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.
Fantasy Battle Axe Display, Alien Warrior | Dagger w/ High Carbon Stainless Steel Blade
1 min read
I like this surrealistic Fantasy Battle Axe and Dagger combination, since it’s definitely one of the more unusual fantasy weapons of recent times, but I also have some reservations about it. The drawback to this bizarre and decorative weapon is the amount of plastic that went into its creation. Maybe that’s a prejudice of my generation. Real military pieces shifted over to composites long ago, when the M-16 replaced the M-14. Possibly this battle axe represents a genuine trend and in a way is a real vision of the future.
If you’re willing to approach this battle axe with that futuristic mindset, it could make more than decorative sense with high carbon stainless steel blades front and back — and in the pommel — and an ABS plastic shaft and mountings in between. The elegant main axe blade wouldn’t be that far out of place on the working end of a Spanish halberd, though it’s much lighter and built for close up work. The overall length of the Alien Battle Axe is only 21 inches.
Be careful if you play with this item, because there are so many points and cutting edges that you can hardly put it down without hurting somebody. In fact, if you’re not dangerous enough with this alien weapon in one hand, you can release the spike poll blade from the axe head and use it in the off hand as a parrying dagger or for a quiet sneak attack.
There are rumors of even more secrets in this replica of alien war technology, but only owners can be sure of that. If you like collectibles and can accept synthetics as materials of art, you could be very pleased with this fanciful lethal weapon.
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.
I like this surrealistic Fantasy Battle Axe and Dagger combination, since it’s definitely one of the more unusual fantasy weapons of recent times, but I also have some reservations about it. The drawback to this bizarre and decorative weapon is the amount of plastic that went into its creation. Maybe that’s a prejudice of my generation. Real military pieces shifted over to composites long ago, when the M-16 replaced the M-14. Possibly this battle axe represents a genuine trend and in a way is a real vision of the future.
