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.
You’ve probably accumulated quite a few pairs of inexpensive scissors that are too good to throw away but not sharp enough to work well. You could buy more, or you could get the Fiskars Scissors Sharpener instead. This simple sharpener quickly restores the cutting edges of many standard scissor blades.
The Fiskars works best on Fiskars scissors, but other plain-edged shears ground with a 30-degree edge bevel also fit the machine. The sharpener does not work with very short blades like manicurist’s scissors and will not sharpen curved or serrated blades. For high-end barber’s scissors and valuable “family heirloom” shears, see a professional sharpening service for maintenance. For that drawer full of bargain scissors that worked well for a while, the Fiskars is a good match.
Two slots accept both blades at once. Light hand pressure closes the blades on honing rods permanently fixed in the sharpener’s housing. Drawing the blades back over the rods resets the blade edges to perfect 30-degree angles and puts the scissors quickly back in working order. The Fiskars gives the best results on blades which have been dulled but not badly damaged. The machine hones dulled edges easily, but grinding a new surface on a nicked and worn pair of blades could be more than this sharpener can handle.
The sharpener restores both left- and right-handed scissors blades. Support the lightweight housing with one hand during use and rest the sharpener’s base on a sturdy countertop to prevent chattering. A straight pull and a light touch should finish the edges properly with only a few strokes through the machine.
See the Chef’s Choice 500 for a more exacting scissors sharpening system.
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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You’ve probably accumulated quite a few pairs of inexpensive scissors that are too good to throw away but not sharp enough to work well. You could buy more, or you could get the Fiskars Scissors Sharpener instead. This simple sharpener quickly restores the cutting edges of many standard scissor blades.
