I am a proud new journeyman smith, I feel that along with that comes some responsibility of know the rules for using this stamp.My mama always said I should no the rules before I got in the game and I wouldn't have anything to complain about.
From what I have read and talked with other J.S AND M.S we should be only using our stamp on forged knives. I guess this brought up a question for me, I make my own Damascus like most of us do. I make a little full tang hunter in my Damascus, the only thing I forge is the shape of the tip. I leave the rest in bar form. So all in all this knife is mostly stock removal. Would I be able to stamp this or should I just put my name on it and call it good.
All comments are welcome as there is always much to learn in the do's and dont's department
God Bless
Billy Helton
Billy,
You can use the rules set out for the JS and MS tesing as an indicator. For instance, the MS Quillion dagger has to be damascus. Some patterns lose it's intended look and pattern when you forge the blade to shape. In these cases, it's fine to stock remove the blade, especially considering that you built up the damascus yourself. In your situation, I would use the stamp. If you bought your damascus and stock remove, I would not use it.
Some might consider the JS and MS a "part of their name" from the moment they were granted the stamp and display it on every knife or piece of work they make regardless of whether thay forged part or all or stock removed it all the way. I think each maker has to decide where the line is.
It's good to see that you are intuitive enough to ask and to see that there could be a difference. Congratulations again.
If I do any forging on the blade, I stamp my J.S. on it. If it is strictly stock removal, I don't. I also tell the customer that it is stock removal vs. forged.
Dale
Dale Huckabee
Journeyman Smith
dalehuckabeeknives.weebly.com
Hello Billy and congrats again. My take is, you forged the damascus and the point, probably just a basic blade shape. I would put the JS on it. Good question.
Brion
Brion Tomberlin
Anvil Top Custom Knives
ABS Mastersmith
Thanks for the quick reply's fellers.I kinda see where this is going. I should use my best judgment as to whether or not to use the stamp. I can dooooo that.
