2011 BladeForums Best Bowie - Here are your finalists - let the voting begin!

[SBranson]

Tough call but I chose Gerhard Wieland.

Reading through many reasons for others' choices I didn't choose because it's the one I would own, or that in all ways it's my favourite or that it's even the best... I didn't try to look at this objectively.
It's because it's different, novel, original and though it bears some similarity to other carvers and casters (Broadwell, Hogstrom) it is fresh.
I basically chose because of the handle. The use of texture gives the sense of age but the line is more deco. The transition of the bronze to the stag is pretty much the reason I chose this knife as it sparked my imagination.

What sealed the decision was Kevin Jones' post. The others are fantastic, beautiful, accomplished works but they weren't as "new" a voice to me.
I could basically quote his post regarding my feelings on the other entries.

A Coop photo would have put Mr.Wieland's knife on a better footing if not only that the presentation would be the same for all entries and not become a source of difference. Well done Coop.. Amazing photography.

Congratulations to all. Beautiful work.

 

[sjknives]

I had to go with #7 Gerhard Weiland.
I'm really a sucker for great stag and his mating of the stag and bronze as well as the free flow of the entire piece caught my attention from the very start.
With that said, Thanks to Roger for putting this together. I think we are very priveledged to see such an extensive gathering of fine knives all in one place.

Regards,
Steve janik

 

[jdm61]

It was tough enough to get the field down to seven and now you want us to pick ONE? Sheesh!!! Oddly enough, I voted for the other wood handled Wieland piece as one of my top 7 yet, I have to go with his stag handled knife for my #1. Every time I see one of his knives, I still try to figure out how he did it. Very few makers still get that response from me, Rodrigo Sfreddo being another that comes to mind. Gerhard does this with blades of simple shallow hardening carbons steels with some forge finish left on the flats (which in many cases, I can take or leave........or just leave, if I am being honest),no damascus and and in many cases, fairly simple and perhaps pedestrian (egads!!!) raw materials for the fittings considering the complexity of the carving, etc, and yet I am still amazed at the elegance of his knives. The easily hold their own with the best of the mosaicly manipulated, jewel encrusted, engraved until they scream art pieces out thereand that is saying something.

 

[Joss]

Voting for Adam DesRosier's knife. It's the knife I would like to own more than any of the others. The damascus is stunning, and I love integral work (really semi integral here). Here are my thoughts on the other knives:

1 - Russ' stag handled sub hilt: To me this is a fighter more than a bowie. The subhilt makes it less versatile. More to the point, I am getting really tired of recurve blades, even though this is one of the most tasteful I have ever seen.

3 - Don's ladder damascus piece: Less ambitious than some of his other works. Also, for my personal taste, the blade is too long.

4 & 5 - I like those but again, they are not quite as ambitious as some of the other work shown. Also, I would like to have seen them with a rounded spacer rather than see the guard and the handle flow seamlessly.

6 - Don's awesome dog bone d-handle piece: Stunning display of skill, but for me the dog bone and the d-guard don't play well together. Also, I'm distracted by the knurled screw at the end of the handle.

7 - That's my #2 choice, despite the recurve blade. I think it works on this piece, which has a fantasy fighter component. Love the hamon, the guard, the visual delineation between the handle and the guard (i.e., they're not flush),

 

[bergholz]

My vote goes to Jason Knight. To me, nothing is more appealing than pure simplicity. That is what I see in his Bowie. Superior knife making talent Mister Knight

 

[D.Crawford]

Love Gerhard's lines and White's total package but Russ Andrews' Bowie just hits the mark for me.
Andrews by a nose.

 

[Core Knife Co.]

I voted for Nick's "Fighter". I'm a bit of a minimalist and don't always believe that more is best. The execution of the work speaks louder to me than anything else and since everyone of these beautiful knives screamed superior craftsmanship and artistry, I went ahead and voted for the one that spoke to me on a personal level.

Amazing work, each and everyone of you. This is a perfect example of a situation where there is clearly only winners.

 

[MVF]

Voting for Adam DesRosier's knife. It's the knife I would like to own more than any of the others. The damascus is stunning, and I love integral work (really semi integral here). Here are my thoughts on the other knives:

1 - Russ' stag handled sub hilt: To me this is a fighter more than a bowie. The subhilt makes it less versatile. More to the point, I am getting really tired of recurve blades, even though this is one of the most tasteful I have ever seen.

3 - Don's ladder damascus piece: Less ambitious than some of his other works. Also, for my personal taste, the blade is too long.

4 & 5 - I like those but again, they are not quite as ambitious as some of the other work shown. Also, I would like to have seen them with a rounded spacer rather than see the guard and the handle flow seamlessly.

6 - Don's awesome dog bone d-handle piece: Stunning display of skill, but for me the dog bone and the d-guard don't play well together. Also, I'm distracted by the knurled screw at the end of the handle.

7 - That's my #2 choice, despite the recurve blade. I think it works on this piece, which has a fantasy fighter component. Love the hamon, the guard, the visual delineation between the handle and the guard (i.e., they're not flush),

Joss almost says it for me - close enough that I had to quote him. The exceptions are that I would've picked #1 if it wasn't for the sub-hilt, and I'm not picking #2, which, for me has too much ferrule and not enough handle. I'm picking #3 because it just hits me right for a Bowie.

Obviously these are all exceptional knives, but when I think Bowie I think simple and traditional. If it had been just Best Big Knife it would have been between #1 and #7.

 

[Bronco]

Wow, what a fantastic lot of knives. Can't hardly decide between numbers 1 and 7, but the beautiful subhilt integration of the Andrews pushes me over in that direction.

