[Ed Caffrey]

In my experience, as one who chose to walk the path, I would agree with all of that.

I personally never attended the ABS School, but than again, I was active duty military at the time, and was never able to fit it in, or afford it at that time. That being said, I did rely heavily on advice/guidance from Mastersmiths, and without their help/advice, I doubt I would have passed either my JS or MS tests. However, I believe that is a built in part of the ascension to both JS and MS certifications... learning the in/outs, of not only the making knives nuances, but also some nuances of both the ABS, and the custom knife industry.... at least that was the ancillary info/learning I got out of it.

It's certainly not for everyone, and it does require a high degree of commitment to successfully navigate. But for me, it improved my work/knives in ways that nothing else could have, forced me to go far outside my then comfort zone, and opened a world/realm of Bladesmithing, that otherwise would not have been accessible in terms of teaching and credibility in the craft.

Shortly after I achieved my MS certification, our local community college called me up, and asked if I would "build and administer" and "Metal Arts" program. I couldn't understand why they would be calling me, and when I asked, I was told "You just achieved a Master's certification", and that in their eyes it was the equivalent of any other Master's Degree.... so they wanted to hire me. I told them that I very much appreciated the offer, but I wanted to do my own thing. The point being, that opportunity would never have presented itself, had I not chosen the way I did. That is just one of many "doors" that opened because of making the choice/commitment to pursue the ABS path.