ICCE Show

[jjtjr]

Any Reports or photos from the ICCE Show last weekend?

 

[Gary Mulkey]

Here are the ABS Awards that I can remember:

Best Bowie--Bill Burke
Best Collaboration--Bruce Bump
Best Hunter--Jerry Moen
Best Combat Knife--Shayne Carter
Best Art Knife--Gary Mulkey
Best Damascus--Bill Burke
Best Folder--Johnny Stout
Best Fixed Blade--Travis Wuertz
Best of Show--Bruce Bump

Bill Moran Damascus Award--Bill Burke

 

[john april]

congrats gary !

 

[SharpByCoop]

Best Tactical: Michael Zieba

 

[jjtjr]

Gary,

Thanks for the update and congratulations.

I see from the ABS Forum that James Carlyle and Alan Newberry received their JS Stamps.

Did anyone go for MS at ICCE?

 

[Gary Mulkey]

Gary,

Thanks for the update and congratulations.

I see from the ABS Forum that James Carlyle and Alan Newberry received their JS Stamps.

Did anyone go for MS at ICCE?

Kyle Gahagan tested. No one passed.

 

[Richard338]

This was the first show I have attended (not counting gun shows with one or two tables) and it was great.
The seminars on Friday were really good and someone at the seminars was nice enough to give my entire family VIP passes to the show (free admission and slightly early entry).
My kids are already talking about next year.
My only complaint is that now my kids want to see me try to make a slip joint and I'm sure to mess it up...

 

[dsloan]

Gary,

Congrats, sure enough forgot to ask for the weekend off and I'm not there to celebrate with you.

Good job.

Dave from diller

 

[Dawkind]

It was a fine show and very enjoyable. I saw a number of my buddies that I only have seen once each year at that show but there were a number that didn't attend this time around. I went basically as a Spectator this year but did have a delivery and was fortunate to pick up another that had been spoken for.

Not the best pictures but better than nothing I reckon....

Shane Carter's table and trophy winner, Best Combat Knife.

Travis Wertz Best Fixed Blade

Kyle Gahagan's table with the MS Test Knives that unfortunately didn't pass the ABS MS criteria. I was unable to even see the areas that were criticized, but they were all spoken for immediately even so and the offer on his dagger was $10K....couldn't have been too bad.

Other pictures of just a minute portion of the finery...

 

[jjtjr]

Dudley,

Thanks for the report and the photos.

 

[Willie71]

It was a fine show and very enjoyable. I saw a number of my buddies that I only have seen once each year at that show but there were a number that didn't attend this time around. I went basically as a Spectator this year but did have a delivery and was fortunate to pick up another that had been spoken for.

Not the best pictures but better than nothing I reckon....

Shane Carter's table and trophy winner, Best Combat Knife.

Travis Wertz Best Fixed Blade

Kyle Gahagan's table with the MS Test Knives that unfortunately didn't pass the ABS MS criteria. I was unable to even see the areas that were criticized, but they were all spoken for immediately even so and the offer on his dagger was $10K....couldn't have been too bad.

Other pictures of just a minute portion of the finery...

Was there an explanation of why those knives didn't pass?

 

[keithf]

Wow, lots of great pieces there

 

[JParanee]

Time and time again we see great makers doing knives for there MS test that have to much artistic flair and dare I say personality

I'm sure Kyles knives were incredible but the abs judges are looking for simple straight and clean and that's all. If the guard has a twist etc even if it flowing and done on purpose if it can be mistrude as being off even though it feels right etc it can make the knife fail. I don't know what the issues were but I'm sure it was something along those lines

Beautiful knives and I'm sure he will push through

 

[Willie71]

Time and time again we see great makers doing knives for there MS test that have to much artistic flair and dare I say personality

I'm sure Kyles knives were incredible but the abs judges are looking for simple straight and clean and that's all. If the guard has a twist etc even if it flowing and done on purpose if it can be mistrude as being off even though it feels right etc it can make the knife fail. I don't know what the issues were but I'm sure it was something along those lines

Beautiful knives and I'm sure he will push through

The stag handle itself could have been it, as the knives have to be symmetrical.

