JS Judging at the Blade Show.....

[Ed Caffrey]

Your assumption is correct.........it's been disignated at the offical, yearly test site for the ABS. The Blade show is where the ABS has it's annual meetings, and therefore most of the rated smiths attend, including enough Mastersmiths to conduct the judging. To my mind it's just one of the "dues" you pay along the path. I really do think that if individuals where able to test whenever and where ever they wanted, it would be so messed up that there would be no consistency in the judging. As it is, there are seven sets of eyes looking at each makers knives, in a given environment, with each other to void any favoritisim or catch anything that is missed. I guess it boils down to how badly someone wants to test....if they really want to do it, then they will find a way to get the knives done and get to Atlanta. It was tough for me....and the expense sorta hurt at the time.....but as I've said before, I'm sure glad I took the time and effort to accomplish it.

[BrianT]

Ed

If things go as planned, I will be submitting my knives for JS in Atlanta next year. Could you elaborate on some areas that if not adequite, would cause a knife to fail the judging.

I realize that poor fit and finish would cause a knife to fail, and am looking for the less obvious things that I might overlook.

I have always put a guard on my knives, and have both soldered and epoxied them. Is an epoxied guard acceptable for the JS test, or does it need to be soldered?

Thanks
Brian

[Ed Caffrey]

What I look for when judging at the JS level are good designs, where everything flows, and exceptional finishes. When I say finishes I refer to guards being either straight or tilted slightly forward. (Guards look terrible to me when the top is tilted towards the handle.
An area that took me several years to understand is the handle/guard/blade juncture. Handle materials should match up to the same width as the riccaso (as viewed from the side) at least on average sized blades.
Here's a couple of examples of how I like to see the lines of handle/guard/riccaso flowing together......




Of course finish also means just that. For the JS level I would expect to see NO scratches on blade, guard, or handle. Some of the knives that did not make it last year had what appeared to be heavy grit scratches (like 60 grit) that the individual did not take the time to fully eliminate by sanding, but rather tried to buff out. In the rules it talks about light reflection...... it's a habit for me to see how the light reflects off the surfaces of not only the blade but the guard and handle too.
And finally, a tip about embellishments. Remember, the more you put on a knife, the more there is to be judged. If there's filework, then the filework will be judged, if there's carving, then it's judged too, etc, etc.

There are basically two states of mind that an individual who is testing can take. If you want to win awards, and feel you are capable, then go for it. If your just looking to pass the test, then my advice is to make your knives simple, and super clean!

[sdcb27]

Thanks Ed, i savvoy, and thank you for going above and beyond for the information

[BrianT]

Thank you for the added information Ed. I appreciate it very much

Brian