Hard maple, dull blade, burning and glue.

a) from the char, probably. But(t) :) that isn't a butt joint, it's an edge...

b) probably, but no direct pointers to it.

c) no

d) Unasked, but answered anyway -- it's probably far more likely to have any failures given the description from rough edges and not fitting well than the burn marks.

Clean it up is best advice even though not what you wanted to hear...

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If the burning is not deep you should be able to quickly scrape the surface to remove the burns. If the whole surface is an even shade of brown you are probably OK.

If you see dark circular burn marks the burning may be deep and you may not have a flat surface, that would not provide a good glue joint.

It's not really that bad at all, and the edge is smooth. I did it on a slider with a TCG blade, and it's just a little light brown in a couple spots. I touched it with a hard block and don't expect any trouble. Thanks all. JP