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.
Tiger Claw Daito | Japanese Longsword | Forms Practice Sword for Martial Arts
57 sec read
Tiger Claw’s sharpened daito, or Japanese longsword, is certainly good enough for display or forms practice. The 440C stainless steel blade jumps up a grade from the usual 420C of display quality swords, a good move considering the extra length of this 41-inch weapon. Even in kata, the blade will undergo some stress.
Two models are available, one with black accents on sheath and cord-wrapped grip and the other with red options. As with most display swords, the rippled pattern on the cutting edge isn’t the sign of a true hamon. Smiths temper the edges of combat swords by coating the cutting edge with clay, causing the two parts of the blade to temper to different degrees. To retain some of that appearance without raising the price beyond the reach of most students of the sword, many manufacturers simulate the hamon mark by etching the blade.
As a forms practice sword, the Sharpened Daito is practical, heavy enough to give the feel of the real weapon and built with similar detail. The materials used won’t match the old swords — the cord used to wrap the grip is nylon, for example. The high carbon 440C blade is good enough to hold a sharp edge, but in striking practice the blade would likely be damaged. Even in kata, the potential for harm is real. This much sword is enough to develop real respect for the weapon and its potential.
Without the ornate decorations that usually mark swords of only souvenir quality, this sharpened Daito has some good training potential and is only a little too bright and shiny to be real.
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.
Tiger Claw’s sharpened daito, or Japanese longsword, is certainly good enough for display or forms practice. The 440C stainless steel blade jumps up a grade from the usual 420C of display quality swords, a good move considering the extra length of this 41-inch weapon. Even in kata, the blade will undergo some stress.
