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.



SOG Bowie Knife for Hunting & Skinning | Black Titanium Kraton Creed CD02-L

1 min read

SOG Bowie Knife for Hunting & Skinning With the bulletproof features you need in a good survival knife, the SOG Creed is more than a sharp camp tool. Built of tactical quality materials and well designed for a wide variety of uses, this modified bowie knife also does well as a full-sized hunter and precision skinning knife. Use it for tougher camp chores without fear of wrecking the edge.

A little heavy at 12.8 ounces, the SOG Creed includes a rat tail tang blade with a stock thickness of 0.24 inches. The wide hollow grind makes the Creed’s edge thin enough for real cutting, not the crude chiseling action you’d get from a thick-edged bayonet. Since the weight of this AUS 8 high carbon stainless steel bowie shifts forward to the curved belly of the blade, the knife is balanced to chop and hack as well as it slices.

The black titanium nitride coating of SOG’s CD02-L Creed eliminates the mirror-bright shine of the civilian CD01-L version, but either model offers the same high resistance to chemicals and corrosion. Heavy stainless steel bolster and pommel bracket the black Kraton handle, with the two white spacers in the grip the only decoration other than the good look of efficiency and quality engineering. The black leather belt sheath is equally well made, with a security strap that hooks the finger guard to hold the Creed in place.

If you hunt small game or fish, a smaller knife makes better sense than the Creed — and if you’re heavily into chopping, the better solution is the hand axe or tomahawk. If you want a survival knife that can handle anything, pick the 12-inch-long SOG Creed and be happy. It might not always be the best answer, but in a pinch, it’s still a good answer.

Find this SOG Hunting 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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