[m williams]

hammer; my sheath was a Okie primitive. Old chap leather wrapped in duct tape.
competition knives is a big subject and I don't know if I can do it justice; but we'll beat around the edges some and see.
What the cutting competitions were designed to do is find the all around cutting knife. Choppers and slicers and skinners all have an optimum design, which is as it should be. We all realize that a knife should be designed for its primary use.
Hopefully; and we think time has proven this to be true; that these competitions test the knife overall. The blade must be useable for any manner of cutting. the heat treat must be a very good one. The edge must be sharp and stay sharp. The handle must be of a comfortable and very usable shape. AND you have to know how to use your knife.
We are looking at knives that will chop a 2x4 in 20 seconds easily and still be thin enough to slice a cigarette paper.
I try to set up events that put checks on the blades. By that I mean that some things are there to check if the blade is too thin, too hard, too soft, too thick, no point, etc. To design a blade just for cutting 2x4's is ok, but there are gonna be things in the event to see if you got your blade too thick for fine work. By the same token a very thin blade for slicing paper and rope is gonna get burned somewhere else.
Now to the knife itself. The parameters for size are the ABS test standards. We have adopted this simply to keep the playing field level as far as blade size goes. 10"x2" blade max with a 15" overall length. Must have at least one visible pin or bolt through the tang and a thong through the rear of the handle.
Knife construction; A blade that carries its weight a little further forward than usual. A convex or a flat grind with a convex edge is the winner in almost every case. The blade should be very fast in the hand. A handle design so that you can chop very hard and maintain your grip and not get a sore hand. This is a point that is over looked at first but you learn fast. After the 2x4 chop I have seen guys hand shaking so badly that I could not look at their blade. A handle design that resist rolling in the hand. Many handles try to twist in the hand on an angle cut. Look at what wins time after time, that is a good place to start.
The edge. this is where it gets tough. Thin enough to scive a business card, thick enough to wail into a yellow pine 2x4. Polished enough to slice a cigarette paper and toothy enough to really bite the rope. For a good starting point I would flat grind my blade and leave the edge about a 16th thick. I would then roll the last half inch of the blade on the slack belt till you throw up an even burr on each side. Sharpen at a fairly steep angle on a fine india stone. Strop each side very lightly. this will usually give a hair popping blade that is thick enough in the edge to support itself.
You only learn what works for you by cutting and testing. good luck. mike