Batson Symposium Cutting competition

[fisk]

The following is the test preformed and the winners at the Batson symposium cutting competition held last recently.

Can cut. On the table and cut from top to bottom. 3 elmintated from the rounds with this cut. small chips in blade.

Hard wooden dowel chop, cut clean and stay within defined borders.

2x4 wood chop. Timed event. That dang John Fitch cut the board with a new world record of 2.79 seconds. Board not touched with hands while chopping.

Stab a syrofoam ball while floating in tub of water. Deepest stab wins that event.

Cut one inch rope while suspended by a thread and not break the thread.

Winners
1st place John Fitch
2nd Robert Rossdeutcher
3nd. Adam Waldon
4th Ray Kirk

There was a tie for second place and there had to be a chop off.
Chop off consisted of standing an empty paper towel roll up and cutting it in half cleanly.
We had the most entries we have ever had.
Congradulations goes to these gentlemen who did not mind putting their knives up for people to look at the preformance in a public forum.
jf

The ABS will have its annual Spring hammer-in May 4-5. The competition there will be limited to 10 inch blades with a 15 1/2" Overall length. One visible pin and thong hole with thong required.

 

[Gus Kalanzis]

Thanks Jerry! (Remind me never to get John upset (might be a hard thing to do ). I figure if he can get through a 2X4 in 2.79 secs. My neck might last for .05 secs.

Sounds like you folks had a great time.

 

[m l williams]

Gus; John don't have to get mad. A scowl from Big John is usually sufficient. Fellas, those little events that Jerry laid out for you in his post really don't sound like much. But; when taken in context with each other it speaks volumes of the cutting ability of each guys knives AND their ability to use that knife. If my recall is correct, it seems that for now Big John has racked up more wins than anyone else in the past competitions. And while John is certainly a larger than normal young man; I don't think that is the secret to his sucess. At each competition John has a consistantly good knife. He also puts considerable thought into each of his cuts. A great technique will not overcome a poor knife; or visa-versa. That the real performance level of the blades of the participants has increased each year is without question. It is a great way to demonstrate great knives and great knife cutting. I would like to encourage each of you to participate or attend one of these cutting competitions. You will get to see some very impressive blades do some awsome cutting feats. At the Michigan Hammer-In the format will be pretty much the usual. Blade dimensions will be those that conform to the ABS cutting test rules. With at least one visible pin thru the tang and a thong hole. The thong must be opposite the guard. mike

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Thanks for the report Jerry. It sure does appear that John has won quite a few of these competitions over the last while. Obviously the combination of great technique and a great knife.

I would love to get to see one of these competitions one day.

 

[raker2]

Keith,
There is in the works a project to have a cutting contest tape available for purchase. All the details haven't been worked out yet but it should be something to watch.
Of course, there isn't anything to compare with being there and watching it happen. After it is over, the blades are inspected by every one to see what the differences there are that makes that particular blade cut better than the rest.
There are getting to be more cutting contests that are located in different parts of the country and also different types of cutting contests. I would also like to see a cutting rope contest. Maybe some day it will happen .

 

[Cliff Stamp]

On the can cut, does the cut have to made in a particular spot, or can you for example just cut the side off, only a few mm inside the rim as long as the cut goes from top to bottom? Is the can allowed to get squashed? Can the edge get visibly blunted as long as it isn't chipped? How do you score this anyway? Is is the least damage to the blade, or the straightest can, or just a set score if you make it and nothing if you don't?

That is a pretty impressive time on the 2x4? Is this a break, or a clean cut? What type of wood was it?

-Cliff

 

[m l williams]

Cliff; I'll try to answer your questions as best I can. The can cut is simply top to bottom in a clean cut. No tearing or wadding up. Just go in the top somewhere and out the bottom. No squashes allowed. Any blade damage at all is a disqualifier, if it can be seen, or felt. Dull is just dull; but chips, rolled edges, wrinkles, cracks, etc. is gonna get you outta there. Usually the verticle can cut is straightfoward. 5 points if you cut it. 0 if you don't. The can will kill edges that are too thin. On to the 2x4. Yes, John's 2x4 did split at about 2/3's through. We have had a problem lately with that. In the past the guys would just hack on it till it was done, and it took awhile. But as the cutting competitions went along these fellows kept refining and pushing their geometry and heattreating to the point that they could slam into the board with all their might. We started having 2x4's crack and split from the blows after the contestants had cut part way thru. Now you have to understand, guys at 200 lbs. up can hit really hard when they put everthing into it. BUT; I think we have made adjustments to our table that will end the splitting and cracking. Before I leave the idea that these are big thick blades being used we do have several more finesse things in the program that will take those kind of blades out of the running. Everybody needs to watch one of these if they get a chance. It is impressive what blades can do that are shaped, heattreated, and used to their full potential. and that bar is raised constantly. mike w.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Thanks for the details. One suggestion, it would be nice to have a simple webpage with the results of the events, with a by section breakdown of the scoring. It would also be nice to keep a running history of the events, so we could see the progress from one competition to the other. I'd gladly do the html'ing and such.

-Cliff

 

[matthew rapaport]

Do each of the separate events have to be done using the same knife? That is, does a competitor have to choose one knife to use through all the separate events, or can he use a knife optimized for each contest?

 

[m l williams]

Matthew, same blade from start to finish. No sharpening or stropping on the blade after you start. A different knife for each part of the contest would make it too easy. We are looking for the ideal all around knife, one that will go from cigarette paper to 2x4's. mike