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.
Spyderco SlipIt Bob Terzuola Knife, Blade Magazine Collaboration Award 2009 | Carbon Fiber Plain Edge, One Handed Slip Joint
1 min read
Winner of Blade Magazine’s 2009 Collaboration of the Year award, the Spyderco Bob T. Slip-It — also known as the Spyderco Terzuola — combines Spyderco’s popular folding clip design with Bob Terzuola’s improved slip joint. If you want a knife with traditional action but modern features, the Slip-It is the answer. Until now, it was available only on custom-order Terzuola knives.
Older slip-joint knives, with which nearly all of us are still fondly acquainted, were not designed for easy one-handed opening. Put a thumb stud on the standard slip-joint, and you’ll probably still resort to two hands to open the blade. The spring-bar slip joint knife resists most strongly at full-open and full-closed positions. Terzuola’s innovation works with a very different action. Pressure for opening or closing the blade overcomes the resistance of a ball bearing. Movement is free and easy in between the locked positions. For added safety, the Terzuola adds a second stop to slow the action of the closing blade, allowing fingers a second chance to escape.
The Spyderco Terzuola handle is woven carbon fiber, one of the lightest and strongest materials now available, and a short leather lanyard makes retrieval from the pocket’s edge even simpler. The knife’s stainless steel pocket clip mounts for either left or right hand use. The Terzuola’s plain-edged Wharncliffe blade of CPM S30V high carbon stainless steel remains under the common European legal limit of 3 inches. With a convenient closed length of four inches and an open length that’s a practical seven inches, owners of the Terzuola should still be able to carry it nearly anywhere in the world without complications.
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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Winner of Blade Magazine’s 2009 Collaboration of the Year award, the Spyderco Bob T. Slip-It — also known as the Spyderco Terzuola — combines Spyderco’s popular folding clip design with Bob Terzuola’s improved slip joint. If you want a knife with traditional action but modern features, the Slip-It is the answer. Until now, it was available only on custom-order Terzuola knives.
