Though I am not a member of the American Bladesmith Society (ABS) yet, what better way to practice making a high performance blade than to make one intended to stand up to their Journeyman Smith test? No frills, no joking about, just good steel and a good edge.

Some of the specs listed for the knife are speculative/aspirational until I make more progress with it. The intent is to develop a knife that passes as many of the criteria as possible that a blade would need in order to pass the ABS JS test. To save you from clicking, here's a summary of what standards I need to meet:

Blade Parameters/Construction

The blade is made of forged, homogeneous (no Damascus), high carbon spring steel. It must have a maximum blade length of 10 inches (25.4 cm), maximum overall length of 15 inches (38.1 cm), and maximum blade width of 2 inches (5.08 cm). Any handle configuration is OK. No special finish is required. The only ask is that it is "safe to use".

The Testing

The test consists of four steps, done in order.

1. Using a single motion, cut through a free-hanging 1-inch diameter rope (manila or sisal). The ABS test allows 3 attempts, but I will take more if I need to (since I will be working to refine the edge of my knife if it doesn't work).

2. Chop completely through a 2x4 construction grade pine stud, twice.

3. Using the part of the blade most heavily used in the chopping, demonstrate that the knife's edge is still sharp enough to reasonably dry-shave some hair off my arm or leg.

4. Clamp the knife in a vise, then bend it 90° to one side, then to the other. It should survive without breaking. Up to 1/3 of the edge chipping/cracking, and taking a permanent bend are fine and expected. This is a destructive test.

The Results

I performed the testing on December 6th, 2025. The test was a mixed success:

1. The rope cut test failed. I managed to cut halfway through the rope. However, due to the blade's performance in the other tests, this was due to lack of skill at rope cutting on my part, not a failure of the blade itself. In other words, I am more of a smith than I am a cutter.

2. The 2x4 chop test passed with flying colors. The blade chopped through both 2x4s cleanly, with no visible damage to the edge.

3. The shaving test passed easily. The blade shaved hair off my arm without issue, and actually shaved better than when I originally sharpened it.

4. The bend test passed. I bent it to roughly 100° in both directions, and it stayed in one piece. I observed no edge damage or other issues. The one neat thing is, as the blade is unpolished, some of the scale crackled and flaked off. This is not structurally significant, so I still consider the test a success.

Overall, this was a very positive outcome!

Check out the video of the experience: