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.
When anyone offers an electrically-powered knife hone for this price, there must be a catch. With the Smith’s Abrasive Diamond Edge Sharpener, it’s more a good idea than a catch. If you’re willing to learn a simple system, this could be a very handy kitchen tool.
With most pre-set honing machines — either electric or manual — the problems manifest when new owners try to restore badly dulled knives. Years of abuse deform bevels and cutting edges beyond the ability of light-duty hones to repair. A hone could keep a good edge in good shape, but a ruined edge might not improve much. Smith’s Abrasive Edgeware Sharpener puts the powered half of their machine to work on that first critical problem.
Running the blade of the knife through the coarse-cutting diamond hone side of the sharpener quickly restores the bevel angle to the common European and American standard angle of about 25 degrees. The edge won’t be polished, smooth, or razor sharp, but it will be set to the correct shape. With that accomplished, pulling the edge through the manual side’s ceramic hones puts the final set and razor edge on the blade. Angles of the ceramic hones match perfectly to the angle already set by the diamond wheels, making that last polish an easy piece of work.
No matter how good the sharpening machine, the results depend on the skill of the operator. The tricks you learned on a whetstone will still come in handy with the Smith’s Edgeware Sharpener. If you’ve acquired Japanese knives with more acute bevel angles, you’ll need a different machine.
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...
When anyone offers an electrically-powered knife hone for this price, there must be a catch. With the Smith’s Abrasive Diamond Edge Sharpener, it’s more a good idea than a catch. If you’re willing to learn a simple system, this could be a very handy kitchen tool.
