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.
Wusthof Kitchen Cheese Knife, Full Tang | Professional Deli Gourmet Double Handle 12 Inch
56 sec read
Choose the Wusthof Gourmet 12-inch cheese knife when working with hard cheese wheels and blocks up to 12 inches across. Set aside the chef’s knife — which can be awkward and hazardous for this particular job — and use the tool Wusthof designed especially for this tricky work.
Dividing large cheeses into easily worked portions requires oversized equipment. The Wusthof Gourmet cheese knife features uplifted handles on either end of a specially etched 12-inch blade. The cross-hatched design on the blade reduces friction as the knife glides through what can be a very difficult project. With a hand on either side and steady downward pressure, even tough parmesan will yield — and if the block parts suddenly, as the very hard cheeses are apt to do, the extra knuckle room keeps hands from smashing against the cutting board.
Construction of the Gourmet Cheese Knife is simple and strong and able to take as much pressure as a chef can bring to bear. The knife blade and double full tangs are laser-cut from one blank of chrome/molybdenum/vanadium steel. This process eliminates any weak points by not distorting or heating the steel. Grips of black polymer handle slabs triple-riveted to the steel tangs provide a wide surface for firm hand pressure and control.
This is not a slicing knife, however, and will work the best when dividing large cheeses into halves. Halve each cut section until you reach a workable size for your slicing knife or electric slicing 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...
Choose the Wusthof Gourmet 12-inch cheese knife when working with hard cheese wheels and blocks up to 12 inches across. Set aside the chef’s knife — which can be awkward and hazardous for this particular job — and use the tool Wusthof designed especially for this tricky work.
