Hello all,
Sorry if this has been addressed in another post but I searched and couldnt find it. I was reading the "JS Knife Test Specifications, B, 2. In order to adhere to blade length requirements, integral knives forged from round bar stock are not to be used for performance test blades" My question is this, can someone explain what this means? Does this mean the test knife cannot be forged from round bar stock at all? What does the stock having to be round or flat prior to forging, have to do with the length requirement? Again, sorry if this is a dumb question or has been asked/answered somewhere else.
Thank you for your patience and knowledge
Padrick O'Grady
Here is the reasoning, as per the board of directors discussion on the matter. The test blade can be no longer than 10" in blade length. For years "blade length" has been defined as measuring from the front of the guard, or where the guard would be to the point of knife. This would include a typical ricasso area in the measurement.
With the gain in popularity of integrals, concerns began to arise on how to define that line. On a really well executed integral from round bar there will be an elliptical line as the round transitions to the blade. But physical test knives are rarely well executed, they just have to perform, they don't have to be pretty. So, we could end up with confusion as to where to draw that line. On square stock there is not as much confusion since any such transition will can be made to initiate as a straight line across the flat side of the stock.
Thank you Mr. Cashen! It does answer my questions. Thanks again.
Padrick O'Grady
