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.
Wetterlings Axe Chopping Blade, Hand Forged | Swedish Hickory Handle 32H
1 min read
Hand forged in Storvik, Sweden, the S.A. Wetterling Axe with hickory handle represents 100 years of Swedish tradition. The best Wetterling axes like this one are shaped by hand forging, a process that requires patience, time and a high degree of skill. The end result is a better axe.
The usual axe you find in a hardware store today is a crude tool compared to the standard item a hundred years ago. As axes fell out of use, companies substituted simpler processes, producing tools meant for occasional work. To understand the difference requires working with a good axe like the Wetterling. The hand forging gives the knife more strength than ordinary drop-forged steel and allows edge-tempering to a harder 58 to 59 on the Rockwell scale. Professionally ground at the Wetterling factory, the axe cuts deep and smoothly, turning tough chores into interesting work. You can also count on getting the best grade of Swedish steel in this Wetterling axe, made of a modern high carbon steel alloy bolstered with silicon, manganese, and vanadium for edge retention and corrosion resistance.
Wetterling stands apart from most axe manufacturers in another important way, paying as much attention to the quality and fit of the axe handle as to the axe head itself. Most forges buy handles in lots from other companies, but Wetterling picks its own American hickory stock and mills handles from the best pieces on-site at the Storvik facility. You won’t get a good axe with a bad handle that shatters on the first swing. Both halves of the tool meet high standards.
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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Hand forged in Storvik, Sweden, the S.A. Wetterling Axe with hickory handle represents 100 years of Swedish tradition. The best Wetterling axes like this one are shaped by hand forging, a process that requires patience, time and a high degree of skill. The end result is a better axe.
