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.
Japanese Tachi Dress Sword w/ Display Stand 505 | Handmade Gunto Navy Replica, Functional Forged
1 min read
This Tachi Gunto sword from Handmade Swords combines modern high carbon steel with traditional hand forging and clay tempering techniques. The fully functional and combat ready blade seats in a metal-sheathed scabbard inspired by the dress swords of the modern Japanese military.
Instead of the traditional rayskin-and-cord grip and lacquered wood scabbard, brass plate completely encases both grip and scabbard of this modern Japanese sword. Gold-plated brass fittings on the scabbard display engravings of scenes from samurai life and legendary battles. Other brass hardware shows sea-life symbols including the snail, shrimp, sea horse, and octopus, with a sea dragon emblem on the cast brass tsuba. Without gold plating on the handle, the sword’s grip holds up to tameshigiri or target cutting without unusual wear. The 44-inch full tang blade — signed by the smith who hand-forged the piece in China — features high carbon 1095 tool steel in the best grade Handmade Swords offers. Straps and accessories are genuine cowhide, and the sword arrives in a well-made sandalwood display box. Total weight of the sword with scabbard is 6 pounds 2 ounces.
Traditional clay tempering created the hamon mark on the polished blade’s edge. The harder edge is rated HRC60, while the tough shock-absorbing spine of the blade measures HRC40. Handmade Swords recommends this quality of blade for ordinary target cutting of green bamboo and rolled tatami mats. The sword performs best at a striking angle of 45 degrees. The curved blade of the tachi originally was meant for fighting from horseback with slashing attacks and historically was replaced by the straighter katana blade for fighting from the ground.
Early Gunto swords designed for the Japanese military followed the styles of European weapons, but shifted again towards traditional patterns after 1934.
For a battle-ready collector’s sword in the traditional katana style, see the Sengoku General Katana.
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.
This Tachi Gunto sword from Handmade Swords combines modern high carbon steel with traditional hand forging and clay tempering techniques. The fully functional and combat ready blade seats in a metal-sheathed scabbard inspired by the dress swords of the modern Japanese military.
