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.
Bo Randall’s knives have such a great reputation that a buyer usually feels like he got a custom knife even if it was built to a production pattern. The elite group of businessmen who managed to coax a dealership out of Mr. Randall were sometimes given a unique opportunity to design their own exclusive version produced by Randall Knives. One of the results, the Randall Buxton Fighter, brings to life dealer Wayne Buxton’s concept of the perfect fighting knife.
The Randall Buxton Custom Fighter is an exceptionally solid build, with a high carbon stainless steel 6 1/2″ clip point blade. The forward half of the bowie is double edged in the dagger style of most true fighting knives. The back of the blade does offer several inches of flat style for hammering and guiding with the thumb, making this knife useful in many ways a pure dagger would not be. The heavy nickel silver guard curves slightly forward, providing some blade catching and parrying potential as well as keeping the fingers where they should be. Micarta in various custom selected colors formed the handle slabs of this full width full tang fighter.
In the style of Vietnam era military bowies, part of the thick steel tang extends a half inch beyond the handle. Use the exposed lanyard hole to string a wrist strap for security, and remember that this solid projection of steel makes an excellent window breaker in emergencies. The original stitched leather belt sheath includes a pocket for a small honing stone and a strap so the knife won’t bounce on your hip.
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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Bo Randall’s knives have such a great reputation that a buyer usually feels like he got a custom knife even if it was built to a production pattern. The elite group of businessmen who managed to coax a dealership out of Mr. Randall were sometimes given a unique opportunity to design their own exclusive version produced by Randall Knives. One of the results, the Randall Buxton Fighter, brings to life dealer Wayne Buxton’s concept of the perfect fighting knife.
