Perhaps many of you have never heard of cutting competitions. I
hadn't either until recent years. I will try to tell you a little about
them, but will only speak of the ABS sanctioned competitions.
Starting this year (2005) the competitions have been
called challenges. Whatever they are called, they are quite
exciting and indeed challenging. They were conceived with multiple
benefits in mind. Even if they weren't in mind, the benefits soon became
clear as the events took place.
One obvious positive thing is that it gets many
knifemakers together at the same time to visit and rag each other.
Imagine a competitor taking a swing at the rope and missing. There is no
way you can do that in front of 25 guys and they not jeer and catcall
you all the way back to the line. It can be quite fun, even if
there is pressure on you to perform.
One of the main benefits of competing in the challenge
is it will test your knife in ways that are designed to see if it will
hold up under extreme usage. Knowing that your knife will hold up
under these conditions is good for you, but it also reassures your
potential customers that their hard earned money will not be wasted if
they invest in one of your knives.
The fact that it is done in public, only increases the
pucker factor. Keep in mind your knife edge must not chip or roll
during this challenge. This is not to say that those who choose
not to enter the challenge don't make a good knife. They probably
have been proven already and are allowing the younger guys to step up to
the plate.
The sequence of events that are chosen in the challenge
are done so with this in mind; first, abuse the blade. It's done
with things like the 2 X 4 chop, which is a timed event. Chopping
a 2 X 4 in half as fast as you can will test a blades heat treat,
tempering, and edge geometry. It will also test the guys wind and
stamina.
The 2 X 4 chop is often followed by another event which
will abuse the edge such as the can cut. A soda can is filled with
water and placed on the table. The cutter swings across trying to
slice the can in to two halves. There are many variations of the
can cut, sometimes allowing for bonus cuts for extra points. It
may make a big difference in the final score.
Another event that is common at this point in the
competition is the dowel cut where the cutter tries to cleanly cut
across a hardwood dowel at a designated point (between two pieces of
tape about 2 inches apart). You can see this will not only test
the edge geometry, but will test the cutter's accuracy.
Now is when the edge holding ability will be put to the
test. You have abused the edge and haven't rolled or chipped, but
will it still cut? Is it still sharp? The rope cut will let
you know. A one inch sisal or hemp rope is to be cut while hanging
freely from above. The rope is taped on the end and about 6 inches
up. You cut between the tape.
There is one more event that varies from cutting a ping
pong ball to shaving a business card to slicing toilet paper.
The accumulated points decide the winner. The
events change at the judges discretion to keep the surprise element
high.
I was fortunate enough to accumulate enough points to
win the 2005 Fall Cutting Challenge and qualify for the World Cutting
Challenge that will take place in Atlanta, GA in June of 2006. As
time permits and photographs are collected, I will be posting pictures
of that event and upcoming ones. If you get the chance to observe
one of these events, I know you will find it fascinating. Be
watching this site as the events unfold. Thanks, Lin Rhea JS.
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