Beautiful D'Holder Bowie

Kevin Jones

Kevin Jones

Joined
Oct 28, 2006
Messages
13,363
This is one of betzner's D'Holder pieces. It would have no doubt made a wonderful addition to the BF "Best Bowie" thread.

Thanks Bob for sharing it with us.

• This piece has a wonderfully executed 7" mirror polished blade of ATS-34 Stainless Steel.

• The overall length is 12".

• The handle is stacked with "chocolate" redwood burl, gold vein amber and African blackwood.

• The engraving is by Bruce Shaw.

• And is accompanied by D's signature basket weave and concho sheath.


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That would have been a very welcome addition indeed - beautiful piece! I have always liked D'Holder's bowies - we don't see them often enough.

Roger
 
Wow! How does he get all of those handle parts to mate up nice and flush?:eek:
 
jdm61 said:
Wow! How does he get all of those handle parts to mate up nice and flush?:eek:
Click to expand...

If you have a copy of David Darom's book "Custom Fixed-Blade Knives" pg.166 shows the assembly of one of D's similar handles. Quite amazing!
 
And, if you don't have the book, here is the illustration Kevin
wrote about.....

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)


picture.JPG
 
That is a beautiful D'Holder bowie. I am a fan of his knives and that is one of the nicest i've seen. From what i've seen, he doen't make many bowies.

Thanks for posting it.

Peter
 
ddd said:
And, if you don't have the book, here is the illustration Kevin
wrote about.....

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)


picture.JPG
Click to expand...

Thanks David, I will add D's steps to handle completion (from the book) as it demonstrates amazing skill and attention to detail.

"The handle materials for the Musk OX (My-Knife) were chosen for their natural beauty, their rarity, and the way they complement one another in contrast and color. All 41 parts of the handle are assembled, and between each layer there is a very thin bonding layer of epoxy. After drying completely, the whole mass is shaped by hand and eye to its final shape using increasingly fine grit abrasive until it is flat. The final stage is shaped at 1200 grit. The entire handle is then buffed very lightly to bring out it's color and shine. All this must be done so that the handle ends up smooth, flat and without ripples despite the dissimilar materials. Then comes the toughest part: removing the butt cap for engraving without disturbing the other materials. After the engraving is completed, the butt cap is accurately re-installed and glued into place."
 
That Darom piece was a superb knife, the My Knife that is blown up to show all the assembly pieces. I owned that one once, but sold it to a friend of D's who really wanted it badly. It was an outstanding knife. I love his hunters, too. Thanks to all for answering the question about handle construction. Most people have no clue how he goes about stacking the handle.
 
I like this design! I wish you had included width of blade. I have seen so many one inch wide exact knives its like written into the knifemkaing canon(sic)------Joe
 
The photos and knives really speak volumes. Beautiful.

I have a piece on order with D' with Del Anderson's help. REALLY looking forward to it.

I am confused on this line:
"Then comes the toughest part: removing the butt cap for engraving without disturbing the other materials. After the engraving is completed, the butt cap is accurately re-installed and glued into place."
Click to expand...

Bob, do you understand why the buttcap needs to be removed? The guard stays put.

Coop
 
Coop, that particular My Knife in Dr Darom's book was engraved by Pat Holder. It is only because Pat was the engraver that the buttcap had to be removed. She just prefers engraving it as a single piece, to make engraving the bottom a bit less problematic for her. And if D' wants his wife to engrave it, he's gotta do it her way!!

Needless to say, D' doesn't relish taking the buttcap off once the epoxy is set. There is always the possibility of damage to the other layers. So, Pat just doesn't engrave My Knives. D' has other engravers do his My Knives, and Pat engraves many of the other models. My Knives engraved by Pat are, therefore, few and far between, ie, rare.

I really like the way those images I took came out. Just an overcast day, outdoors, along with the "low sharpening and contrast" button - but at some point in time this baby will be sent your way to do it right!
 
I own a number of D'holder knives and they are superb. That Bowie is gorgeous.
 
Thanks:D Sounds even better the more I look at it! Whats it like getting to ask for one of his to be made? ------Joe
 
I don't presume to speak for D', but he hasn't been taking orders over the last year or so. As I recall, he wanted to catch up on all of the backorders he currently had, and to complete two or three projects before he resumed taking orders again. It's one reason that even dealers seldom see any knives from D'. The other reason, of course, is that the demand for his stuff skyrocketed beginning about two years ago, and hasn't abated.
 
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