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.
Medium Grit Ceramic Sharpening Waterstone by Global
1 min read
Produced by Yoshikin for upkeep of their especially hard-edged cutlery, these stones bring more efficient materials to the old Japanese waterstone method of maintaining sharp edges. Global knives feature long lasting blades which seldom need sharpening but are too hard to respond well to resetting with a sharpening steel. Edges may chip when honed with a steel.
The Global Ceramic stones allow owners to put the finest edge back on their Global knives without the problems waterstones present. Natural waterstone literally needs to be thoroughly saturated with water by soaking for 24 hours before first use, otherwise the stones quickly clog with steel particles. Waterstones also cut with a paste of grit and water that forms on the surface of the whetstone, not completely with the abrasive matrix itself. Natural stones wear away quickly. The Global Ceramic stones use graded ceramic powder in a thick bonded layer above a ceramic plate. A solid rubber base gives a good grip on a counter’s surface without marring the finish of the workspace.
The abrasive matrix only needs a surface layer of water, not an overnight soak. If slight hollows form in the stone, the whetstone can be leveled out by grinding flat with a second stone of coarser grit. Skilled users will be able to move the blade about the stone without creating inefficient dips in the face.
This 1000 grit stone is the medium or second stage of the sharpening process. Three stones in increasingly fine abrasives are required for a complete reworking of Global knives, but serious reshaping isn’t often necessary. Touching up with the medium and fine stones may be all that’s needed — the finer grades of Global knives could stay sharp for months in normal use.
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.
The Diamond Edge Pro knife and scissors sharpener from Smith Abrasives combines electric and manual sharpening systems for quick and accurate refurbishing of knives...
Produced by Yoshikin for upkeep of their especially hard-edged cutlery, these stones bring more efficient materials to the old Japanese waterstone method of maintaining sharp edges. Global knives feature long lasting blades which seldom need sharpening but are too hard to respond well to resetting with a sharpening steel. Edges may chip when honed with a steel.
