Rifletuner Posted April 28 Report Share Posted April 28 For the last 18 months I have been working towards becoming a member of the Australian Knifemakers Guild. The Guild has two categories of knife makers, a Probationary Member and a Full Member. There is a third category Life Member if selected & voted for by the membership, but there are only a handful of these. At a high level, you can think of it in terms of a Probationary Member being an entry level knife maker, and a full member is an advanced knife maker. Thats not a perfect description, but its near enough. To advance to these levels, there is a formal checklist of requirements (see here if interested https://akg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/FULL-DOC-Assessment-Checklist-for-Guild-Membership.pdf). To get to Probationary membership, you need to present 3 knives for assessment and achieve a mark of 10 out of 20 for each knife. Once you are a Probationary Member, you can sit for Full Member a minimum of 12 months later and need to achieve a minimum of 18 out of 20 for each of the 3 knives, but there are also specific things you need on the assessment knives that are not required for the probationary test. I have been working for a while to get 3 knives to have assessed, but I keep on picking some fault and deciding its not at the standard required. Occasionally I have a really fantastic knife finished that I am super happy with, but its promised to someone with a very close deadline, so I cant hang onto it until I have the other knives I need to make up the set of three for assessment. Anyhow, I finally booked a date to go see Adam Parker, one of 2 Guild assessors in Vic, and a guy with over 30 years of knife making experience. Adam is between Geelong and Ballarat, and with the traffic on Wednesday, it took me 3 hours each way to go see him. I had a couple of knives that I recently finished, plus I was planning to use a kitchen knife I just finished a day before the appointment. But I found a few scratches on the blade that I wasn't happy with, so at the last minute I took a survival knife I finished a few months ago to make up the required knives. At the end of the assessment process, I ended up scoring 16 out of 20 for the survival knife, 18 out of 20 for the bushcrafter, and 20 out of 20 for the hunter. So as of Wednesday, I am a Probationary Member of the Australian Knifemakers Guild 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grunf Posted April 28 Report Share Posted April 28 I can feel just by reading your post how stressful this was for you and how anxious you were to present your best work. And to score such high scores at your first attempt!!!!! You can be proud of your achievement and skill. Congratulations and well done. I hope to buy a great knife from you one day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifletuner Posted April 29 Author Report Share Posted April 29 1 hour ago, grunf said: I can feel just by reading your post how stressful this was for you and how anxious you were to present your best work. And to score such high scores at your first attempt!!!!! You can be proud of your achievement and skill. Congratulations and well done. I hope to buy a great knife from you one day! Thanks mate. I appreciate it 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave9.3x62 Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 Wow, I never new of the guild and how hard it is. Well done. How are the points allocated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncs Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 20 / 20 for one of your first attempts!! I can’t imagine that happens very often? Well done mate - a great reward for some obviously very detailed work 👍 Looking forward to another post like this in 12 months! I’d say you’ll do pretty well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifletuner Posted April 29 Author Report Share Posted April 29 3 hours ago, Dave9.3x62 said: Wow, I never new of the guild and how hard it is. Well done. How are the points allocated? The assessment covers all aspects of the knife. Take a look at this checklist: https://akg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/FULL-DOC-Assessment-Checklist-for-Guild-Membership.pdf It gives a full breakdown of what the assessor looks at. Plus it saves me typing a detailed answer 🤣🤣🤣 2 hours ago, Duncs said: 20 / 20 for one of your first attempts!! I can’t imagine that happens very often? Well done mate - a great reward for some obviously very detailed work 👍 Looking forward to another post like this in 12 months! I’d say you’ll do pretty well I dont know what the scores usually look like. I actually didnt think to ask. I really thought I would be getting 10 to maybe 15 for each knife, so was pleasantly surprised. Full membership will take me a while I think. I already have an idea of the knives I want to build for that test, but I need a mill for that step. I think probably it will be a couple of years before I am at that stage. But its funny how you progress over time. I have been making knives since 2016, but it was really the lockdowns from 2020 that got me spending a lot of time making knives. So the last 4 years has been the bulk of the time I have been at it. And when I look back at the knives I have made, the serious development has been in the last 2 years. Hopefully I will be able to get out and do a few training sessions with good knife makers to focus on the things I need to do for the full member assessment. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave9.3x62 Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 2 hours ago, Rifletuner said: The assessment covers all aspects of the knife. Take a look at this checklist: https://akg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/FULL-DOC-Assessment-Checklist-for-Guild-Membership.pdf It gives a full breakdown of what the assessor looks at. Plus it saves me typing a detailed answer 🤣🤣🤣 I dont know what the scores usually look like. I actually didnt think to ask. I really thought I would be getting 10 to maybe 15 for each knife, so was pleasantly surprised. Full membership will take me a while I think. I already have an idea of the knives I want to build for that test, but I need a mill for that step. I think probably it will be a couple of years before I am at that stage. But its funny how you progress over time. I have been making knives since 2016, but it was really the lockdowns from 2020 that got me spending a lot of time making knives. So the last 4 years has been the bulk of the time I have been at it. And when I look back at the knives I have made, the serious development has been in the last 2 years. Hopefully I will be able to get out and do a few training sessions with good knife makers to focus on the things I need to do for the full member assessment. Interesting the assessment excludes temper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben338 Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 well done RT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifletuner Posted April 29 Author Report Share Posted April 29 12 hours ago, Dave9.3x62 said: Interesting the assessment excludes temper? Its part of point 20 "You should be able to answers specific questions regarding how and where the blade was heat-treated. And if done in shop, what procedures and equipment were used". A lot of people heat treat their own, but I get mine done by a heat treat shop local to me. I would like to do my own, but I need to sell a few more knives to afford the $6000 to $9000 for a heat treat oven. 9 hours ago, ben338 said: well done RT Thanks mate 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxdog Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 Well deserved from what we have seen here. Congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave9.3x62 Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 59 minutes ago, Rifletuner said: Its part of point 20 "You should be able to answers specific questions regarding how and where the blade was heat-treated. And if done in shop, what procedures and equipment were used". A lot of people heat treat their own, but I get mine done by a heat treat shop local to me. I would like to do my own, but I need to sell a few more knives to afford the $6000 to $9000 for a heat treat oven. Thanks mate Oh, shite didnt see that - man look victim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifletuner Posted April 30 Author Report Share Posted April 30 8 hours ago, Dave9.3x62 said: Oh, shite didnt see that - man look victim. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gryphon Posted May 1 Report Share Posted May 1 On 29/04/2024 at 8:54 AM, Rifletuner said: For the last 18 months I have been working towards becoming a member of the Australian Knifemakers Guild. As a recipient of your knife making skills i know that you deservedly warrant the title mate, a very well done F. My pic doesn't do this one justice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe.358win Posted May 1 Report Share Posted May 1 A result worthy of quality. Well done RT and look forward to hearing of updates after 12 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifletuner Posted May 1 Author Report Share Posted May 1 9 hours ago, gryphon said: As a recipient of your knife making skills i know that you deservedly warrant the title mate, a very well done F. My pic doesn't do this one justice. Thanks mate 👍 Its great to see it in action. That was my first ever knife from Magnacut steel. 8 hours ago, Joe.358win said: A result worthy of quality. Well done RT and look forward to hearing of updates after 12 months. Thanks mate 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
17dave Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago That's fantastic RT. Well deserved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifletuner Posted 2 hours ago Author Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 4 minutes ago, 17dave said: That's fantastic RT. Well deserved. Thanks mate 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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