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.



Ka-Bar Becker Campanion BK2 w/ Grivory Handle | Fixed Survival Emergency Knife, Full Tang

1 min read

Ka-Bar Becker Campanion BK2 w/ GrivoryThe Ka-Bar Becker BK2 Campanion brings back an older survival knife that became a collector’s piece after the original manufacturer — Becker Knife & Tool — shut down in 2007. Ka-Bar holds true to the original concepts of the Campanion, and the new version still comes close to the ideal of the indestructible emergency knife.

The Becker Campanion begins as a slab of 1095 high carbon steel a full 1/4 inch thick. Some care is taken not to reduce that original strength by much, and the finished knife weighs nearly a pound. The 5-1/2-inch blade of this 10-1/2-inch full tang survival knife is flat ground, not hollow ground. Sharpened with a 20-degree edge bevel, the Campanion has none of the weaknesses of a hollow-ground skinner. You could use the spine of this knife as a blunt instrument, or you could use a blunt instrument to drive it — either way, it holds up. The cutting action won’t match a hollow-ground blade because you do encounter more resistance in this stronger blade style, but if you want an edge you can abuse, the Campanion is the better idea.

Ka-Bar’s Campanion uses handle slabs of Grivory, a durable thermoplastic resin originally used to substitute for metal parts in cars. Applied to knives, glass fiber reinforced Grivory has been used for crude blades as well as nearly indestructible handles. The smooth surface of this knife’s grip depends on shape for traction, but with the dropped bolster and handle butt, it’s still a solid handhold.

Some confusion over the knife’s country of origin resulted from pairing the Campanion with a rugged, glass-filled nylon belt sheath made in Taiwan. According to Ka-Bar, the knife itself is made in the U.S.A.

Find this Ka-Bar Becker Campanion BK2 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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