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 simple bread slicer guide from Norpro gives home chefs a way to perfectly size bread slices for toast and sandwiches, but you’ll need the right knife and a light touch.
The Norpro 370 Bread Slicer and Guide offers a row of parallel slots spaced to match the standard 1/2-inch-thick slice of sandwich bread. Set the home-baked loaf of bread between the guides, and lay the bread knife in the slot. The slot keeps the knife blade running true all the way to the bottom of the crust. Most crumbs fall into the crumb-catcher base. Just turn the Slicer Guide over to empty the crumbs. The slots yield eight slices in one setting, but just slide the remaining section of loaf against the guide’s acrylic end stop to keep cutting perfect slices.
Since there’s no way to adjust the guide, you’ll have to settle for cutting bread loaves that match it. If your loaf rises higher than the guide’s top, the first part of the cut depends on your skill alone. Loaves wider than the 6-3/4-inch guide box simply won’t fit. Adjusting recipes to create loaves that fit is certainly possible. An eight-inch-long bread knife blade won’t provide a lot of guided cutting edge in this slicer, but a ten-inch bread knife blade allows a back-and-forth slicing movement of about two inches without leaving the guides.
The Norpro 370 Bread Slicer and Guide uses small screws to hold the acrylic guides to the wooden base. That’s not much support, and a careless move with the knife could cause problems. The soft wood in the crumb catcher also damages easily if you drag a serrated blade across the slats. If you’re used to a hardwood cutting board designed to take abuse, you’ll need to adjust your technique to use the Norpro 370.
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...
This simple bread slicer guide from Norpro gives home chefs a way to perfectly size bread slices for toast and sandwiches, but you’ll need the right knife and a light touch.
