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.
Technically a serrated edge knife, the Wusthof Gourmet 6-Inch Utility Knife actually cuts with a scalloped edge. The slight curves of the rounded teeth offer the same long lasting edge protection as a standard sawtooth edge but cut more smoothly.
Wusthof’s scalloped edge serves more versatile purposes than the coarser serrated version, slicing neatly through tender pastries as well as hard crusted baked breads and rolls. This small utility knife can handle many regular kitchen chores with very little maintenance. Slice vegetable and fruit with the six-inch high carbon X50CrMoV15 stainless steel utility blade and, after a little clean-up, go directly to the cake. Use wooden or plastic cutting boards — never glass or ceramic — and the edge will last for years of normal use.
This Wusthof knife is laser cut, not stamped. With synthetic handle slabs fitted precisely to the full tang, the utility blade has the gap-free virtues of Wusthof’s older patterns of forged steel. A simple bolster formed from the handle material provides extra safety. The blade of this light knife is tempered for both toughness and good edge-holding ability. Expect it to flex under stress, not break. Many of the weaknesses built into ordinary stamped steel have been filtered out by the laser cutting process.
Sharpening the scalloped edge is beyond the ability of home chefs, but the Wusthof utility knife can be refurbished by a professional. If you’d prefer a plain edge and the ability to maintain razor sharpness on your own, Wusthof offers a similar Gourmet utility knife without the scalloped cutting edge.
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.
Handmade Sword’s Tachi Gunto #504 follows the artistic styling adopted by the Japanese military in 1934, but adds unique artwork and detail to these...
Technically a serrated edge knife, the Wusthof Gourmet 6-Inch Utility Knife actually cuts with a scalloped edge. The slight curves of the rounded teeth offer the same long lasting edge protection as a standard sawtooth edge but cut more smoothly.
