2016 American Bladesmith Society Knife Auction - Knife Photos and Desciptions

Blade Show, Atlanta, GA - Saturday, June 4, 2016 at 10AM

Top makers in the world of bladesmithing have donated an exciting set of auction knives for the American Bladesmith Society Annual fund raiser at the 2016 Blade Show and International Cutlery Fair in Atlanta, GA on Saturday, June 4th, in Room #103 Cobb Galleria starting a 10:00 am.

As in past years the ABS gives the opportunity for bladesmiths to submit knives for its annual auction. One master smith and one journeyman smith are chosen to do a fixed blade, one master smith to do a folder, and two or more directors from the ABS board to do a knife of their choosing. This is our second year offering a new category to recognize the talents of our international ABS bladesmiths. The international auction knife by an ABS master smith showcases the talent of a growing number of worldwide ABS ranked smiths. This year the chosen maker is renowned ABS MS Rodrigo Sffredo from Brasil.

Each year there is one special knife donated to the ABS Auction to support the efforts of TOMB (see detail description below). This year celebrates the 50th anniversary of the historical event when Bill Moran presented modern damascus pattern welded blades to the knifemaking community. In honor of that even, the TOMB knife this year is an actual Bill Moran knife which was donated by the late Bud Branch.

On occasion the ABS will accept for auction a collaboration knife. In years past some of the ABS board members would frequently create a collaboration piece. More recently, we have occasionally accepted a collaboration piece that exemplifies the educational mission of the ABS; wherein a master smith, journeyman smith, and an apprentice smith have collaborated on a single piece. A collaboration folder is included in this year’s 2016 ABS Auction.

Of the seven knives pictured, there is one pattern welded light recurve fighter, a slip joint folder, one bowie with a dramatic hamon or temper line, one special hunter, one Gaucho style knife, one damascus bowie, and a Bill Moran skinner.

Let us take a look at these fantastic knives.

ABS International Master Smith Auction Knife of 2016

Maker: Rodrigo Sfreddo, Master Smith (Brasil)

Modern Gaucho Knife. The skill and artistry of one of the world’s greatest bladesmith, Rodrigo Sfreddo, is brought out in this exceptional piece. The Damascus knife has an integral guard construction with an amazing complex handle construction that is Rodrigo’s keyhole style. The handle has a hidden tang which supports the strength of the keyhole style structure. Rodrigo has offset keyhole with a polished steel border. Impressive craftsmanship. The Damascus steel is composed of 125Cr1 and 15N20 steels. The pattern is a dramatic W pattern. This piece is just astounding in its beauty and complexity.

ABS Journeyman Smith Auction Knife of 2016

Maker: Stephan Fowler, Journeyman Smith

Light Recurve Fighter. Stephan Fowler is presents for auction a superb piece. The blade of this light fighter is 1400 plus layers of W2 and Wrought Iron forged to perfection with the intentional look of the old Bloomery style steel used in knives and swords prior to the 1800s. The steel produced by these early furnaces often had steel with varying degrees of carbon. Master smiths at the time would often pattern weld the steel to make high quality steel for a sword or knife. Stephan’s goal was to reproduce the look and the blade exhibits this quality. The blade is approximately 8.5 inches. The guard on this superb piece is twisted W pattern Damascus shaped into a double style guard. Filework and a heat treated Titanium spacer accent this excellent donation to the ABS. the handle material is ancient bog oak with domed stainless pin. The leather sheath that accompanies the knife has ray skin panels and the inside of the sheath is lined in doe skin.

ABS Master Smith Auction Knife of 2016

Maker: Timothy Potier, Master Smith

Damascus Bowie Knife. Timothy Potier makes this year’s Master Smith knife. This is a highly crafted and exciting bowie knife the measures 19 inches overall. The knife is 7/16 inch thick with a blade the measures 21/4 inches in width. The damascus blade steel is a combination of L6 and W2 pattern welded construction. Timothy added 1/8 inch thick L6 shim stock at the 80 layer count before folding to achieve a total of 326 layers. The added L6 gives three bold stripes on each side of the blade. Timothy indicates that this gives an overall appearance of “rivers and ripples” on the blade. The guard on the knife if A36 steel heat blued with a torch. The ferrule on this piece is constructed of three pieces of German Silver. The center piece is hammered providing a strong visual textured contrast to the medley. The handle is Sambar stag of exceptional quality. The buttcap is 3/16th German Silver with a hand filed star burst pattern. The knife is accompanied with an alligator leather sheath hand made by Scott McInnis from Shreveport, LA. A wonderful piece from a great master smith.

ABS Master Smith Folder Auction Knife of 2016

Maker: Brion Tomberlin, ABS-Master Smith

(To be shown soon)

ABS Board of Directors Auction Knife of 2016

Maker: Kevin Cashen, ABS-Master Smith

Special Bowie Knife. Kevin Cashen’s unbelievable talent is easily seen in this handsome 14 inch overall bowie knife. The steel is 1095 AISI which Kevin forged to a 9.25 inch blade. Kevin Cashen is known for his superb metallurgical knowledge and he used this expertise to create a blade with a classic choji style hamon or temper line. The blade was polished to over 2000 grit finish to reveal the dramatic crystalline structure and activity in the hamon. Complementing this fantastic piece is a fossil walrus handle. This is an amazing piece. Clean lines and simply beautiful.

ABS Board of Directors Auction Knife of 2016

Maker: James Rodebaugh, ABS-Master Smith

ABS TOMB Auction Knife of 2016:

Maker: William Moran, Late ABS Founder and ABS-Master Smith

Bill Moran swept back skinner. Each year the American Bladesmith Society has provided TOMB, The Order of the Mystic Brotherhood, the opportunity to auction a knife to raise monies for the organization. TOMB is a fellowship organization that uses its funds to support the ABS Schools. This year the TOMB knife is a Bill Moran swept back skinner donated to TOMB by the late knife collector, Bud Branch. This is a rare Moran knife in excellent condition with a sheath made by Master Smith Jay Hendrickson. The handle is curly maple and the fittings are brass. This is an exceptional collector piece.

* All knife photography for the 2016 ABS Knife Auction was by Eric Eggly at Point Seven Studio. Thank you Eric!

**A copy of the current financial statement of the American Bladesmith Society, Inc. is available by writing American Bladesmith Society, Inc., P.O. Box 160, Grand Rapids, Ohio 43522 or by calling (419) 832-0400. Documents and information submitted under the Maryland Solicitations Act are also available, for the cost of postage and copies, from the Maryland Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis MD 21401, (410) 974-5534.