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.
Paul Chen’s Functional Fencing Rapier with Spiral Hilt combines a 43-inch Schlaeger rapier blade with a modified swept hilt. Rather than the usual fencing blade — a foil with parallel sides — the Paul Chen version of the tapered Schlaeger has the narrowing shape of a true sword. As a result, the Functional Fencing Rapier is fast.
Tipped with a steel button to add some safety to the sport, the 49-1/4-inch sword of high carbon SH1098 steel retains the deadly look of the true gentleman’s sword of medieval Europe. At the height of its popularity, the rapier was a common way of solving personal disputes among the upper class. Skill in swordplay, rather than violence, sometimes won the day. Today’s fencing foils are built to different standards and are not meant to cause actual harm.
Paul Chen’s version of the fencing rapier might fit in well in old Europe, since rapiers from that era inspired Chen’s new design. Many craftsmen of the day produced rapiers with individual differences meant to enhance efficiency and augment the beauty of this popular nobleman’s weapon. The Functional Rapier’s hilt is a little too plain in those old terms, looking in places as though it was formed from stock steel rods instead of being thoroughly hand-forged as the old swords were. It’s functional, but not quite as refined as the old styles.
In actual duels, the rapier was often backed up by the main gauche in the off hand. This light and fast parrying dagger caught the opponent’s blade in its specialized blade guard. Paul Chen and Hanwei Forge make replacement blades for both types of weapons, in either sporting or fighting styles.
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.
Paul Chen’s Functional Fencing Rapier with Spiral Hilt combines a 43-inch Schlaeger rapier blade with a modified swept hilt. Rather than the usual fencing blade — a foil with parallel sides — the Paul Chen version of the tapered Schlaeger has the narrowing shape of a true sword. As a result, the Functional Fencing Rapier is fast.
