Interesting Find at Blade Show 2003

No prob, Joe. Here are some "answers"...

1) The wood looks more like a 2x6 than a 2x4. Illusion?
2) Is the board anchored at all, or held down by it's own weight?

It's 2 - 2x4's, one on top of the other. You cut through the top one. The bottom is to brace. The table has this built into it - IOW, it's a travelling test shop. ;)


3) Is it required to wear blue to compete?

LOL. They all had on blue ABS denim shirts to support the society. Fisk commented that it was because of the low IQ of the participants it made it easier for them to find each other...:D


4) If you had to speculate, how much of Cashen's victory was technique, as opposed to a superior knife? He was a lot more 'enthusiastic' in his chopping than Fitch.

Faster? Yes. Stronger? No.

I'd have to say it's 50% knife, 50% person. You gotta have both. Fitch can split a 2x4 in 4 cuts (handheld) and has been documented to do it in 2. :eek: So, in this case, I personally believe that it was Cashen's Recurve that made up the difference in strength.


5) What kind of knife did Fitch use?

Just one of his 10" Bowies. Can't remember the name or the steel. Most guys had either 52100 or 5160 with a flat grind or slight convex.

Everybody did final sharpening with a ceramic rod. ;)

Dan
 
Thanks, Dan. That clears some stuff up.

BTW, thinking about it, this is just the type of thing you would try with a khuk. And film it.
 
Yes...film is in process - well, technically, it's digital...:rolleyes:

I'll be sure to make a stink about it when I get around to uploading it...:D :footinmou :eek:
 
Yes there were several more cutting type things. One was an empty one pint plastic water bottle suspened from a thread. That was a hard one! Only one guy was able to do it.

Another was a aluminum can full of water on TOP of an empty aluminum can on the "Stump". The "Stump" was a hand made portable one and the empty can had to stay on the stump to get the full 5 points. 3 points if it fell off.
 
I believe one person said he used a stone for his final edge. It might've been Fitch.

Other cutting tests included splitting a piece of 2x4 lengthwise (parallel to the grain). I believe the block was 6-8 inches long, and score was based on number of full-length pieces made in 30 seconds.

Final event was cutting a bundle of free-hanging 1" rope. Each competitor had to say how many pieces he could cut in one stroke, 5 points for each piece. If all pieces weren't cut, no points were awarded.
 
Here are the knives used by Fitch and Crowell in the cutting competition:

orig.jpg


Originally posted by Danbo - his pic as well.

Cheers,

Roger
 
OK, wanted to ask this in custom knife forum, but forgot to, so have to ask here.

Am I completely stupid, or are those knives almost identical?
 
Slight difference in the handle. I wonder if it has something to do with the way each is connected to the handle.:confused:
 
Very similar, but not identical. The shape and geometry of the clip is noticeably different. Boht makers were clearly of a mind that a broad-bladed bowie was the best approach to the varied challenges presented by the cutting competition.

Cheers,

Roger
 
They are nearly identical on purpose.

It was a collaboration between the two guys - as discussed in the cutting demonstration Sat. afternoon.
 
Both of those knives are 1084. I looked close at each knife afterwards, and I thought the Crowell knife had a slightly thinner edge. Both were still sharp, and showed no signs of edge damage. Of all the test knives used, only one was 5160. Ray Kirk used 52100, Cashen used the O1/L6 damascus.

I also checked out the Cashen damascus knife. Kevin called the pattern, "a slow, lazy twist". I believe 160 layers of O1/L6. Whatever, I loved the knife. The handle on the Cashen is checkered black paper micarta.

I watched the cutting competition up close and personal, and Kevin Cashen looked like a crazed Ninja cutting that board! The technique was very fast, yet precise and controlled. It was pretty awesome to witness.
 
Definitely thanks. And esp. for clearing up why they looked so similar, Dan. I could see why they might both pick a bowie of that style, but if they had come out that close without working together/collaborating, Just woulda been one of my tin foil hat days. :)

Man I wish I coulda been there. Planning now to make it for next years. Have two more interviews next week hopefully. Gonna tell them right up front never to expect me to work blade show weekend. :)

Well, maybe. ;) can say that now, but looking at my bank account, maybe I'll just do whatever I have to to get the jobs. :)
 
The cutting competition was definitely one of the more fun parts of Blade. The grinding demonstration by Bob Dozier was very instructional as well as intriguing to watch. He's clearly an ole pro. The forging demonstration was nice, but I guess I expected more - but what can you do in an hour? Anyway, I got to walk away with the billet of mild steel that Tim forged. Even in its rough condition, the grain is clearly evident and very nice.

Saturdays demonstrations were experiences that have forever changed the way I look at knives and knifemaking. It actually made me a little swollen-headed...:p

I stopped at a table on Sat. afternoon and picked up a shiny flat-ground, well-polished knife. I turned it over only to discover that the grind lines were dissimilar, in fact, sloppy. I was shocked that someone would bring such a knife to Blade and try to sell it at "standard" price. Anyway, like I said, it didn't help keep me modest when - after passing a few more tables - my wife (who is my 2nd biggest critic - the 1st being me ;) ) turned to me and said, "I've seen you do better than that." :eek:

All-in-all, the weekend was an incredible learning experience and it only came out costing me $460 (not counting stuff purchased at the show).
 
The folks getting the passaround knife may disagree with you on that, Joe.

There are a number of flaws on that knife that would never get past a standard knifemaker's shop door. Some I left on purpose - to be discussed in the passaround thread - some I was just too lazy to take care of them, and some I didn't know what to do and just left it. :D

I showed the knife to Bruce Bump at the Blade Show and pointed out one of the more "glaring" mistakes - he said - "you should charge extra for that!"

I was completely floored by it. After having thought it over, I think I now understand his Zen-like wisdom and it fits my way of making knives just fine. :D
 
How many of the 'features' would only be noticed by another knifemaker?

Also, I'm willing to bet that none of them affect the knife's utility or trustworthiness.
 
I think it would depend on the knifemaker. Like I said about the maker who's knife had clearly uneven grind lines (it was not "on purpose" - that kind, I can recognize) - it's a matter of expectation.

I think for some folks, the imperfections will slide right under the radar, while for others, they'll jump right out screaming and yelling "look at me, look at me!" :D

There were imperfections in the blades at the cutting competition too, btw. :eek: And I'm not talking about the handles - which were all "dummy" handles slapped on just to fulfill the handle requirement. ;)

Dan
 
To answer your question, though, I can think of about a dozen different imperfections - only one of which will affect the utility/trustworthiness of the knife. And I still think you'd have to beat it pretty hard to ruin it - things that would normally ruin just about any other knife, etc.
 
Well, I'll try hard to hate it when it gets to me, but I don't think I can do it. I can already feel that handle in my hands. The next person on the list will be REEEL lucky to ever see it. Oops.
 
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