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.
Henckels Twin Pro S Knife Set w/ Hardwood Block | SigmaForge 9 Piece Cutlery
1 min read
The J.A. Henckels Twin Pro S nine-piece block set offers a nearly complete set of chef’s cutlery ranging from the most basic paring blades to a full-sized santoku and chef’s knife. The Twin Pro series combines many of the best features of forged patterns with stock removal methods to create a hybrid design called SigmaForge. The concept does make a lot of good sense, considering how little forging goes into most of today’s forged knives.
In the SigmaForge process, only the bolster results from heating, compressing the knife blank to create mass in the right spot and then forging with a drop hammer. The rest of the knife blank forming the tang and blade retains all the characteristics created when the blank itself formed from Henckels’s Solingen stainless steel. Shaping and finishing the blank involves laser cutting rather than stamping — this avoids distortions and stresses common when blanks are cut to shape by dies. Tempering is augmented by the Friodur ice-hardening process, giving these knives added resistance to corrosion and more strength.
Two paring knives, two utility knives (one five-inch serrated and one six-inch plain edge) plus a seven-inch granton-edged santoku and eight-inch taper ground chef’s knife make up the cutlery assortment in the block set. Kitchen shears, honing steel, and knife block raise the piece count to nine. All knives in the set are full tang slab handled designs with fully forged bolsters and triple riveted handle slabs.
The hardwood block itself has two extra slots for good knives already in the kitchen and a row of six slots in the base for steak knife storage. Overall, the set has good range with room for a few specialty knives you’ll certainly need, plus the look if not the true workmanship of fully forged blades. Hand washing is recommended. Henckels’ lifetime warranty covers defects but not abuse. Knives are dishwasher safe, but vulnerable to gradual machine damage.
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 J.A. Henckels Twin Pro S nine-piece block set offers a nearly complete set of chef’s cutlery ranging from the most basic paring blades to a full-sized santoku and chef’s knife. The Twin Pro series combines many of the best features of forged patterns with stock removal methods to create a hybrid design called SigmaForge. The concept does make a lot of good sense, considering how little forging goes into most of today’s forged knives.
