2009 World Cutting Championship
The 2009 World Cutting Championship was presented by Bladesports International at the Blade Show in Atlanta, GA May 30, 2009. Bladesports International (BSI) stages a number of cutting competitions throughout the year around the U.S. Competitors earn points toward the season championship. The top 8 competitors from the U.S. are invited to compete in the World Cutting Championship each year at the Blade Show.
The competitors are assigned to two groups, Red Level for the more experienced cutters and White Level for those with lesser experience, but they all compete in the same events.
This year, we had our first international competitor, Ian Allen-Rowlandson from Northamptonshire, England representing the newly formed Bladesports U.K.
As always, a good crowd was on hand to watch the competition.
Jerry Fisk is always entertaining as the M.C. of the event.
Champion cutter Gayle Bradley walks the competitors through the course and explains each cutting challenge.
There are some cutting challenges that are always part of a multi-stage competition such as cutting 2x4s and hanging ropes. But, each competition features a couple of surprise cuts that the cutters cannot train for. This year, the surprise cuts were a a rolled up rice mat, plastic drinking straws, and slicing a full one gallon plastic water jug.
This year’s World Cutting Championship presented a tough course with 13 cutting challenges. The competitors started off by chopping through a 2x4 on edge as quickly as possible. The best cutters can chop through a 2x4 in less than 2 seconds. Next, they have to cut through a golf ball, ping pong ball, and tennis ball as they roll out of an inclined tube. Now they move on to a 1 inch thick hanging rope that must be severed in one stroke between two tape markers. Next, they must cut through a stack of wooden blocks followed by a wet rolled rice mat. They must then cut as many horizontal slices as they can from a full 1 gallon water jug. Next is a 1 ½ inch thick hanging rope, slicing a cardboard tube, cutting a wooden dowel rod within a marked area, and a 2 inch thick hanging rope. Now the competitors face two plastic drinking straws standing upright. The first must be sliced vertically and the second, which has a flexible end, must have a piece sliced off of the top without bending the straw. Finally they must again cut through a 2x4 on edge.
Most competitors will complete the course in about 1 minute. Obviously this competition is a real test of the cutter and the knife. It is quite a challenge to make a blade that will take some serious abuse cutting through solid wood and yet retain a fine enough edge to slice a paper tube or a drinking straw. The knives are inspected after each competitor finishes the course and if any damage to the blade is found, it is disqualified. Scoring is calculated by adding 100 to the course time and deducting points based on successful cuts. The low score wins.
Before the competition begins, Gayle Bradley offers some tips to Ian Allen-Rowlandson.
Chris Baker who finished 2nd in the years White Level season points led off the competition with a strong run and score of 78.
Chris takes aim at a hanging rope.
Donovan Phillips a strong contender with one overall win
and three third place event finishes this year to finish 2nd in the
Red Level season points standings. Donovan felt like trying to stay consistent
was the key to being competitive. Donovan uses a CPM-M4 knife that he named “The
Edge of the Delta” in honor of his home in Morton, Mississippi. Big Donovan
blasted out of the gate chopping through the first 2x4 with only seven mighty
chops and finished the course with a score of 75 to take an early lead.
Relative newcomer Shawn Scott from Red Rock, TX was up next
and turned in an impressive performance with his CPM-M4 knife made by Steve
Singer. Shawn is only in his third year of competition cutting and finished in 3rd
place in the White Level season points coming into this event. He surprised
everyone by shooting to the lead with a score of 65. Here, Shawn cuts slices
from a one gallon water jug.
Scott Devanna, a metallurgist with Crucible Specialty
Metals and one of the first non-knifemakers to compete in open competition,
takes his turn at the water jug. Scott is also a certified Instructor with
BladeSports. He finished the course with a score of 76 using a CPM-M4 knife made
by Warren Osborne.
Mike Eubanks of
Palmer, TX took the course next using a CPM-M4 Warren Osborne knife. Mike
struggled a bit on the course today and finished with a score of 89.
These two cuts are finesses cuts which require a razor
sharp blade. This is after chopping through a 2x4, hardwood dowel, golf ball, a
stack of wood slabs, a rolled rice mat and 3 hanging ropes. The first plastic
drinking straw must be sliced vertically. The second straw, which has a flexible
tip, must have the tip sliced off without bending the straw.
Jose Diaz was up next. Jose considered his strength to be
the 2x4 cut and the straws to be the most challenging for him. Jose set up a
course in his own backyard to practice for cutting events. His CPM-M4 knife has
a full distal taper so it’s much thicker at the very end of the knife. Jose
scored 81 on the course. Here, Jose severs a stack of wooden slabs.
Sam Fogler is in his first year of competition cutting and
is this years leader in the White Level season points. The collector-turned-knifemaker
also struggled with the course today and finished a score of 91 using a 01 steel
knife of his own making.
One of the judges, James Cook, inspects a blade to check
for damage after a competition.
Gary Bond, last year’s World Cutting Champion and this
year’s Red Level season points champion was a favorite to repeat as the winner
of this year’s World Cutting Championship. Gary won two events this year and
placed in the top four in six of the eight season competitions. Gary had a
really good run going until right at the end when he got hung up on the straw
cuts. He finished with a score of 72. Gary cleanly slices the top off of a one
gallon water jug.
The last cutter and the first ever International
competitor, Ian Allen-Rowlandson, made an impressive run to finish in 5th
place in the World Cutting Championship using his own knife made from 01 steel.
In the U.K. competitions, the cutters take turns competing in individual cutting
challenges instead of running a whole course of challenges at once. This was the
first time Ian had ever tried a multi-stage course competition.
After the regular competition, three cutters attempted to break the world record of cutting through a bundle of 17 1” hanging ropes. The current record is held by Ted Ott at 15 ropes.
Ian Allen-Rowlandson
was the first to try. His previous best was a bundle of 10 ropes. He gave it a
good effort but failed to make the cut.
Gary Bond gave
it a try and managed to cut through 9 of the 17 ropes.
Finally Jose
Diaz tried, but failed, to sever the bundle of ropes.
* Ted Ott's record of 15 1" ropes set May 9, 2009 still stands. See the video below.
2009 World Cutting Champion
Shawn Scott is presented with his Championship Belt buckle custom engraved by
Diane Scalese of GRS engraving.
Left to right; Diane Scalese and Linda Schreck of GRS, Shawn Scott, and Blade
Magazine publisher Jim Schlender.
Shawn Scott's championship knife and belt buckle.
It was another great competition. If you have the opportunity, I really recommend that you catch a cutting competition and meet some of the cutters. It is great fun and very educational for knife enthusiasts.