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.
Case Medium Stockman Pocketknife 217, Delrin Handle | W.R. Case & Sons Working Knife w/ Clip, Spey & Pen Blade
1 min read
From the W.R. Case & Sons’ Working Knife series, the Case Medium Stockman #217 holds three blades selected for the modern working person in three styles which have been around for generations.
The knife’s main blade is the strong clip point type that Case developed for general farm chores — which often meant anything you needed to fix when all you had with you was a pocket knife. The clip point isn’t the perfect solution to every problem, but it’s surprisingly useful. Rotating out of the same nickel silver bolster, the spey point blade was intended as a surgical instrument used on livestock, but shifts over easily into other modern applications. If you need to open a shipping carton without damaging what’s inside, the spey point is a a good choice.
Although today we don’t often write letters with turkey quill pens, the pen blade which handled that old-time task fits into modern situations just as easily. The centered point and symmetrical blade work well if you’re de-burring the inside of plastic pipe or adjusting PVC fittings that should work but won’t quite.
With a closed length of only 3-1/4 inches, the Case Medium Stockman is small enough for most people’s pockets but built strong enough for important everyday chores. The jigged handle slabs have the look of old bone but are actually Delrin, a synthetic used by Case for decades because of its durability and chemical resistance.
See the Case Medium Stockman 00039 for the same knife pattern with jigged handle slabs of natural zebu cattle bone and a different blade combination.
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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From the W.R. Case & Sons’ Working Knife series, the Case Medium Stockman #217 holds three blades selected for the modern working person in three styles which have been around for generations.
