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.
Rukia Kuchiki Sword, White Sode No Shirayuki | Bleach Anime Fantasy Replica Shikai Katana
1 min read
This pristine white katana replicates the Sode no Shirayuki magical weapon borne by Rukia Kuchiki of the Japanese manga Bleach. The physical form of her potent sword is a normal katana with a hilt colored brownish-red, but the shikai or second stage weapon is a lustrous, pure white.
This Rukia sword strives to reproduce the shikai stage of the weapon, created when the owner utters a magical battle cry. The shikai form — a pure white katana with white ribbon tassel — becomes capable of much more than its ordinary counterpart. The tsuba or blade guard shifts to a simple white snowflake pattern within a hollowed circle, and the pure white weapon grants Rukia the elemental powers of ice and snow. Transformation of the blade is accompanied by a blast of cold wind.
This 42-inch-long replica katana features a full tang blade with 26-inch-long single cutting edge of 440 high carbon stainless steel. Half the length of the white grip is covered by a traditionally styled woven white ito. The scabbard and sageo also mimic a traditional Japanese design, but using pure white materials. The white satin ribbon, which sprouts from the kashira or butt-cap of the handle during transformation, measures four feet in length.
Called Sode no Shirayuki or “sleeved white snow” in the story, this shikai weapon is considered one of the most beautiful in the complex saga of the spiritual war between the Soul Reapers and the Hollows. Each important character in the story possesses a weapon with three potential forms — one physical; a second which forms in response to a battle cry or shikai; and a third which only manifests to individuals with advanced abilities.
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 pristine white katana replicates the Sode no Shirayuki magical weapon borne by Rukia Kuchiki of the Japanese manga Bleach. The physical form of her potent sword is a normal katana with a hilt colored brownish-red, but the shikai or second stage weapon is a lustrous, pure white.
