Awesome Gentleman's Bowie From Mike Thourot!!!

Jerry Busse

Jerry Busse

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Mike Thourot made this wonderful piece and I thought that I would post the pics for all to enjoy. For those not familiar with Mike's work, he has been making blades since 1968. He is an "Old School" maker who does ALL of the work himself and refuses to use any automated mills, grinders, or lasers. He is very popular with members of Safari Club International and has done several projects in conjunction with that organization throughout the years.

His website can be found at www.safariknives.com

The blade is ground from Thunder Forge damascus and the handle material is unknown.

MWT%20Rock%203.jpg


Here's a close-up of the handle. Mike isn't exactly sure what type of material this handle is made from. It was supplied by the customer and the customer had no idea either. It is either some type of fossilized bone or some type of rock. It has several quartz-like deposits throughout. Any ideas? I do know that it had to be cut with a diamond saw and it ate abrasives like they were free. Sure glad I didn't have to wrestle with it!!! :eek:

MWT%20Rock%20Handle.jpg
 
The dark lines look like sutures from an Ammonite shell. They were related to the chambered nautilus and went extinct 65 million years ago. Some of them had massive shells up to two or three meters in diameter.

Alternatively, it may be Jasper, a reddish iron rich form of agate, or chalcedony, which are microcrystalline quartz.

If the material is hard enough to scratch steel, it is probably the Jasper. This would require lapidary equipment to shape it. The fossil shell material is usually Calcite, which won't scratch steel, but would still be hard to work with knifemaking tools.
 
To me it looks like agate or similar stone with quartz inclusions. beautiful find, and made into art! Truly a beautiful knife.
 
PhilL said:
What a great looking knife.
Nice score Jerry!
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Phil,

I wish I had been the one to score this knife. :eek:

I tried to bribe Mike out of it, but it did little good. :grumpy: ;)

The customer who supplied the handle material simply asked that Mike mate it with an appropriate blade shape and blade material. I think he did an awesome job!!! The blade shape has a lot of sweeps and curves, as does the handle contour, and the way the damascus pattern mimics the pattern in the handle is very cool ! :cool:

The balance of the knife is remarkable considering that it has a boulder mounted to the back half of it!!! :eek: ;) . It certainly does fall into the "handle weighted" category.

Mike epitomizes the old school type of custom knifemaker. His patience and over-the-top detailed handwork can be seen in every piece he makes. I suppose that explains why his custom order back log is over three years long!!! :eek: He does, occasionally, make some extra knives outside of his regular orders. This is great for those who want to get some of his work with very little, if any, wait.

Mike's artisanship is spectacular! Man, I hate guys like him!!!! :mad: ;)

Jerry
 
LongRifle said:
That's a pretty sweet knife. I'm glad to see it came from a NW Ohio maker ;) ;).

Matt
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Matt,

I just viewed your homepage. Nice knives!!!! :cool: Very Cool :cool:

You're in Maumee? Hmmm. . . . Technically, if I'm not mistaken, according to the by-laws of Bladeforums, because you are in such close proximity to Wauseon and Napoleon, you are supposed to buy Mike and I a few shots of JWB. (You're allowed to buy yourself one also). Now, I know what you're thinkin'. . . .Man, that Jerry Busse and Mike Thourot are a couple of givers!!!. . . Well, that's true, that's just who we are. . . A couple of guys who give others the opportunity to give to us . . :D ;)

Jerry
 
Thank you very much Jerry. I'd be happy to buy a round...assuming you're buying the next few ;). I'm really happy to see some other NW Ohio makers :) :D .

Matt
 
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