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 Mini Covert Folding Combat Knife | Combo Edge Spear Point Blade
1 min read
Though it’s not quite bullet-proof, the Gerber Mini-Covert in black fiberglass filled nylon and low-glare coated stainless steel is a knife that has a very respectable and well proven background. Two OSS agents — Applegate and Fairbairn — developed the basic pattern of this knife through logic and field testing. Adding some modern technology to their fundamental concept, Gerber created a knife they would have enjoyed. We get to stash it in a pocket with the handy clip, “just in case.”
Operatives famous from the days of WWII, the two men who created the hand-to-hand combat system for that old intelligence network spent years after the war designing the perfect combat knife. The small double-edged fixed blade dagger that resulted still inspires a multitude of similar combat and special ops weapons. Gerber applied the same shape of handle and blade to the Mini-Covert, but in a folding clip knife build more popular today. Easily opened with one hand, the spear point blade is ground with a combo-serrated edge on one side and a false cutting edge on the other. The lack of two real cutting edges hardly slows it down.
The Gerber Mini-Covert is a practical tool for anyone who may find themselves occasionally in awkward situations. A push on the thumb stud swings the 2.9-inch blade open and locks it in place. The closed length of 3.7 inches and weight of only 2.2 ounces qualifies the Gerber Mini-Covert for hiking gear as well as for the pockets of field agents. A knife this light isn’t pry bar tough, but it’s a handy blade that’s worth some extra care.
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.
Designed by Doug Ritter of “Equipped to Survive,” the Adventure Medical Kits Pocket Survival Pak earned positive reviews from survival instructor Cody Lundin and...
Multi-purpose gear for hikers, backpackers, and other outdoorsmen gets better every year. If you make the Buck 731 X-Tract LED Multi-Tool part of your...
Leatherman’s back with an even stronger version of the original Leatherman Super Tool. The Super Tool 300 Multi-tool offers the strongest pair of multi-tool...
Though it’s not quite bullet-proof, the Gerber Mini-Covert in black fiberglass filled nylon and low-glare coated stainless steel is a knife that has a very respectable and well proven background. Two OSS agents — Applegate and Fairbairn — developed the basic pattern of this knife through logic and field testing. Adding some modern technology to their fundamental concept, Gerber created a knife they would have enjoyed. We get to stash it in a pocket with the handy clip, “just in case.”
