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.
Global Vegetable Slicing Knife Set, Fluted | Full Tang Granton Slicer G-56 GS-39
58 sec read
Blades ground in the reduced-friction granton style set these two Global vegetable knives apart from the company’s main knife styles. Already so thin and efficient that they’re the favorites of famous chefs — including Anthony Bourdain — these two good slicers just got a little better.
Global’s G-56 Vegetable Fluted knife is the larger of the pair with a hollow ground 7-inch CROMOVA 18 blade cut in the Japanese nakiri bocho pattern, traditionally favored by Tokyo chefs. This slimmer version of the Asian vegetable cleaver serves many of the same functions as the European chef’s knife, but with a lighter construction and a thinner blade slices much more efficiently. Keep the old chef’s knife around for the heavy work.
Global’s GS-39 Vegetable Fluted knife brings a similar but smaller style to your cutting board with a 5-1/2-inch-long granton blade and a different handle shape. The dovetail flare of the knife’s grip gives precise control, with a wide vertical section near the blade and a tail section which fits comfortably to the palm. Similar in blade design to the Osaka version of nakiri bocho, the Global GS-39 keeps the traditional, slightly convex cutting edge and spear point but gives a longer section of flattened spine for fingertip control.
All Global knives are built seamlessly from Cromova 18 high carbon stainless steel — even the textured grip is dimpled stainless steel, perfectly balanced with sand permanently sealed in the hollow handle.
For another good starter set with a different range of Global knives, see the Global 3 Piece Starter Set.
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...
Blades ground in the reduced-friction granton style set these two Global vegetable knives apart from the company’s main knife styles. Already so thin and efficient that they’re the favorites of famous chefs — including Anthony Bourdain — these two good slicers just got a little better.
