the blade of this Conan Atlantean Sword is less durable 440 high carbon stainless steel. The fullered blood groove does have a stamped look to it, a sign of machine workmanship rather than the artisan’s touch. For a display piece, this sword is still satisfactory. Forty-one inches overall, with a 7-inch cord-wrapped handle, the blade features an ornate ricasso section at the base. Not just decoration, the ricasso provided a hand grip forward of the bladeguard for fast work in close quarters. Many true battlefield heavy weapons of ancient days did include this option, but not in this fanciful pattern.
The ten-pound sword comes with a simple wall plaque. A true fan of Conan and a devoted follower of Crom would surely appreciate this bargain reproduction.
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.
Patterned after a sword used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first starring role as Conan the Barbarian, the Conan Barbarian Sword has been reproduced in many levels of quality over the years. This is one of the least expensive which still shows accurate detail.
