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.
Gransfors Bruks Small Hatchet w/ Hickory Handle | Mini Wood Axe Tomahawk
1 min read
The Mini Hatchet from Gransfors Bruks qualifies as the sporting blade you didn’t know you need. Carrying the belt axe or tomahawk is an option many people don’t even think about today, but it used to be standard equipment on the frontier. Lennart Pettersson, one of the smiths at the Gransfors Bruks foundry in Sweden, based this new axe pattern on the belt axe of early America but redesigned it for today’s hunters, backpackers, and other adventurers.
The Mini Hatchet is surprisingly small with a 2-1/2-inch cutting edge and an overall length of ten inches. The Mini weighs 12 ounces, heavy in backpacking terms but still light enough to comfortably carry. For the same weight investment as a large Bowie knife, you could be carrying a more efficient hickory-handled chopping axe. If chopping is what you do, whether in camp work or when field dressing large game animals, the hatchet does better work.
You’ll notice considerable difference between this completely hand forged axe and any factory-made hatchet you’ve used. Most camp axes today are ground with thickly wedged bits and work poorly unless you have the time and the skill to reshape the cutting edge yourself. There’s a fine balance between an acute wedge that cuts well and one that folds over against hard wood. The same bevel that works perfectly in one axe could fail in the next because of differences in temper the factory didn’t even notice. An axe like the Mini Hatchet that’s right from the start is a real find.
Gransfors Bruks includes a leather sheath for the cutting edge. It’s possible to comfortably carry this axe by looping the sheath strap around your belt, frontier style. I’ve not found this practical when wearing a backpack. Tuck the axe in a backpack pocket and you won’t lose it.
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...
The Mini Hatchet from Gransfors Bruks qualifies as the sporting blade you didn’t know you need. Carrying the belt axe or tomahawk is an option many people don’t even think about today, but it used to be standard equipment on the frontier. Lennart Pettersson, one of the smiths at the Gransfors Bruks foundry in Sweden, based this new axe pattern on the belt axe of early America but redesigned it for today’s hunters, backpackers, and other adventurers.
