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.
Gerber’s Fast Draw Knife is one of the company’s first knives to include the F.A.S.T opening system. This inexpensive pocket clip folder opens with the convenience and speed you’d expect from a more expensive automatic.
The patented Gerber Forward Action Spring Technology (FAST) is the work of Butch Vallotton, a well-known knife designer from Oregon. Combined with a new slide lock, action is fast and safe. Before the blade either opens or closes, the slide lock button must be moved, preventing accidental closures as well as unintended opening inside the pants pocket. To open the nearly three-inch-long high carbon stainless steel blade, push the slide lock open and then swing the blade out with either thumb stud. After a push, the FAST mechanism takes over.
Just over seven inches long when fully open, the 3.6-ounce Fast Draw is enough knife for ordinary uses and is a good lightweight choice for campers and hikers concerned about weight. People with larger hands might find the textured black nylon handle a little small. With a combo-serrated edge, the knife is better suited to rough work than fine slicing or carving.
Most knife manufacturers now provide some type of assisted opening knife. Knives must resist opening until manual pressure pushes the blade past a detente point. From there, a spring mechanism can propel the blade to an open position. It’s not quite automatic, but it makes one-handed opening more dependable and available to the ordinary user.
See the Gerber Mini-Covert for this company’s high-tech approach to a venerable WWII combat design.
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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Gerber’s Fast Draw Knife is one of the company’s first knives to include the F.A.S.T opening system. This inexpensive pocket clip folder opens with the convenience and speed you’d expect from a more expensive automatic.
