Question for makers - what's YOUR favorite bowie?

[RogerP]

Okay, we all know that the term ?bowie? has come to describe a very wide variety of knives with quite dissimilar designs. But what does your favorite bowie look like? I don?t necessarily mean the one that is most popular with your customers, but rather your personal favorite of the ones you have made. It could be a standard model, or a one-off design.

For those of you who feel hard-pressed to pick a favorite, consider the question another way ? say a member of your family or close personal friend asks you to make a knife for them and says ?Make me a Joe Bladesmith bowie.? No further instructions are given.

So Joe, what does that knife look like ? dimensions (heck, I?ve seen ?bowies? in blade lengths from 5? to 15?); blade shape (clip point, spear point, straight back, broad or narrow); blade material (what?s your favorite choice of steel for this application); guard; handle design and material? or anything else that describes the design or construction of the knife.

If you?ve got a pic of your favorite bowie, so much the better. If you have a pic but have difficulty posting it just e-mail it to me and I?ll post it for you.

Thanks,

Roger

[Don Halter]

coffin handle..ivory or MOP with sliver edging
oval fileworked/etched gaurd of blued steel as a base
9-11" clip point blade...fairly slender with a long but shallow clip

[Jason Cutter]

To me a Bowie is a large utility knife with a double guard. Needs to be tough and the blade and handle design needs to be suitable for swigning and chopping tasks. I suppose a blade >6inches and a full height flat grind or convex grind makes it look the part. A dropped edge also makes it look the "Mr Bladesmtih Bowie" part. Beyond that the permutations are endless.

Ones I've made ?

My favourite Bowie for myself is one that is about 7.5-8inches in the blade, 1075/1080/195 type steel with a hamon (O-1 if I'm going to take it outdoors), a bit lighter a whippier in the blade. PICTURE #1.

However, I could also go against my own definition and say that for all-round use, a smaller Bowie-inspired piece with a 4-5inch blade would be far more practical. PICTURE #2.

[Ray Rogers]

I haven't made my favorite bowie yet but I will. I've hammered out a couple that haven't quite made the grade but, one day, they will. When that happens I'll end up with a knife that has a strong Bill Bagwell influence, similar to Jason's Lightfigter above, but with an 11" blade and a forward facing C guard .....

[JimmySeymour]

My favorite for using would be a spear point with a 10 to 12" blade. Double guard with nothing fancy for a handle. For just pure enjoyment I would love to have a Tim Hancock spear point or clip point damascus bowie with mammoth grips, and blued fittings. All the engraving and emblishments. I'm not a fan of big clip points but love Tim's design as well as John Fitch's as well.

[hammerdownnow]

SEARLES

[Lloyd Hale]

My all time Favorite was an English style Flat ground Bowie and Black Leather sheath made by Buster in the early 1970's.... I still see that knife in my mind which reminds me why I don't like him very much.....

[severtecher]

I like Steve Shiffers Pearl River Bowie. I am going to get one someday. For a factory model I like Al Mars 4009, Alaskan Bowie.

[JimmySeymour]

I didn't even think historically when I made my previous comment. I would love to have and IXL Westenholm bowie, or for me the holy grail a Samuel Bell. Since a good origianl of either is out of my budget I would like to have Micheal Connor from winters make me a replica of a samuel bell.

[RogerP]

Thanks very much for the replies guys. It?s great to see the wide variety of styles represented here.

Jason ? that Lightfighter bowie is a beautiful design ? cool wood for the handle too.

JimmySeymore ? glad to see I?m not the lone Samuel Bell fan around here. Here is a Ron Newton repro. of a Bell knife (Point Seven photo):



And a Bailey Bradhsaw bowie inspired by a Bell design (though not a repro.):



Cheers,

Roger