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.
Swiss Army Centurion Locking Pocketknife by Victorinox | Includes Bottle & Can Opener, Screwdriver, Tweezers, Black Handle
1 min read
Swiss Army knives are great knives to carry, but when you’re traveling on foot, saving weight sometimes means choosing to leave the monster pocket tool kit at home. The Swiss Army Centurion offers just what you need with two good features you might not expect.
The Swiss Army Centurion — 4-3/8 inches long when closed — offers a high carbon stainless set of tools including a plain-edged spear point knife blade and large and small flat head screwdriver blades that double as bottle opener, wire stripper, and can opener. Other tools include an awl/reamer and Phillips screwdriver, key ring, tweezers, and toothpick. The Centurion’s contoured plastic and aluminum grip offers enough handhold for comfortable use and high torque, but still isn’t too heavy for the pocket. Slip a wrist lanyard onto the key ring and it’s safe and secure for travel in the wilderness.
What you might not expect is a secure liner lock — a great feature for a main blade but one that hasn’t always been standard issue with Swiss Army. Not only that, the larger of the two screwdriver blades also locks open. We can be trained not to use that main blade unsafely, but if you’re working on a stubborn slot-head screw, you need extra pressure. Folding up the bottle opener on your finger doesn’t do as much damage as the knife blade would, but it’s still a problem we’d rather not have. The more liner locks, the better.
For a similar Swiss Army lockback with an alternate set of tools, see the Swiss Army Forester.
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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Swiss Army knives are great knives to carry, but when you’re traveling on foot, saving weight sometimes means choosing to leave the monster pocket tool kit at home. The Swiss Army Centurion offers just what you need with two good features you might not expect.