Look at how the metal butt cap, subhilt and guard spacers are blended to match the contours of the stag. Incredible.

 

[jjtjr]

It was a tough decision. I have been lucky enough to see both the Russ Andrews Subhilt and the White Dogbone in person. Both knives are superlative.

I voted for John's Dogbone.

 

[Chris Montgomery]

The materials combined the design aspects and exicution on all the nominations are inspirational to a beginning knifemaker. If one day I can make a knife that compares on any level close to any of the ones nominated I will consider it my masterpiece! Congratulations to the owners of all the pieces and especially the craftsmen involved in the making and photographing these stunning works of art!!

I know I have benefitted by this thread, thanks to the fellows that put it together. I would love to see a thread with this years winner and winners from the years prior.

All that said descision time. The Wieland Bowie has stunning line and flow mated with the perfect balance of Brute and refinement. That is my pic for Best Bowie
Chris

 

[RogerP]

Good commentary guys - I'm really enjoying reading the reasons for everyone's preferences. Thanks for taking the time to share them.

Roger

 

[SharpByCoop]

'Best Bowie' means different things to each of us. As Roger allowed, and I'm seeing, there are a helluvalot of fighters standing tall. Cool!

I REALLY appreciated Kevin's statement that my work is: 'Drawing the most out of a subject'. That's a clarifying premise.

I'm actually relieved that Gerhard's knife is doing so well. It shows that super-duper photography is appreciated, but not mandatory.

Ya know, there are knives here, and those that didn't make this top seven, which have more craftsmanship and learned man-hours experience. I see this and I feel guilty for my vote(s) not acknowledging all of them.

As bergholz allowed, he is drawn to the pure simplicity of the form. That suggested what I felt would reside best in my collection, if I could have any of them.

I voted for Jason Knight.

Coop

 

[Chief]

Kind of makes me wonder if the Gerhard Wieland beauty had been presented in a Coop image if it would have run away from the others in the voting by now.
Let's face it, Gerhard's photo isn't bad but he certainly doesn't depict the piece as favorable as Coop would have.

Don't know if it helps level the playing field or not, but here is Gerhard's photo with a little photoshop tweaking:

The hamon looks like angry clouds coming in. The before:

However, I hate to recieve a knife in the mail only to be disappointed that it's colors / contrast don't match an overprocessed online photo. Am not knocking the artistry of photography nor the use of photoshop, but when buying an expensive product I appreciate knowing exactly what I'm buying before it arrives.

That said, I voted for the John White Dogbone D-Guard, the beautiful engraving put it over the top for me. Russ Andrews' knife was a close second due to the way he extended the stag grooves into the metal portion of the handle and the tight damascus.

 

[Murray White]

When I initially looked at the knives as they were presented even prior to the finals, my choice to own would be the DesRosier. My only concern, which for voting purposes has been overcome, is the size of the piece of mammoth on the handle as design wise I like the handle being held to be non steel. That being said if all the knives were sitting on the table and I was told pick one and take it home this would be the knife.

Roger's Dog-Bond D guard by John White is superb and without the D guard likely would have won me over.

The Gerhard Weiland I really like and depending upon cost would be a knife I'd purchase without any hesitation. However, unlike what Coop has said, unfortunately, the image just does not do the knife justice simply because it does not tell me enough about the knife. This would be a situation that before I paid money for the knife I'd want either a better photo or actually handle knife. I'd love to see this knife photographed well. Phyllis liked this knife the best and while it was #2 for me, I finally still had to go with Adam's integral. The whole execution of the blade, carved ivory, integral creation just makes it a winner.

Another great bunch of knives and a lot of fun looking at them all. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to see them in person all at one show?

 

[carlMichael]

I woted fore Gerhard Wieland - Stag / Bronze Bowie.

I think I newer have seen sutch nice Bowie before :boxing:

carlMichael

 

[Matthew Gregory]

I'm beginning to despise these competitions... the selections are different enough to justify a different tack or position for each argument I can come up with, the execution on each piece is simply flawless so none can be discounted by a simple error or mistake, and each and every one of them embodies the spirit of the fighting blade.

How can one possibly be elevated to winner?

As I couldn't allow logic or objectivity to assist me in my selection, I chose like a child. Pathetic, perhaps, but maybe more honest (for me, at least).

... and I'm not telling who I voted for.

 

[Bruce Bump]

Naturally to make it this far they are all impeccable. I went for the John White D Guard Bowie. It's the most difficult to build and John pulled it off like the champion he is. His knife has at least 25 separate pieces and sports a "Take Down" design complete with matching tool not to mention one of the most challenging damascus patterns and artistry in motion engraving.

 

[sheathmaker]

I'm beginning to despise these competitions... the selections are different enough to justify a different tack or position for each argument I can come up with, the execution on each piece is simply flawless so none can be discounted by a simple error or mistake, and each and every one of them embodies the spirit of the fighting blade.

How can one possibly be elevated to winner?

As I couldn't allow logic or objectivity to assist me in my selection, I chose like a child. Pathetic, perhaps, but maybe more honest (for me, at least).

... and I'm not telling who I voted for.

Matt your summation fits my feeling perfectly, hence the quote. Each an every one of them in a different time and place would be standing on the center dias receiving the GOLD! That said, those of you who voted the way I did surely do know your knives..............the rest of you would benefit from a lesson or two

Paul

 

[JParanee]

Matt your summation fits my feeling perfectly, hence the quote. Each an every one of them in a different time and place would be standing on the center dias receiving the GOLD! That said, those of you who voted the way I did surely do know your knives..............the rest of you would benefit from a lesson or two

Paul

Well said Paul. ..... But not you Matt

Happy New Year to two of my favorite people on here or anywhere ..