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.



Travel Survival Guide | Kits, Tips and a Checklist

1 min read

This article is primarily intended for plane travel. For auto survival tips, see evacuation preparation and the accompanying car survival kit checklist.

Photo by puuikibeach

Current travel regulations prohibit many sensible survival tools aboard planes, but some specialty items can still ride in pockets or carry-on luggage and be at hand in emergency situations. An LED pocket flashlight good enough for signaling or lighting your path doesn’t take up much room, and although tactical pens might raise some questions any stainless steel ball point pen offers the same basic functions of writing or poking.

Inexpensive mylar reflective blankets or pocket sleeping bags provide emergency warmth if you’re stranded in an airport or huddled near a crash site. Although they aren’t very durable and never fold up into the same neat package you started with, these foil shields reflect body heat back to you and protect you from wind, rain and drafty winter airport terminals.

If you want to truly increase your chances of surviving a crash or flight emergency like an on-board fire, consider packing a breathing hood in your carry-on bag. The simplest type comes in a packet small enough to tuck in a purse or briefcase. A clear plastic hood fits over the head and neck and keeps blinding smoke out of your eyes, and a filter mask built into the hood gives about 15 to 20 minutes of clean air. Versions made with reflective hoods offer some fire protection, and better filters remove carbon monoxide fumes or biological contaminants like anthrax spores, as well as smoke particles. Since the carbon filter masks have a limited lifetime, the hoods come in sealed packages and can’t be used for practice runs without using up the filtration time.

Most of the items you can’t take into the passenger compartment can be checked in lugguage, so leave the pocket knife or multi-tool in the suitcase instead of at home. Either pack a permanent match with the knife or pick up a good lighter on the way out of the airport. A compass and detailed map of your destination helps no matter if you’re headed for a foreign city or a wilderness trek. GPS users can purchase downloadable maps for most parts of the world, but a hiker’s GPS typically contains only maps for the geographical region of sale. North American GPS units won’t include on-board maps of Europe. Download new maps at home if you intend to navigate with a personal GPS while on vacation overseas.

Practical Travel Items

  • LED pocket flashlight
  • Stainless steel ball point pen or tactical pen
  • Mylar reflective blanket
  • Personal breathing hood

Other Items (not for carry-on luggage):

  • Pocket knife or multi-tool such as the Victorinox Swiss Army Rescue Tool, with many useful blades and tools in one compact package.
  • Permanent match or lighter
  • Map and Compass, or GPS programmed with local maps
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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