We had sex 8 times in 12 days before testing
Why did you get a Western Blot?
It's likely he's had hsv1 for a long time. His result - 40.60 - suggests that it isn't a new infection, though that's not hard science.
The hsv1 IgG test misses a full 30% of infections. If you hadn't gotten the WB, I'd tell you it's possible that you had it, too, and didn't know it because the hsv1 test is so unreliable.
His hsv1 is statistically oral, though we have no real way of knowing that. This means that he is most likely infectious only from his mouth via kissing and oral sex.
Unfortunately, we do not have transmission rates for this. It hasn't been studied the way that hsv2 has been.
We do know that 67% of people under 50 have hsv1 globally. The vast majority of them - probably upwards of 90% - never get outbreaks. Your parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc., are quite likely to have it, too.
Over 50, the number goes up to about 80% as you age.
I don't mean to freak you out. I'm just saying that hsv1 is common enough to not rule this person out for dating if it is someone that you really care about. You'd have a hard time finding someone who doesn't have it, or who can reliably confirm that they don't have it, unless they take the WB. That's an expensive test to take, as you know.
If it concerns you, your partner can take daily suppressive meds to help reduce the risk of transmission. They haven't been studied in hsv1, but it's assumed that they work the same as they do with hsv2. Unless he has established kidney disease, they are safe. Talk to him about it. Ultimately, it's his decision on whether to take any medication, though.