- Joined
- Feb 28, 2002
- Messages
- 13,348
Good morning Bladeforums - Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.
I'll start by thanking this most august forum community for seeing this event into this, its 10th anniversary. Absent your participation, contribution and enthusiasm, this thread simply does not exist.
And I am doubly delighted that it carries forward in the name of our departed dear friend John White, whose own contributions to the bowie genre are unsurpassed.
The rules are no doubt well known to all by now, but a recap for anyone new to the event:
What types of knives are included?
This thread is about celebrating the quality and diversity of the genre, and the talented bladesmiths and knifemakers who have kept the bowie alive. This is NOT an attempt to define the bowie knife in either historic or contemporary terms. While I appreciate that people have strong feelings on the subject, no-one is in possession of a conclusive, exhaustive and universally-accepted definition. As with all past years, bowies, fighters, camp knives and generally any fixed blade that meets the size requirements are welcome to be included amongst the nominees. Both stock removal and forged blades are equally welcome. Daggers are excluded, as are Khukuris and traditional Tantos.
Requirements are:
1) Blade length 6" and up.
2) Knife must have been made or first shown on Bladeforums in 2016.
3) Must be a custom knife.
PLEASE DO: number each knife in each post, starting with the number 1. And if you can, say a bit about WHAT you like about your nominees.
PLEASE DO NOT quote earlier posts and reproduce the images contained therein (this really messes up the voting for finalists.
Nominate as many as you like!
Here are a few to get the ball rolling.
1. Mike Quesenberry Integral Dogbone Bowie
The Dogbone arguable ranks as the most sophisticated and technically challenging of the bowie styles. It was a style of knife at which John White truly excelled. But the flawless execution of an integral Dogbone truly makes my head spin. Long, slow clap for Mr. Quesenberry.
2. Sam Lurquin Damascus Subhilt Tsavo
The Tsavo ranks among the most inherently fierce true fighting bowies that I have come across. If you've had the pleasure of owning one - or even holding one - you KNOW that this is a knife just spoiling for a fight. It views camp chores with the contemptuous disdain of a pure warrior. It craves battle. The subhilt version of this knife simply makes its intentions that much more clear.
3. CAS Shell Guard Fighter
I'll go out on a limb and say that the prolific excellence of CAS is unsurpassed. I have almost lost track of the number of excellent fighters and bowies that have graced the pages of this forum in 2016 and think just picking my fave of that group would be a daunting challenge. This piece is certainly high on my envy list for 2016 and I know we will see a good many more.
4. Wess Barnhill Southwest Bowie
Changing pace from the elaborate to the merely perfect, Wess Barnhill offers here a bowie whose execution is so clean as to impress with every inch of its (comparatively) simple beauty. The list of makers who produce work THIS clean is very short indeed.
I'll start by thanking this most august forum community for seeing this event into this, its 10th anniversary. Absent your participation, contribution and enthusiasm, this thread simply does not exist.
And I am doubly delighted that it carries forward in the name of our departed dear friend John White, whose own contributions to the bowie genre are unsurpassed.
The rules are no doubt well known to all by now, but a recap for anyone new to the event:
What types of knives are included?
This thread is about celebrating the quality and diversity of the genre, and the talented bladesmiths and knifemakers who have kept the bowie alive. This is NOT an attempt to define the bowie knife in either historic or contemporary terms. While I appreciate that people have strong feelings on the subject, no-one is in possession of a conclusive, exhaustive and universally-accepted definition. As with all past years, bowies, fighters, camp knives and generally any fixed blade that meets the size requirements are welcome to be included amongst the nominees. Both stock removal and forged blades are equally welcome. Daggers are excluded, as are Khukuris and traditional Tantos.
Requirements are:
1) Blade length 6" and up.
2) Knife must have been made or first shown on Bladeforums in 2016.
3) Must be a custom knife.
PLEASE DO: number each knife in each post, starting with the number 1. And if you can, say a bit about WHAT you like about your nominees.
PLEASE DO NOT quote earlier posts and reproduce the images contained therein (this really messes up the voting for finalists.
Nominate as many as you like!
Here are a few to get the ball rolling.
1. Mike Quesenberry Integral Dogbone Bowie
The Dogbone arguable ranks as the most sophisticated and technically challenging of the bowie styles. It was a style of knife at which John White truly excelled. But the flawless execution of an integral Dogbone truly makes my head spin. Long, slow clap for Mr. Quesenberry.
2. Sam Lurquin Damascus Subhilt Tsavo
The Tsavo ranks among the most inherently fierce true fighting bowies that I have come across. If you've had the pleasure of owning one - or even holding one - you KNOW that this is a knife just spoiling for a fight. It views camp chores with the contemptuous disdain of a pure warrior. It craves battle. The subhilt version of this knife simply makes its intentions that much more clear.
3. CAS Shell Guard Fighter
I'll go out on a limb and say that the prolific excellence of CAS is unsurpassed. I have almost lost track of the number of excellent fighters and bowies that have graced the pages of this forum in 2016 and think just picking my fave of that group would be a daunting challenge. This piece is certainly high on my envy list for 2016 and I know we will see a good many more.
4. Wess Barnhill Southwest Bowie
Changing pace from the elaborate to the merely perfect, Wess Barnhill offers here a bowie whose execution is so clean as to impress with every inch of its (comparatively) simple beauty. The list of makers who produce work THIS clean is very short indeed.
Last edited:
