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.
Lord of the Rings Witch King Fantasy Dagger by United Cutlery | Official LOTR Replica Ring Wraith Sword, Kit Rae
1 min read
Considerable work went into this detailed movie replica from United Cutlery’s LOTR series. The Dagger of the Witch-King is more than just a scaled-down companion piece to the much larger Sword of the Witch King. The Dagger has its own unique look of aged and pitted metal, but depicted in stainless steel construction that will last for lifetimes.
The original movie dagger, according to United Cutlery, had been forged from carbon steel — a good choice for a prop blade. But for display, something with more corrosion resistance was needed. The United Cutlery version doesn’t look shiny or new and still has the unmistakable pitted look of a fine blade that spent the last sixty years on the floor of a damp tomb. The knife’s undead owner was the leader of the Ring Wraiths, the spirits of corrupted ancient kings who were set the task of recovering the Ring for their dark master.
The LOTR Dagger of the Witch King certainly looks like it came from the kit of an undead lord. The long spike of the dagger’s blade is double fullered and accurately finished with that intricately pitted antiquing and a darken patina on the plain metal cross-guard. The Dagger’s thin grip also matches the style of the Witch-King’s Sword with a covering of dark leather laid over the rat-tail tang handle. Kit Rae, the designer of United Cutlery’s LOTR swords, created the aged look by acid-etching the metal parts of the dagger. The officially licensed United Cutlery version of the Witch King’s Dagger is 16-3/4 inches in length with a 420J2 high carbon stainless steel blade and cast metal bladeguard and pommel. The Dagger does an excellent job of matching the details and the character of the movie weapon. A certificate of authenticity accompanies the piece, along with a display plaque for wall mounting.
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.
Considerable work went into this detailed movie replica from United Cutlery’s LOTR series. The Dagger of the Witch-King is more than just a scaled-down companion piece to the much larger Sword of the Witch King. The Dagger has its own unique look of aged and pitted metal, but depicted in stainless steel construction that will last for lifetimes.
