American Bladesmith Society

The American Bladesmith Society or ABS is a non-profit organization composed of knifemakers whose primary function is to promote the techniques of forging steel blades. The ABS was founded by knifemaker William F. Moran, who came up with the concept in 1972 when Moran was chairman of the Knifemakers' Guild and he introduced Damascus steel blades at an annual show; in 1976 he incorporated the organization and received non-profit status in 1985.^[1]

ABS knifemakers forge blades as opposed to making them via the stock-removal method. ABS has developed a system of ratings designating whether a member is an Apprentice, a Journeyman or a Master smith. ABS has partnered with several colleges to offer courses in bladesmithing and has launched its own museum.

History

Bill Moran had been elected chairman of the Knifemakers' Guild in 1972. At that time, there were fewer than a dozen practicing bladesmiths in America, and this number was decreasing, whereas the number of stock removal knifemakers was increasing. To remedy this, Moran unveiled 8 pattern welded blades at the 1973 show, dubbing them "Damascus Steel" and handed out a booklet on how to forge the steel to the knifemakers in attendance.^[2]^[3]

Within months, a handful of knifemakers began making Damascus blades: Bill Bagwell, Don Hastings, Michael Connor, and Sid Birt. By 1976 more than a dozen bladesmiths were making Damascus steel and on December 4, 1976, Moran wrote the by-laws.^[4]

In 1985, the ABS held its first hammer-in at Dubois, Wyoming in conjunction with the University of Wyoming. The following year it was moved to Washington, Arkansas in conjunction with Texarkana College.^[5] This campus had a replica of James Black’s blacksmith shop where during the winter of 1830-1831 James Bowie purchased a knife from Black. This hammer-in, named the Piney Woods Hammer-In, still occurs semi annually.^[3]

In 1988, the ABS established the criteria for Mastersmith and Journeyman. In 1991, Moran stepped down as president but the Society unanimously elected him “Chairman Emeritus”, meaning that he would serve on the board for the balance of his life.^[3]

In 1988 on the grounds of Historic Washington State Park in Hempstead County, Arkansas, The ABS and Texarkana College founded a Bladesmithing School in collaboration with the Pioneer Washington Foundation and the Arkansas State Parks. The campus was located near where historians believe that James Black, created the Bowie knife. From 1988 to 2001, Bill Moran taught at least one class a year at the school from basic knife making to the forging of Damascus steel. Upon his retirement from teaching in 2001, the school was renamed the William F. Moran School of Bladesmithing.^[6] The American Bladesmith Society is now associated with Texarkana College in Arkansas, Haywood Community College in North Carolina, and the New England School of Metalwork in Maine which offer Bladesmithing courses taught by experienced ABS Master Smiths and Journeyman Smiths.^[7]

The ABS launched its own museum and Hall of Fame in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 in conjunction with the Historic Arkansas Museum.^[8] The first year inductions were held in 1996: James Black, Jim Bowie, Don Hastings, B. R. Hughes, William F. Moran, and William Scagel.

Ratings

Apprentice

Bladesmiths join the ABS as Regular members and are rated as Apprentice Smiths. After a three (3) year period as a member they may apply for the Journeyman test.^[9]

Journeyman

An applicant is eligible to apply for Journeyman Smith judging and rating at the Annual ABS meeting, after they have been a member of the ABS for 3 years. Following the "Introduction to Bladesmithing Course", the applicant may take the test under the supervision of a Master Smith. The applicant must have personally forged and performed all work on the test blade, with no other person physically assisting in its construction or heat-treating. The test knife must be a carbon steel forged blade with a maximum overall length of 15 inches, maximum width of 2 inches and blade length of 10 inches. Damascus or laminated blades are not allowed as test blades. Once the test begins, no work, not even light stropping, may be done to the test blade. The test blade is used to cut a free hanging rope, chop through 2 2X4" pieces of lumber and retain an edge capable of shaving hair from the judge's arm. Lastly the knife is placed into a vise and flexed. The knife must spring back without breaking and remain functional. If successful, the applicant must submit 5 forged carbon steel knives for judging on symmetry, balance, and aesthetics.^[3]^[10] Knifemakers who have attained this title frequently use the suffix "JS" when informing the public about their knives.

