Thank you Dan for adding the post about the ABS Expo. I hope everyone is excited about the 2012 Expo, which is double the size of the last one. We have some of the top bladesmiths in the country coming to San Antonio in January. At this time we are working on advertising and possibly getting some other displays. The hotel has been so impressed with our group (they refer to all of us as the good looking cowboys in sport coats)that they were willing to work with us on changing our dates back the original Reno dates. With this change being made we should not have to worry about 100+ Texas heat. Most of you have probably heard that the Expo will be three days this year. This will give us a full weekend of sales, seminars, and good fellowship (and lots of good food)! Keep an eye on the website (www.absknifeexpo.com) for updates. Check out this forum for updates as well!

Thank you Harvey and welcome to the ABS Forum!

I know that you, Deborah, the members of the ABS Expo Team, and many others are working very hard to make the ABS Expo in January 2012 in San Antonio, Texas a successful event. I have a copy of your article "See You in San Antonio" and have displayed it below for our members and those interested in the forged blade:

See You in San Antonio

by: Harvey Dean

On the 8th of July in 1976, a group of men gathered in a small workshop in Louisiana. This shop wasn’t just your ordinary workshop. It was a shop dedicated to the craft of forging blades and making knives.

I am sure that there was plenty of talk about knives and probably some tobacco chewing done in Bill Bagwell’s shop that day. Most importantly, three bladesmiths and two writers—Bill Moran, Bill Bagwell, Don Hastings, Bill Hughes & Bill Jordan—got together and the seeds were planted for what became the American Bladesmith Society. It was an important day in the history of the ABS because five months later a charter was signed and the organization was officially founded.

A lot has happened in the ABS since 1976, and one can only expect that another historic event for the ABS will take place on January 27- 29, 2012 in the town of San Antonio, Texas. Like the ABS, San Antonio has a unique history of its own. This gem of the Texas Hill Country is known for a blending of rich Spanish and German cultural traditions, and a unification of the old world and the new. Those who visit the ABS All Forged Blade Expo, which will be held at the Sheraton Gunter Hotel, will have the opportunity to browse the same streets and squares that were once roamed by men like James Bowie, Davy Crockett, William B. Travis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and Theodore Roosevelt.

The Expo will start Friday, January 27th, at 9 am with seminars that will be held every hour on the hour until 1 pm. Starting at 12 noon there will be a one hour preview of the knives for registered VIPS, followed by open sales to the public from 1 - 6 pm. The first day of the ABS Expo will end with a social hour beginning at 6:30 pm followed by a banquet at 7 pm. Knives will be available for open sales on Saturday from 10 am - 5 pm and Sunday from 10 am - 2 pm.

If you are able to find extra time at the Expo there are a lot of things to see in and around historic San Antonio. You might start with the San Antonio River Walk, any of five different Spanish missions, one of a variety of museums and galleries, the San Antonio Zoo, the IMAX Theater, Sea World, Fiesta Texas, the Majestic Theater, or perhaps even the Spanish Market. Did I mention the food? There’s great food and plenty of it! Some may be worried about the hot weather in August. Just remember when you hear the saying “Everything’s bigger in Texas,” that goes for the air conditioners too.

If you are interested in a more extended stay, you might like to cool off while tubing the Comal River or dine on German cuisine in historic New Braunfels, visit a Bed & Breakfast in Fredricksburg, see the beauty of Texas wildflowers at Wildseed Farms outside of Johnson City, pay a visit to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco, or drop into Luckenbach (population 3) just so that when somebody says “Let’s go to Luckenbach Texas” you can say “I’ve been!”. Whatever brings you to San Antonio, whether it be the excitement of the show, the history and culture of city, or the magic of dining with friends on the Riverwalk at night to the music of mariachi bands, we hope you’ll enjoy your stay and we’ll see you at the Expo in San Antonio.

Thanks Dan

Thanks for the post Dan. Harvey makes some great points. By doubleing the show in size the ABS has created a show that is a must attend event for collectors of forged knives. One of the things that is most exciting to me is the fact that the ABS is now testing its new ABS Master and Journeyman Smith applicants at the ABS Expo. This is history in the making. I am very excited to see what the applicants bring to the show not to mention the excitement that this will infuse into the Expo. Kudos to the ABS board for this decision.

I can't wait for the show and by January I will be ready for a trip south out of the snow!

Josh Smith

I agree that there are many new and interesting aspects to the addition of the ABS Expo in San Antonio as a location for Journeyman Smith and Master Smith judging by the American Bladesmith Society. Among them is a recent update to the rules by ABS Chairman Greg Neely regarding eligibility to test which I have posted on the ABS Website under the "JS Testing" tab. This update may be a benefit to some ABS members planning on submitting their knives for judging in San Antonio.

The pertinent part of the updated eligibility calculation rule that takes the additional judging date in January at the ABS Expo and "time in grade" into consideration that I am referring to is quoted below:

Journeyman Smith Testing

As you probably are aware, a bladesmith who joins the ABS must be a Regular (Apprentice) member for three (3) years before he or she is eligible to present knives to the judging panel at the annual Blade Show in Atlanta or ABS Expo in San Antonio, with the anniversary based on the date of that semi-annual ABS business meeting or event. For example, if, as it was in my case, a member joins in November, the months from November to the end of May will be more or less excess time if one choses to be judged at the Blade Show in Atlanta. "Time in grade", or the time the membership has exisited will be calculated from the following May or June, depending on the date of the Blade Show in Atlanta. The Blade Show in Atlanta will always fall in late May or early June.

