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.



Forschner Victorinox Bread Knife, Curved & Serrated 41624 | Forged Full Tang Steel 8 Inch

1 min read

Forschner Victorinox Bread Knife,The Victorinox Curved Bread Knife with 8-inch forged blade and POM handle is a better size for rolls and bagels than large loaves. This is a slightly new approach to serrated edges and doesn’t work the same way new owners may expect.

Instead of saw teeth, the Victorinox curved bread knife incorporates a wave-tooth edge. There’s less point here and therefore less drag and bite until the edge enters the crust of hard breads and rolls. The action’s a compromise between a straight slicing edge and a pointy, serrated blade. In the cut, there’s more slicing action and less sawing and snagging, which can be an advantage. You’ll need to use more care when starting the cut, because on truly tough crusts, the blade may skate at first unless carefully controlled.

The curved edge of the knife adds a little more trickiness to the action, since only a few teeth make that first contact during the beginning of the cut. At the end of the slice, that curved edge makes fast work of any hard bottom crust. A slight rocking motion evenly severs the bottom of the loaf.

Whether you’ll notice enough difference in the product to make this technical change worthwhile is probably dependent on whether you like the look of this forged knife and its full tang POM synthetic handle. Forged in Germany from high carbon stainless steel, the dropped bolster is strong but old-fashioned. The Victorinox curved bread knife is finished to the high standards of Victorinox but is just a little too small to be a good all-around choice for homemade bread.

Find this Forschner Victorinox Bread 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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