Master smith

At the New York Knife Show in 1981, the first Master bladesmith ratings were awarded to: Bill Bagwell, Jimmy Fikes, Don Fogg, Don Hastings, Bill Moran, and James Schmidt. Years later tests were established for a maker to attain a rating of "Master smith". The tests for Master smith include using a forged Damascus steel blade with a minimum of 300 layers and fashioned as a "stick tang knife" (as opposed to a full-tang) to cut a free hanging rope, chop through 2 2X4" pieces of lumber and retain an edge capable of shaving hair. Lastly the knife is placed into a vise and flexed for 90 degrees. The knife must spring back without breaking and remain functional and not slip from the handle. Once the performance test is passed, the applicant must submit 5 knives to a panel of judges, all knives are judged on balance, beauty, and symmetry, but one must be an "Art Knife" or a "European style" dagger.^[11] The first smith to receive the Master title under these requirements was Wayne Goddard.^[3]^[12] Wyoming knifemaker Audra Draper became the first woman to hold a Master smith title in 1999.^[1] Knifemakers who have attained this title frequently use the suffix "MS" when informing the public about their knives.

References

1 2 Goddard, Wayne (2000). The Wonder of Knifemaking. Krause. pp. 107–120. ISBN 978-0-87341-798-3.
↑ Kertzman, Joe (2007). Art of the Knife. Krause Publications. pp. 224–226. ISBN 978-0-89689-470-9.
1 2 3 4 5 Lewis, Jack; Roger Combs (1992). Gun digest book of knives. DBI. pp. 58–64. ISBN 978-0-87349-129-7.
↑ Rasmussen, Frederick (2005). "William F. Moran". The Anvil's ring. Blacksmiths' Association of North America. 34: 15–16.
↑ "Historic Washington State Park overview". Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
↑ "Bill Moran Jr. (1925–2006)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
↑ "ABS Educational Programs". americanbladesmith.com. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
↑ "Historic Arkansas Museum". Retrieved 2011-03-08.
↑ "American Bladesmith Society FAQ". Retrieved 2011-03-12.
↑ "ABS Testing Rules and Guidelines for the Journeyman Smith Rating" (pdf). Retrieved 2011-03-12.
↑ "ABS Testing Rules and Guidelines for the Master Smith Rating" (pdf). Retrieved 2011-03-12.
↑ Dunkerly, Rick (2007). Art of the Knife. Krause Publications. pp. 74–76. ISBN 978-0-89689-470-9.

External links

The American Bladesmith Society

Knives and daggers

List of daggers List of blade materials

Types of knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boning Boot knife Bowie Bread knife Cane knife Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Electric knife Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Grapefruit knife Gravity knife Gunong Hunting knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kīla Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Mezzaluna Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Nakiri bōchō Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pocket knife Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife Santoku SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Tomato knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Warrior knife X-Acto Yanagi ba Yatagan

Types of daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh naka Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Hachiwara Hunting dagger Janbiya Kaiken Kalis Kard Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Mark I trench knife Ocean Edge Knife Parrying dagger Poignard Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō Marine Raider stiletto V-42 stiletto Yarará Parachute Knife Yoroidōshi

Knife manufacturers	Aitor Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Bear MCG Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Caber Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Cutlery DOVO Solingen Dexter-Russell Dirte Knives Eikhorn Ek Commando Knife Co. Emerson Knives Erizo F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Füritechnics Gerber Legendary Blades Global Golok Hanwei Imperial Schrade J. A. Henckels Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives MercWorx Microtech Knives Morseth Murphy Knives Ontario Knife Company Opinel Pro-Tech Knives Randall Made Knives Ranz Rigid Knives Rösle SOG Specialty Knives Sabatier Aîné & Perrier Spyderco Strider Knives Survival Aids TEKNA Thiers Issard Tramontina Victorinox Vox Knives W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Walther arms Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Windlass Steelcrafts Wüsthof Yarara Ltd

Knifemakers	A.G. Russell American Bladesmith Society Rex Applegate James Black Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Phill Hartsfield Bill Harsey Jr. Gil Hibben Knifemakers' Guild Zanjan Knifemakers Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless Bob Lum William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler

Book:Knives and daggers Category:Knives / Daggers

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