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.
Kit Rae Swords Of the Ancients | Avoloch Mithrodin Sword | Fantasy Limited Edition
57 sec read
Latest in Kit Rae’s Swords of the Ancients collection, the Avoloch Mitrhrodin Sword: Gold Edition puts stainless steel and leather where the words of H.P. Lovecraft and J.R.R. Tolkien used to be. Play any of today’s fantasy video games, and you dive into that old world of the imagination. Coming back with loot in hand is nearly impossible — only 300 warriors worldwide will bring the Avoloch gold edition home.
This is a high level sword that players can actually own. Forged by Tethietol the Dark Elf (known to us as Kit Rae) and wielded against the Dark One by Enethia (also possibly Kit Rae) the sword Avoloch yields to none but truth. The motto happens to be engraved on the third blade of this triple-bladed fantasy longsword. Arcane runes and magical gold plate add to its mysterious powers.
Though impractical in a real world sense, fantasy swords fascinate many sword collectors by taking the art of the blade to unusual levels. Combat swords cling to simple functional concepts, but the fantasy sword sets those limits aside. Kit Rae’s Swords of the Ancients series strives to recreate the inhuman ideas behind the legends of writers like Lovecraft and Tolkien, who conceived steel as a flow of forces instead of frozen metal. The Chinese makers of this 43.75-inch stainless steel sword applied traditional materials to the design, using rayskin and leather instead of the more common fantasy material vinyl. The hub of the unusual bladed hilt and the fanged pommel are gilded cast metal, making this a display quality weapon and not one to use for practicing swordplay.
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.
Latest in Kit Rae’s Swords of the Ancients collection, the Avoloch Mitrhrodin Sword: Gold Edition puts stainless steel and leather where the words of H.P. Lovecraft and J.R.R. Tolkien used to be. Play any of today’s fantasy video games, and you dive into that old world of the imagination. Coming back with loot in hand is nearly impossible — only 300 warriors worldwide will bring the Avoloch gold edition home.
