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.
Lansky Diamond Knife Sharpening System | Coarse, Medium and Fine Grit Hones
1 min read
Where this sharpening system will really come in handy is in reworking badly worn and damaged blades. Using the Lansky system, it’s possible to hone knife bevels accurately to one of four angles ranging from 17 degrees to 30 degrees. If you don’t have the knack of regrinding with flat stones without a guide, the Lansky system will refurbish a blade without requiring much skill on your part. The long lasting and accurate diamond hones shape, refine and polish the knife edge with three grades of progressively finer abrasives without messy oils or clogged stones.
The down side is that the Lansky system takes a while to learn and can be tricky to set up. If you don’t have the hand-eye coordination needed to sharpen a knife with a whetstone, the Lansky hones with their guide rods and blade holding clamp could be an awkward challenge. Patience will still be needed. The most common cause of a botched blade edge is trying to rush the job. With the Lansky jig, being in a hurry might cause some injuries.
The knife blade clamps in the jig with the edge outward. If you hold the diamond hone improperly and file the edge too far and too fast, you could lose a fingertip. The company provides instruction online here and the video should be watched carefully before experimenting on your own.
If you like innovative engineering, the Lansky Sharpening System is a fascinating example of American ingenuity and a worthwhile piece for your collection. Be careful when setting it up — some of the adjustments depend on thumbscrews set into a threaded plastic base which could be easily stripped out.
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.
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Where this sharpening system will really come in handy is in reworking badly worn and damaged blades. Using the Lansky system, it’s possible to hone knife bevels accurately to one of four angles ranging from 17 degrees to 30 degrees. If you don’t have the knack of regrinding with flat stones without a guide, the Lansky system will refurbish a blade without requiring much skill on your part. The long lasting and accurate diamond hones shape, refine and polish the knife edge with three grades of progressively finer abrasives without messy oils or clogged stones.
