Phil,

This is a good question. I have been pushing for a central location on the web for just such a thing. Now that the ABS site is a reality, maybe this is the time and place. I placed a photo of my MS test knives on my profile for just such a need and encourage all successful JS and MS applicants to do the same. Maybe we could do the same for the JS test group photos. When I was testing, one of the struggles was the decision of what types of knives to make to show the judges. I searched and searched for photos, just to see what others had presented for their knives. When I found a photo, I was very appreciative that someone took the time to place it where others could find it.

I have not really answered your question, but I felt this is a good time to make the point. One reason that the JS photos might be harder to find is that the makers are not as in tuned to the market needs at that level. So, some may be just getting to the point in their career of having them professionally photographed while others missed the chance to have them photographed all together in one picture. This might explain why they are hard to find.

Phil,

It would be great to have photo records of all of the JS and MS test knives. But, the issue is the expense of having the knives photographed. To date, it has been up to the maker to have their knives shot and pay for the photography themselves. It would be a lot for the ABS to ask of makers to pay for professional photography of their knives to supply us with photos to post somewhere. And, as generous as our knife photographer friends are, it would be a lot for us to expect of them to shoot maybe 20 or more sets of knives for free.

Perhaps if we provide a place for test knife photos to be published, it would entice makers to pay for the photography and send us the images to post there. Too, the photographers might consider a discount on test knife photos if they see a business advantage to them doing so. But, unless someone comes up with a resolution to the cost of having the knives photographed, I don't see a way to guarantee that all test knives will be photographed for publication.

Hello Phil, actually there are some sets on the ABS website. Look under testing and then JS guidelines. Near the bottom in a pdf file there are some photos of sets. There are also some MS sets in the MS guidelines.

http://www.americanbladesmith.com/index.php?section=pages&id=172

I agree with Steve. Having your set photographed is not cheap and therefore not that many makers have their knives professionally photographed. So not everyone who passes gets the set pictures. Plus this a fairly recent thing say within the last five to ten years. Before that there were not many photos of the submission knives.

Maybe we can set up a section of the gallery for that.

Brion

Guys:

I have been posting the available photos of the Master Smith and Journeyman Smiths test knife sets since shortly after the ABS Website went online. They can be found on the ABS Website on the main menu under "Testing". I have the sections captioned as follows:

Examples of Previous Journeyman Smith Candidate Knives

The attached photos are posted in response to requests by ABS members for a posting of available photos of some of the knives submitted to the ABS Judging Panel by previous successful candidates for the Journeyman Smith rating in Atlanta.

Click below to view the available photos:

Journeyman Smith Candidate Knives.pdf

Examples of Previous Master Smith Candidate Knives

The attached photos are posted in response to requests by ABS members for a posting of available photos of some of the knives submitted to the ABS Judging Panel by previous successful candidates for the Master Smith rating in Atlanta.

Click below to view the available photos:

Master Smith Candidate Knife Photos

Video Example of Master Smith Performance Test

The ABS YouTube Channel displays a video clip of an actual Master Smith Performance Test to give an idea of the steps involved in a successful performance test.

It was taking many emails and telephone calls to many of the successful candidates each year to obtain these photos but I have found that the professional phographers have responded almost immediately to any request that I make for photos and I really appreciate it. These photographers are: Eric at Point Seven Studios, Jim Cooper at Sharp by Coop Photography, and Chuck Ward at Chuck Ward Photography. All of these photographers provide a lot of support to the ABS and ABS Website at no charge including the photographing of the winning knives by ABS members in Atlanta each year and the Annual ABS Auction Knives. My thanks to Eric, Coop, and Chuck!

I knew that we had a few , but I did not know they were being entered along the way. That's a great start of just such photos. This website has become the place to go for information about forged blades.

I wonder if there is a way to use the JS and MS testing guidelines as a place to offer any applicants encouragement to have the their test knives photographed.

I've been collecting as many as I can over the last few years. I gave Dan Cassidy a CD with all those I had collected up to last year.

I've been requesting new sets at Blade each year and have a nice small library going.