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.
Kramer Santoku Knife by Shun Kai USA | Japanese American Kitchen Cutlery, Full Tang
1 min read
Made for precise and efficient slicing of meats, vegetables, and fruit, the santoku design developed in Japan but quickly became a Western favorite when introduced to chefs in American and Europe. Master blade smith Bob Kramer improved the classic design, introducing features with American techniques in mind.
Bob Kramer’s knives are unique in that the design details come from someone with experience as both a chef and a master knife maker. Kramer’s early years in restaurants exposed him to professional chefs with stubborn habits but very little knowledge about knives. American chefs often work on heavy tasks and details with the same knives, while Japanese chefs apply different tools to different tasks and work with a light touch. Kramer’s custom knives adapted Japanese concepts to American habits, and the Shun Kramer Pro santoku manufactured by Kai USA brings those improvements to knives more people can afford.
Production knives usually show a squared blade spine, rough on the fingers and hands if like most Americans you use the spine of the knife for better control and applied pressure. Kramer’s custom knives receive careful crowning, rounding, and polishing of the blade spine. Kai USA’s craftsmen adapted the concept to the Kramer Pro series, giving the santoku a partially crowned spine.
Although the handle slabs of this full tang knife with 7-inch blade look like rose wood, they’re actually a durable composite called Pakka-wood. The rippled layers of steel in the blade show the many thin sheets of stainless steel that make up the sides of the blade. The edge itself is harder SG-2 steel, tempered between the usual standards set for European or Japanese blades. The 3mm blade’s hardness gives the knife excellent edge-holding but allows sharpening with an ordinary honing steel.
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...
Made for precise and efficient slicing of meats, vegetables, and fruit, the santoku design developed in Japan but quickly became a Western favorite when introduced to chefs in American and Europe. Master blade smith Bob Kramer improved the classic design, introducing features with American techniques in mind.
