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.
Wusthof Seafood Fish Fillet Knife | Kitchen Gourmet Cutlery, High Carbon Stainless Steel
1 min read
The Wusthof Gourmet 6.3-inch fish fillet knife finds a place either at camp or in the kitchen. This short fillet knife still handles most of the fish anglers actually catch, and the narrow blade even trims neat fillets from pan fish.
When filleting the day’s catch, the right knife not only saves time, it saves fish. Most fish are lost at the lake, but it’s a genuine tragedy when one’s lost at the cleaning station. Do a poor job of filleting, and there’s very little for the table. Over-sized knives are meant for large fish, so it’s sensible to prepare for something a little more common. The 6.3-inch Gourmet fills that gap.
A good fillet knife has to meet very high standards of workmanship with a narrow and thin blade that flexes and follow the contours of the bones. That combines with a cutting edge that’s razor sharp and won’t blunt the first time it hits a rib. The blend is a tough one to achieve with old-fashioned forging and tempering processes, and stamped blades often fall short of the mark.
Wusthof’s modern manufacturing processes have the advantage in this case. Wusthof’s Gourmet 6.3-inch Fillet Knife is laser-cut from high carbon stainless steel, so there’s no distortion from the stresses of machine stamping and no loss of quality due to overheating in forging. With a laser-cut blank, the stock of the knife retains all the important characteristics of the original alloy. Wusthof improves that quality with careful shaping and heat treating. Compound tapering puts customized strength in each part of the blade. German X50CrMoV15 stain-free steel guarantees good edge holding and corrosion resistance. Hone the Wusthof Gourmet Fish Fillet knife with an ordinary sharpening steel before use.
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.
The Diamond Edge Pro knife and scissors sharpener from Smith Abrasives combines electric and manual sharpening systems for quick and accurate refurbishing of knives...
The Wusthof Gourmet 6.3-inch fish fillet knife finds a place either at camp or in the kitchen. This short fillet knife still handles most of the fish anglers actually catch, and the narrow blade even trims neat fillets from pan fish.