Alternately, if one chooses to have his or her knives juried at the Expo at the end of January, he or she should be aware that their "time in grade" will be calculated from the time of the last January Expo, even though the membership may have been in place a few months longer. The member would, however, benefit from the months January through May in this case, should the knives be juried at the Expo, the following January, rather than the Blade Show. Although your ABS membership must be renewed each January 1st, the time requirement for having your knives juried runs from event to event in one (1) year increments.

Those who attend the Basic Bladesmithing Course are afforded a year's discount, and are therefore eligible to submit knives for Journeyman in only two (2) years. For this reason, it's a good idea to hold on to that graduation certificate. In either case, bladesmiths may schedule and take the physical cutting and bending test one (1) year prior to their eligibility date. Keep in mind, however, that this test is only good for a period of three (3) years. Should the smith not receive his or her rating by this time, he or she must retest before having knives juried at either event.

Just wanted to let you know tables are filling up fast. We still have 3 or 4 available. The tables are open to all ABS smiths--masters, journemens and apprentice smiths. The Expo is shaping up real good and should prove to be a very good show this year. Getting our old January Expo dates back should result in average weather of about 70 degrees. This year will be a three day show. You can refer to the website for times. If all goes right this will be the first year we will actually be able to have an outside forging demo. This will greatly help our education to all those who attend. There will also be judging for master and journeyman stamps, which some have already signed up for. If you would like to test make sure you contact Dan Cassidy about eligibility. We will also be giving awards for the best master and journeyman knife. These will be the Pilkington and Nelson awards. These were two men very instrumental in getting the bladesmithing school at Old Washington, AR. It seems like a long time off but January is fast approaching. Make plans to attend! If you have any questions feel free to email or call me or refer to the Expo website.

Just wanted to make a few comments about the ABS Exposition coming up in Jan. This is the showpiece for the ABS and the forged blade. The top bladesmiths with their A game. It will be great.

We will be doing a lot of seminars at the show. There are some that I have to try to attend; so much to learn, so little time.

I will be doing a seminar on js requirements. I can't go over all of it here, my fingers type real slow; but I would like to say that if you are planning on getting your js stamp in the future;this is a must do thing.

We will be going over the little things that can bite you that you need to watch out for. Most of the seminar will be about basic clean work but we can also answer specific questions on how, what and why.

For the collectors out there who would like more information on what to look for in a knife; this will be a very informative session. It will help you to train your eye to see the things that you want to collect.

I look forward to seeing you in San Antonio.

Mike

I am scheduled to do a demo on handles and guards at the ABS Expo. There have already been some really good demos on this topic at past Expos. Terry Vandeventer put on a very good handles and guards demo last year. Not wanting to cover too much that has already been covered before, I am looking for suggestions about specific techniques that attendees may be interested in seeing.

I have offered to demo how I do the fluting and wire inlay channels on MS style dagger handles. If there is interest in this, I'll cover this technique.

To bring something new to the table, I am considering showing how I use a computer program to design knife fittings. I design complete knives on my computer and use the drawings to make paper patterns that I attach to the knife materials and then cut out the parts. I also use the software to design patterns for my engraving. If there is sufficient interest in this topic, I will bring my computer and show how it is done.

Let me know if you are interested in either of the two techniques I have suggested, or if there is anything specific that you would like for me to cover.

Steve:

Both of your ideas for topics would provide excellent material for presentations in San Antonio. I would like to see your presentation on using a computer program to design knife fittings. I think that many would benefit from the presentation and I have some ideas on how we could use this information on the ABS Website for our members.

Hello Steve;

I think your ideas for Demos are great choices! I would attend both Demos. I am interested in the computer design, and how it is done.

Russell

I will be domonstrateing knife lanyards and fancy knot work. So far i am thinking a spanish ring not a turks head and possibly a pineapple knot along with possibly doing a four or eight strand braid is there anything else anyone would like to see?

Steve

What program do you use in your design? For those interested in using their computer to design knives, the program may be a good addition to Christmas lists <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />, and having a little experience with the program before your demo may prove beneficial to those in attendance when they get home.

Erik

I would enjoy seeing pictures of the work you have described. I don't think I have seen an 8 strand braid or if I have, I didn't know it -- but it has my interest.

Thanks guys

Brian

Hey Brian,

I use Corel Draw. I have version X4. Corel has version X5 out now. "Draw" comes with a suite of software that includes photo editing software, though I don’t' use it much. It also includes "Capture"; which can be handy. "Capture" allows you to copy whatever is on your computer monitor and turn it into an image. Anyway, it's a package deal with all of the software included. You can't buy "Draw" as a stand-alone.

"Draw" is capable of a LOT of things that I don’t' even use. One cool thing about it is that I can design complete knives on the computer. I can then turn the drawings into a PDF file to email to customers. If the knife is larger than a sheet of paper, you can have it print the drawing on multiple sheets. Each sheet has reference marks for aligning with the other sheets, so you can put the drawing together.

I use the drawings that I have created to make patterns for making knife parts. I print the drawings and glue them to the materials for cutting out. The lines that the printer makes are much smaller than I can draw with a pencil. So, it is easy to cut and grind the parts to within a few thousands of an inch of perfect.

I also use "Draw" to make designs for engraving. I can do scrolls and leaves on the computer much easier than I can draw them by hand. I save all of the designs that I come up with so I can build new designs out of the scrolls and leaves that I have previously created. The small lines are easy to follow with a graver.

There is SO much more that "Draw" is capable of. That's why I offered to do a demo on it.

Here's a link to Corel's web site, where you can purchase the "DrawX5" software suite. But, I have heard that it is possible to find "Draw" on EBay for less.

Corel DrawX5