bladesports, lanyards...

[spyken]

I've been looking at Bladesports cutting competitions on youtube.

- For the multievent competitions - what are the various requirements? I saw cigarette paper, tennis balls, golf balls even...

- Also, what is the Osbourne lanyard and how does one tie it?

- I also noticed that most competitiors had a similar looking blade ie. a squared off 2 inch wide 10 inch blade which functions purely as a chopper as opposed to an all round knife. Is there a particular reason? What is the usual material/steel used for these competition cutters? how thick are they and how thick are the blades at the edges?

Pics would really help.

 

[GrinderMcgee]

Check here

The blade material varies. I believe this one is made from CPM M4.

You can see the specialized weight distribution of this fine competition knife.

Others are made from 01, it all depends on the maker.

There is no regulation knot as far as I know for the lanyard, but it must be forward on the handle and usually has a twist or two. See here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2XfJOFOjJY

Unfortunately for me, most of the competitions are located in TX.

Hope this helps.

 

[Ankerson]

I've been looking at Bladesports cutting competitions on youtube.

- For the multievent competitions - what are the various requirements? I saw cigarette paper, tennis balls, golf balls even...

- Also, what is the Osbourne lanyard and how does one tie it?

- I also noticed that most competitiors had a similar looking blade ie. a squared off 2 inch wide 10 inch blade which functions purely as a chopper as opposed to an all round knife. Is there a particular reason? What is the usual material/steel used for these competition cutters? how thick are they and how thick are the blades at the edges?

Pics would really help.

Most are ground very thin behind the edge for better performance and are also Customs made just for Blade Sports Competitions. They are single purpose knives.

 

[Stainz]

The Osborne designed Benchmade 171 'BladeSports' Chopper is interesting - and, as a corporate sponsor of BladeSports, the choice for their factory sponsored competitor, Gary Bonds. Not cheap - an MSRP of $350 (Street price from $239-$299.) - it is a 1.7 lb CPM-M4 blade of .309" at the spine by 9 5/8" at the straight edge. I made the mistake of looking one over one too many times - Mrs. Stainz/Santa got me one for Christmas! Unlike the earlier models I saw in the stores late last summer and the one in BM's 2010 catalog, neither mine or the current one in another store have the 'BladeSports' logo emblazoned on the side shown below:

I am not sure what the missing logo means. For 'scale', note the Bark River T.U.S.K. by it - a more useful Wharncliffe-style fb. The 171 is neat - I just don't know what to use it for. Dicing cilantro for salsa? The ultimate 'neck knife'? It'll need a better sheath than the plain jane Kydex one supplied. The rivet holes are larger - and spaced at 2x the MOLLE spacing. Not secure enough for a neck knife, either. Paul Hogan's 'Croc Dundee' character might like it. I let my brother handle it - I guess he's my 'half brother' now.

Stainz

 

[spyken]

thanks guys....I was wondering how people secure lanyards. the youtube video shows one twist, I've seen someone wrap it around thumbs etc. I read somewhere that hte Osborne lanyard tied upfront prevents the knife from swinging back and cutting the cutter? how does that work?

how does a blade ground thin at the edge stand up against cutting a golf ball? those damn things are hard like rock!

they use O1? wow, that's amazing how the O1 can retain its edge....

 

[spyken]

that Crowell-Barker looks great. where's the best place to get those choppers? does cutleryshoppe have them?

 

[Ankerson]

thanks guys....I was wondering how people secure lanyards. the youtube video shows one twist, I've seen someone wrap it around thumbs etc. I read somewhere that hte Osborne lanyard tied upfront prevents the knife from swinging back and cutting the cutter? how does that work?

how does a blade ground thin at the edge stand up against cutting a golf ball? those damn things are hard like rock!

they use O1? wow, that's amazing how the O1 can retain its edge....

[youtube]UU__hqhUM6Q[/youtube]

 

[Jose Diaz]

I've been looking at Bladesports cutting competitions on youtube.

- For the multievent competitions - what are the various requirements? I saw cigarette paper, tennis balls, golf balls even...

There are no specific requirements, except that every cutter at the event face the same challenge. The stations must be consistent and equal for all. The 2x4 is not always consistent, but is typically chosen from the same bundle and is drawn randomly. We like to have an equal number of chopping and finesse cutting stations.

Also, what is the Osbourne lanyard and how does one tie it?

As stated above, the Osborne safety lanyard is the foreword lanyard hole. It doesn't refer to a knot. Not invented by Mr. Osborne, but attributed to him in its plication to the competition knife. 99.9% of competition knifes use this, and I personally believe it to be a great safety in the use of choppers and camp knives.

- I also noticed that most competitiors had a similar looking blade ie. a squared off 2 inch wide 10 inch blade which functions purely as a chopper as opposed to an all round knife. Is there a particular reason? What is the usual material/steel used for these competition cutters? how thick are they and how thick are the blades at the edges?

All competition knives, though similar in appearance, are different on closer inspection. Kinda like the NASCAR race cars. They look similar but "under the hood" there are some differences.

This knife was made out of CPM M4

This knife was made out of 1080/15N20 Damascus

This knife was made from 52100

This knife was made out of O1

By far, right now CPM M4 is the most popular, but I have found that all these materials, when properly heat treated will perform well in a competition.

The Osborne designed Benchmade 171 'BladeSports' Chopper is interesting - and, as a corporate sponsor of BladeSports, the choice for their factory sponsored competitor, Gary Bonds. Not cheap - an MSRP of $350 (Street price from $239-$299.) - it is a 1.7 lb CPM-M4 blade of .309" at the spine by 9 5/8" at the straight edge. I made the mistake of looking one over one too many times - Mrs. Stainz/Santa got me one for Christmas! Unlike the earlier models I saw in the stores late last summer and the one in BM's 2010 catalog, neither mine or the current one in another store have the 'BladeSports' logo emblazoned on the side shown below:

I am not sure what the missing logo means. For 'scale', note the Bark River T.U.S.K. by it - a more useful Wharncliffe-style fb. The 171 is neat - I just don't know what to use it for. Dicing cilantro for salsa? The ultimate 'neck knife'? It'll need a better sheath than the plain jane Kydex one supplied. The rivet holes are larger - and spaced at 2x the MOLLE spacing. Not secure enough for a neck knife, either. Paul Hogan's 'Croc Dundee' character might like it. I let my brother handle it - I guess he's my 'half brother' now.

Stainz

The missing BladeSports logo doesn't mean anything. This knife is becoming very popular amongst competitors and is becoming the majority knife at competitions. It's the least expensive CPM M4 production knife out there, and is literally a lot of bag for your buck.

how does a blade ground thin at the edge stand up against cutting a golf ball? those damn things are hard like rock!

Golf balls are a peice of cake. Come to a training some time and we'll show you how easy they realy are.

 

[dantzk8]

All competition knives, though similar in appearance, are different on closer inspection. Kinda like the NASCAR race cars. They look similar but "under the hood" there are some differences.

I don't have any clue of the competition blades subtilities but the least i can say is that all your choppers look amazingly powerful. Art knives in their own way.

Thanks for the pics.

dantzk.