 

[Win Heger]

Thanks for the photos, did you just concentrate on the ABS? Kyle's knives look great, love the two you picked up!

 

[jjtjr]

I believe that the ABS judges tell the Mastersmith candidate the basis of their decisions, but I could be mistaken. The standards are very strict and for the Mastersmith Stamp a minor flaw might disqualify a candidate.

Here is a link to the ABS site on Master Smith Testing:

http://www.americanbladesmith.com/index.php?section=pages&id=178

There have been many ABS Mastersmith candidates who for one reason or another did not pass their first Mastersmith Judging, but later passed. Some of them are now considered to be among the best ABS makers.

I agree that Klye's knives look great from the photo.

 

[Dawkind]

He was told what flaws there were but when he attempted to show me he couldn't even find what had been criticized for a few moments and I was truly only able to see one minuscule flaw....where something had bumped a handle getting them ready to judge, putting an almost invisible 'dent' in the wood. The other flaw was an area about half the size of a match head on Mammoth Ivory that had been inadvertently touched with a piece of fine steel wool that took the highest polish off and dulling it the tiniest bit....I could literally not really even see it.

He consulted 5 MS' who all told him he'd have no problems, I guess they should have been judging. I don't know who was on the panel in KC but he was told those knives would have passed in Atlanta....it's too bad but it is what it is.

I've been involved at some level with the ABS since 1989 and, in my opinion, there are a number of the 'Old Hands' that could not make a knife that would pass the criteria set forth to get the MS Stamp they have by today's standards.

I checked out the entire room for 2 days and saw incredible work from around the World but only took the photos shown....I know, I'm a slacker.

 

[jdm61]

We occasionally see MS daggers that vary a bit from the "standard" type and I really like that, but I may not be in the majority. I wonder if this dagger was docked, perhaps unconsciously, because it doesn't appear to have a "true" fluted handle in the coventional sense? The one "off script" dagger that I remember passing was Sean McIntyre's in 2008. IIRC, it had straight flutes and a mid handle spacer, but still had deep flutes with wire inlayed on the high ridges.

 

[jdm61]

He was told what flaws there were but when he attempted to show me he couldn't even find what had been criticized for a few moments and I was truly only able to see one minuscule flaw....where something had bumped a handle getting them ready to judge, putting an almost invisible 'dent' in the wood. The other flaw was an area about half the size of a match head on Mammoth Ivory that had been inadvertently touched with a piece of fine steel wool that took the highest polish off and dulling it the tiniest bit....I could literally not really even see it.

He consulted 5 MS' who all told him he'd have no problems, I guess they should have been judging. I don't know who was on the panel in KC but he was told those knives would have passed in Atlanta....it's too bad but it is what it is.

I've been involved at some level with the ABS since 1989 and, in my opinion, there are a number of the 'Old Hands' that could not make a knife that would pass the criteria set forth to get the MS Stamp they have by today's standards.

I checked out the entire room for 2 days and saw incredible work from around the World but only took the photos shown....I know, I'm a slacker.

The standards ON PAPER are the same, but not in practice. What would your chances be of passing the MS judging today if you showed up with a dagger with a 300 layer random pattern blade? I have been around this game since like 2005 and those standards had already changed by the time I came on board. I have seen knives that passed JS judging in the 1990's that wouldn't have gotten through the door in 2005 purely for design reasons and probably wouldn't even sell to a collector today no matter who the maker was.

 

[Steve Randall]

I hated this for Kyle! I'm not sure why they would pass in Atlanta but not Kansas City. Isn't it pass/fail no matter the geography?
These are all beautiful knives, the dagger isn't out of the mainstream and it is beautifully fluted. If I'm not mistaken they had no issues with the dagger. A lot of time and effort goes into producing "Master Smith Quality Knives".