I've been an ABS member for just over a year now and while I still have 2 years before I can test for JS, I felt like this was a good time to familiarize myself with the process. I forged my blade to specs out of 1084, with a blade length of 9.5" and an overall length of 14.5". This was my first time blue backing a blade and it definitely was a learning experience. I filled a Pyrex dish with sand and water, but on my first attempt the blade settled into the sand a little further than I liked and the blue only traveled about half the width of the blade and I was afraid it would crack during the bend. So I did a second pass with my torch except this time I held the knife to keep it from sinking and I accidentally let the heat travel too far in one spot. I was super worried about this but in the end it didn't cause any problems for this test. I ordered a 25' roll of 1" manilla rope and let it free hang from a shelf. My first swing did not cut all the way through but that was because I came in at the wrong angle, and I also think I didn't swing fast enough. So second swing I aimed about 6" higher than the first attempt, corrected the angle, and it was a clean cut. The 2x4 chop was straight forward...on the first end I got about 3/4 ofnthe way through and the 2x4 split, ripping off about 2 feet as it broke off. So for the second go I chopped about 3/4 of the way through then flipped the 2x4 and finished the last 1/4 from the back side. Afterwards I inspected the edge and there wasn't any damage whatsoever, still scary sharp so I went ahead and shaved my arm using the area of the blade that was most used during the 2x4 chop. Then I took the edge off with a used 120 belt and clamped it into my post vise. Using a jack handle, I slowly bent the blade until it was just past 90 degrees and it survived without even a crack. Needless to say I am very happy with how this knife performed and to know that had this been the actual performance test it would have passed. This was a great learning experience and I plan on doing this again next year around this same time. I forged this blade specifically for this task on recommendations I came across by a MS. It has a full flat grind, uniform width for most of the blade, and uniform thickness with no distil taper. I highly recommend any apprentice aspiring to attain their JS rating to do this at least once.
Here's a pre quench shot
Finished knife before testing
And here's the aftermath
Hello Jesse,
Congratulations on your progress. I just wanted to point out that the blue going to the edge is serious enough that if I were testing somebody, and saw blue touching the edge, I would disqualify the blade for testing. You don't have to leave the tempering colors on the blade so here I am walking in a gray area of almost telling folks to cheat, but if you leave the tempering colors on, there is no hiding that blue touching the edge and that the blade is not fit for testing. So in the end it is sort of up to you on wanting the best you can do if such a condition exists, that is, of course, if the blued edge area can even survive the 2X4.
@Kevin Cashen Thank you for your reply. I was worried about the bluing touching the edge and whether that would even be allowed to test, now i know. Had this been the actual test knife I would have scrapped it and started over. I don't know if I will sand the bluing off of my actual test knife, but I left it on this one because I'm not trying to hide my mistakes and I wanted to be honest and upfront. It would have been very easy to cheat as you put it, but then I would have sacrificed my personal integrity. I actually do have a question though. If you look at the finished blade, you can see a tan line running down the blade. That's where the sand line was and when I first blued the spine that's where the bluing stopped. I was afraid that wasn't far enough down and that it might crack more than 1/3rd during the bend. Say I had left it, do you think the blade would have survived? Since this was my first attempt at blue backing I am going to make a little jig to clamp the tang into so I can hold the edge in the sand/water without it sinking for more accurate, repeatable results. Again, thanks for your time, I always appreciate the input and advice.
