7" Bowie with some cool two-tone silky oak

J. Doyle

J. Doyle

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
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I forged a few of these small to medium bowies awhile ago. Here's one I just finished in a bit of downtime between other works. It's a nice size for a pack knife or as a camp/field bowie. It's still not small but it is lean light and fast.

I really like this Silky Oak from our friend Mark at Burlsource. It works nice and finishes nice and it has a different look every way you look at it. The side view is different than the bottom and top and the end is different still. This piece is NOT dyed. It is a natural two-tone piece. I like how it's dark on top and light on bottom. Reminds me of how fish are colored. :)

Specs:
Hand forged from 1075 steel, clay quenched and etched and polished out a bit more than my usual.
11 1/2" overall, 7" blade, .215" thick at the ricasso
Heavily rounded spine and ricasso edge
False edge is not sharp (but it's pretty close)
Black g-10 guard
Black g-10 and bronze spacers
Stabilized silky oak handle
Checkered bronze finial

Please feel free to say what you like, don't like or even hate about it. (The two tone wood won't be for everyone. ;) )











 
John,

I really like it. Love the flow as the handle drops. Really cool wood too.

Tad
 
A beautiful unique piece. Thought I'd seen every wood imaginable. That handle is gorgeous! Love the detail on the guard and spacer. A real classy, top shelf collectible. BRAVO. kevin
 
There is really nothing you can do in pictures and descriptions to explain this handle material. It is just "different" from every direction and dances all around the room.
 
Really nice John, someone should be very happy with that one!
 
Mostly knifemakers posting on this....from THIS collector's standpoint, two-tone wood is a turnoff. I have one knife handled in it that was a gift from a friend....and I can't stand it.

This is a material that some love and some hate....why give a prospective buyer an unnecessary reason to dislike the knife?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Most definitely clean well executed. I have to wonder what that spacer is going to look like down the road a bit, especially if the knife is used much. For now it offers a very nice contrast to the dark guard.

As far as the handle material, it's not something I would choose for a knife but doesn't look bad IMO.
I always like your butt treatment, kind of a trademark of yours. :thumbup::thumbup:
 
I like the 2 tone wood, the overall shape and the treatment of the butt, but I do think it'd be better with a slightly larger guard.......and in this size of knife, I think the guard should be metal.
Just my slightly less than 2cents worth.
Darcy:)
 
Thank you guys. I appreciate all the feedback and comments.

Steven, thanks for your thoughts. I guess as a counter to your question, what if there's someone out there that thinks it's so unique and different that they just have to have it. :D

I really do appreciate your perspective. I have mixed feelings about two tone woods. If they're natural (not dyed) and fairly even on both sides, I'm kind of a sucker for them. I see the blocks sitting there getting passed over by most everyone and I start thinking what I can do with them. I try to use fittings that highlight the colors in the wood.

Which leads me to Kevin's comment: I chose bronze because of the rich brown patina it develops relatively quickly. I love how it looks as it ages and I think it would compliment the lighter part of the wood handle even better than it does now. I've made the knife as a take down so it can always be easily cleaned up down the road.

Darcy- about the guard, I'm always wary of getting the guard too large so I tend to lean towards smaller if I'm in doubt. A little bigger than what I've got here would have been okay on this I think. I feel a guard should be just big enough to do it's job and not much bigger so it's not in the way. As for the g-10, I was really after the color and g-10 is great for that. If you scuff it scratch it, or wipe it down with oil or solvents, it will always still be black. It shows almost no wear, even way down the road.

I've done pretty abusive tests on g-10 guards and they're just about as tough as steel (at least in this application). I have no worries about a carbon fiber or g-10 guard as far as chipping or breaking. I'd stay away from micarta, at least the paper and linen varieties as I don't believe they have the same shear strength as the woven carbon and fiberglass materials. I'm not saying your wrong, just explaining my reasons for choosing these materials.

Thanks again to all of you for the feedback.
 
Great looking knife John.
I really like how it turned out.
The only thing I question is the g10 guard but as I look at it more and more it is growing on me.
STeven's comment about the 2 tone handle may be correct for a strictly traditional collector, but my opinion is that unique is good as long as it it well executed.
My taste seems to be a bit outside of main stream, so I really like the look of your handle. I like the way you are making knives that are unique and I think there is a big market out there for the cool and unusual.
Being a takedown is another big plus to me.
 
J. Doyle said:
Thank you guys. Which leads me to Kevin's comment: I chose bronze because of the rich brown patina it develops relatively quickly. I love how it looks as it ages and I think it would compliment the lighter part of the wood handle even better than it does now. I've made the knife as a take down so it can always be easily cleaned up down the road.
Click to expand...

Hello John.
Yep, time will tell how the patina suites the handle, however I was primarily addressing the deep coining which crevices tend to house dirt/grime over time.
But you make a good point, it's a takedown. Ease of maintenance is one of the upsides of a takedown knife.
 
Gorgeous. I like the treatment on the end of the handle, it's a nice touch.

I also like the two-tone wood, it has the uniqueness I seek in a knife I plan to use. As I see it for me, I look for character in a user, but perfection for the collection :).

Cheers,
David
 
Kohai999 said:
Mostly knifemakers posting on this....from THIS collector's standpoint, two-tone wood is a turnoff. I have one knife handled in it that was a gift from a friend....and I can't stand it.

This is a material that some love and some hate....why give a prospective buyer an unnecessary reason to dislike the knife?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

As a maker, collector, and seller I can tell you what usually sells is handles that catch your eye and this one does catch your eye.
 
John,
I can understand the hesitancy to make the guard larger, there is a fine line between big enough and too big. For what it's worth, I am a bit of a traditionalist at heart, and so I really like the style guard you have here as opposed to the thicker, sculpted ones that are popular currently.
I have next to no experience with G-10 so you are probably correct about the strength.........but I still like steel better.
Beautiful knife and very clean work. Thanks for posting it and for being so open to critique, we can all learn from threads like this.:thumbup:
Darcy:)
 
John, I like it! The knife has great lines with unique choices in materials. I'm a fan of seeing something different that works.
 
J. Doyle said:
This piece is NOT dyed. It is a natural two-tone piece.
Click to expand...
John,

Stabilized but not dyed works well for me, so does the right two tone wood handle and this one is very eye-catching.
G-10 lends a uniqueness for the guard and is structurally strong/tough enough for the job and the s/b will patina nicely.
Nice lines.
That it's a takedown only adds class, I like the butt treatment as well.
Cleanliness and execution make this one a winner, imo.

Doug
 
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