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.


Empire Wheel Samurai Sword, Battle Ready 239 | Japanese Masahiro Katana, Fully Handmade w/ Scabbard

1 min read

Empire Wheel Samurai Sword, BattleThe Masahiro Empire Wheel Samurai katana goes well past display quality, giving collectors and recreational users a beautiful weapon capable of tamashigiri, or functional cutting practice. The details of this starter level sword from Fully Handmade will impress blade lovers.

Fully Handmade does produce traditional hand-forged blades using the old and very complex Japanese method of layering and folding different types of steel into one multi-talented blade. The model #239 is not one of those, having been built with a much simple and more modern forging process. The full tang sword blade of high carbon steel — not stainless steel — does undergo considerable hand polishing and hand sharpening, but is forged from one bar of single layer stock. The blade does have a long hi or blood groove on each side and is also fully tempered, but the hamon is hand polished and doesn’t represent the actual tempering process.

This is still a good cutting katana, built with pride and attention to detail. Traditional materials include genuine rayskin laid over the hardwood handle and wrapped with a black ito grip of Japanese cotton. The signature of the sword smith who made this katana will be found etched on the blade. Other decorative touches are very simple and strong enough to be functional — the brass tsuba’s multi-spoked Empire Wheel motif lends some flair to the sword’s look but still provides strength.

At 2-1/2 pounds without the sheath, this 42-1/2-inch katana is both fast and well-balanced. Kept sharp and swung accurately, it will give satisfying action on tatami mat targets and other traditional training tools. Storage box, maintenance kit, carrying bag, and wooden display rack all come with the sword.

Find this Empire Wheel Samurai Sword :

Find this sword on eBay:

[phpbay]Empire Wheel sword, 2[/phpbay]

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.


«
»

Hand Forged Roman Sword, Authentic Replica | Historical Gladius…

Fans of the Gladiator movie starring Russell Crowe will remember and admire this type of sword. Heavy but very efficient, the gladius became one...
JT Hats
Nov 27, 2011 59 sec read

Cold Steel Spartan Folding Knife, Greek Kopis | Hunting…

Open the Cold Steel Spartan and you’ll probably say, “Wow! That’s a big knife!” All the details of this pocket clip folder inspired by...
JT Hats
Aug 19, 2011 1 min read

CAS Hanwei Scimitar, Collectible Display | Turkish Kilij Replica…

Scimitars like this CAS Hanwei version made the mounted cavalry of Arabia some of the most feared warriors of their day. Patterned after the...
JT Hats
Aug 5, 2011 1 min read

Comments are closed.