A pair of bowies by Nick Wheeler, JS

RogerP

RogerP

Joined
Feb 28, 2002
Messages
13,348
Greetings guys,

You've seen these before, but I thought I'd add my comments now that I have had them in my possession for a little while.

You will recall that each of these bowies formed part o fthe 5 - knife submission for Nick's Journeyman Smith stamp. Nick not only achieved that milestone, but also collected the prestigious Peck Award for best knife submitted by a Journeyman applicant. The particular knife that secured that award resides happily with Mr. Gill.

First up is the Blackwood Southwest.

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Specs are as follows:

  • Blade length of 10 3/8", 2" wide, overall length of 15 3/4";
  • blade steel is 52100 (forged down from 1 3/4" round stock) and hand rubbed to 1200 grit.
  • Handle is a jet black piece of African Blackwood (with subtle dark-chocolate swirls only visible when the light hits it just so).
  • Stainless double-guard and fileworked ferrule.
Fit and finish on this piece are of the highest caliber. Seriously - I can spot nothing remotely approaching a flaw and the satin finish is truly exquisite. What really impresses is the heft and balance of this piece - it is surprisingly quick in the hand for such a large, broad blade. The handle is a study in subtle ergonomics - comfortable and secure.

Nick completed quality a matching sheath for this piece which can be seen in the photo below:

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The Ivory Sheffield is the very definition of elegance.

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Specs are as follows:

  • Bade length of 9 3/4" with an overall length of 14 3/4".
  • blade steel is 1084, taken to a flawless 1500 grit finish
  • handle is a caramel-coloured walrus tusk.
  • Fittings, including the deceptively simple domed butt cap, are stainless.

This piece fairly screams understated elegance (if you can accept the inherent contradiction). The Scheffield-style clip is not an easy one to pull off - it has to be straight, even and centered for a loooong way, with a tricky mid-point transition. Of by a bit and it shows right away. This one - as with all aspects of the knife - are as perfect as human hands can make.

Below you can see a group shot of the 5 test knives. I'm not sure where the other two went, but I don't doubt the owners are very happy:

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And I'll conclude with one more look at the Peck Award knife:

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Nick - fantastic work, my friend, absolutely fantastic.

Roger
 
I once dreamt of taking delivery of a Nick Wheeler knife, but now I am more realistic ...... for example, I am very positive about my search for Lord Lucan!:foot::p:D:)

Great catch Roger!:thumbup:

Stephen
 
Roger,

There really isn't much to add. But if you want one of Nick's spectacular knives I would suggest that patience be very high on your list of virtues.

From a collecting point of view, quite a few of the very best forged makers produce some of the most difficult knives to obtain. The usual suspects, in alphabetical order, are Russ Andrews, JS, Michael Conner, MS, Dan Farr, JS, Don Fogg, MS, Greg Neely, MS, Nick Wheeler, JS, and Tim Zowada.

They are however, worth the wait.

P
 
Guess I gotta figure myself lucky - I met him when he was first becoming the renowned maker he has become... And a most pleasant individual to meet, to boot! :thumbup:

Nice score Roger!
 
typical O.C.D... Wheeler style! :D I really like the Peck award Fighter and the Ebony Bowie, would be hard to pick a favorite between the 2.
 
Great pieces, but the Southwest is by far my favorite.

On most of those, it looks like the tip of the blade is a tad low - in fact it looks like it's either dead centered, or slightly below center. It's a visual thing but not my cup of joe. I like it better, I think, when the tip is slightly over the center.
 
They're more stabby with the low point. Consistent with the Bagwellian school of fighting knives
 
Only one tip on the fighting bowies appears a bit high, others are centered and one is low but only to the butt and not to the center of thrust so they look pretty good to me.

What can't be seen in the photos is the incredible finish especially the satin run on the Blackwood southwest. I had the great fortune of seeing both knives yesterday when RP was over to do the photo with the sheath.

I have watched Nick do touch up work to a knife so I know how meticulous he can be and these are great knives. The Carmel Walrus tusk is spectacular and the knife is incredibly light in the hand.

More great RP acquistions and ones I'm glad to have the oppotunity to see.
 
Roger, you suck. That is becoming more and more clear, with each new knife you acquire. ;) :D


Seriously, those are some of the sweetest knives my eyes have ever had the pleasure of viewing.

Nick, keep em comin, Bro! :thumbup:
 
Danbo,

I think Roger is being a tad gauche, getting his Wheelers delivered in pairs.

P
 
Thanks for sharing, Roger! Great knives- Congratulations to you and Nick!
 
I was handling these wonderful JS test knives at the Blade Show with Nick's father at the table. I had admired his work on these forums, but had not handled any until then. Hard not to be impressed. Fit, finish, feel to die for. One thing I noticed is Nick seems to keep his ricasso's small, even on his larger blades. I told his dad I liked that and how smart it was. It gives the customer more usable blade for the money. ;)

Great pair, Roger! :thumbup: Super clean work by a very talented maker.

- Joe
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone! :D

Especially you Roger. It means the world to me that you stuck with me and are happy with the knives. Your post put a huge smile on my face! :D

And my ego's not too fragile to appreciate the observations like Joss made :) It is fascinating to me how slight of a change it takes to COMPLETELY change the look of a knife. The "set" of the point is accomplished while forging/grinding, but also very much during the filing of the shoulders for the guard.

I often spend an hour or more (SERIOUSLY!) trying to make up my mind on where to clamp down the filing jig. Especially on a big blade like the blackwood bowie, a tiny change in position of the filing jig can change the position of the tip by 1/16". Which, visually, is a lot!

I have tried to study carefully how smiths like Harvey Dean place their point, edge, ricasso, guard. Harvey is a guy that consistently just nails it.

I have grown to like a "stealth" point. One that is long, and sleek, and well..... POINTY ;)

I forged several blades with the point upswept a little more, and it just seems to look more elegant to me if it's not really upswept, yet instead dropped a touch.

Of course I'm open to ideas and criticism and will try to use it to improve my standing in the bladesmith crowd.

I also realize you can't make a knife that will make everyone happy. I'm very near completion on Coops integral fighter, and I really like the way it's coming together. I got good feed-back on its start that I displayed at Blade. However, I'm more than confident that some will feel it's a funny looking kitchen knife! :eek: ;) :)

Joe- I'm sorry I missed you!!! :( Next time!!! :D My dad has never bragged about anything in his life, yet he has adopted a bit of bragging on his son's knifemaking endeavors in the last couple years. I hope he didn't yack your ear off about it! LOL :)
 
NickWheeler said:
Joe- I'm sorry I missed you!!! :( Next time!!! :D My dad has never bragged about anything in his life, yet he has adopted a bit of bragging on his son's knifemaking endeavors in the last couple years. I hope he didn't yack your ear off about it! LOL :)
Click to expand...

Nick, your dad was more than gracious. Very enjoyable to visit with. And, yes, he was proud of his son. Rightfully so I would say.


- Joe
 
NickWheeler said:
I'm very near completion on Coops integral fighter, and I really like the way it's coming together. I got good feed-back on its start that I displayed at Blade. However, I'm more than confident that some will feel it's a funny looking kitchen knife! :eek: ;) :)
Click to expand...

He he he... I'm looking forward to seeing this. (Wondering how far down the list I am...)
 
Joss said:
He he he... I'm looking forward to seeing this. (Wondering how far down the list I am...)
Click to expand...

Not far enough, after that last backpacker's knife....you have more Wheeler than you deserve.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Roger,
Just WOW!!
Congrats on these two,you couldn't choose between them so you decided to take both.:thumbup:
Great work Nick. :cool:

Doug
 
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