JT Hats
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.



Bear & Son Trapper Knife w/ Rosewood Handle | Slip Joint Clip Point & Spey Pocketknife 254R

58 sec read

Bear & Son Trapper Knife w/ RosewoodThe two-bladed trapper pocketknife has been a common pattern for many American knife companies for generations. Bear and Son — in business since 2003 — aims to make the same thing, but better.

Compare the Bear and Son slip joint Trapper to other versions and you’ll notice one big difference in construction. Other companies pin handle slabs to the knife body with three brass rivets; Bear and Son uses one. That’s pretty bold, and requires a perfect fit of all components. The other differences are more subtle. Bear and Son puts more metal in the nickel silver bolsters than you’ll find in other brands of the Trapper style, and the profiles of the blades are sharper. Creating that finer point shows an extra effort and inspires confidence in the parts you can’t see.

Four-and-1/8 inches in closed length, the knife keeps the standard blade choices for the trapper — a clip point for piercing and a spey blade for slicing. That’s a critical combination for anyone running a trapline, but it’s also a handy tool set for everyday chores in the civilized world. Each of the high carbon stainless steel blades is shaped for strength and hollow ground for easy maintenance of the razor edge.

The raw materials for the knife’s rosewood handle slabs came from South America, but all parts of the knife were manufactured and assembled onsite at the Bear and Son factory in Jacksonville, Alabama.

For the Stockman version of the Bear and Son slip joint pocketknife, see the Large Stockman 3-Blade Knife.

Find this Bear & Son Trapper Knife:

JT Hats
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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