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.
Best Katana: CAS Hanwei Kami | Japanese Martial Arts Sword w/ Damascus Forged Blade
58 sec read
Old tempering processes became so complex and time consuming that few manufacturers today even attempt their reproduction. Higher quality modern alloy steel and new ways of producing high quality blades only occasionally compete with the old standards. Almost never does anyone manage to blend the two approaches.
Through the Kami Katana by CAS Hanwei we have a look at what’s possible if the two methods combine. The result isn’t inexpensive, but neither were the old masterpiece swords. Beginning with K120C powder steel — one of the finest modern high carbon cutlery steels — Hanwei follows ancient theories of blade construction, layering the body of the blade by folding and hand forging in the Damascus steel pattern. Instead of the one-size-fits-all tempering that most modern knives receive, the Kami Katana is hardened by differential heat treatment. Similar to the old process that left the distinctive hamon of clay-tempered cutting edges, this new system creates different but complementing qualities in critical sections of the blade. A tough and resilient spine combines with a hard and impact resistant cutting edge — all in one seamless piece of steel.
Hanwei treats the rest of this ancient design with the same respect, building the Kami Katana with hardened copper tsuba, ray-skin tsuka, and woven silk tsuka-ito. Overall length of this fine functional weapon is 41 inches, though as with all high quality blades, exact measurements vary slightly from piece to piece. Scabbard and sword make wonderful display items as well — embellishments include hardware of blackened bronze and detailing in copper, silver and gold.
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.
Old tempering processes became so complex and time consuming that few manufacturers today even attempt their reproduction. Higher quality modern alloy steel and new ways of producing high quality blades only occasionally compete with the old standards. Almost never does anyone manage to blend the two approaches.
