Bladeforums Best Bowie 2008 - Here are your finalists!

Please select a single knife as your choice for Best Bowie 2008

  • Russ Andrews Stag Subhilt

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Harvey Dean El Diablo

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Jerry Fisk Bandolero

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Don Hanson III Crazy Hamon

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Rodrigo Sfreddo Spearpoint

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0
Speaking of the impact of quality photographs, check out this new and improved image of the Andrews subhilt. :eek: That outstanding sheath is Russ' handiwork as well.

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An kudos to my buddy Stephen for landing two knives from his collection in the final 5. :thumbup:

Roger

Wow, what a dramatic photo. Same knife yet that photo may have very well made a deference in the final standings.
Anyone know who took the first Andrews photo?
I though it interesting that all 5 finalist photos were by different photographers this year. If that is in fact the case.
Last year I believe 3 of the 5 were by Coop.
 
Stephen shot the first Andrews pic and this one as well. I know that he wasn't completely happy with that first one (though I thought it was quite good) but didn't have the time to devote to a re-shoot until after the contest. Since you have seen this knife yourself, you know how well this second photo brings out the great details.

Russ - no kidding - should be on the homepage!

Roger
 
Unfortunately the first image is mine:o ..... and to be fair was never meant as a publicity shot.

I have tried to shoot the sub-hilt four times without a satisfactory outcome. Over the Christmas break I recharged my batteries and decided to give it another go one evening ...... this time abandoning the light tent and using diffused flash units directly. Finally I got an image that I think does this incredible piece justice! Sometimes you just have to wait for the right photograph to arrive!:D:D:D

The quality of the entries this year was outstanding, there are several I would love to add to my collection!

Cheers,

Stephen
 
Unfortunately the first image is mine:o ..... and to be fair was never meant as a publicity shot.

I have tried to shoot the sub-hilt four times without a satisfactory outcome. Over the Christmas break I recharged my batteries and decided to give it another go one evening ...... this time abandoning the light tent and using diffused flash units directly. Finally I got an image that I think does this incredible piece justice! Sometimes you just have to wait for the right photograph to arrive!:D:D:D

The quality of the entries this year was outstanding, there are several I would love to add to my collection!

Cheers,

Stephen

Well now you have a great Bowie and a great photo, so alls well. :thumbup:
 
I thought the first image was super-clear but homogenous, so it looked almost like a Stephen Foster computer drawing.

The second photo with deeper shadows? You rock! :thumbup:

Coop
 
Stephen shot the first Andrews pic and this one as well. I know that he wasn't completely happy with that first one (though I thought it was quite good) but didn't have the time to devote to a re-shoot until after the contest. Since you have seen this knife yourself, you know how well this second photo brings out the great details.

Russ - no kidding - should be on the homepage!

Roger

I though the first photo may have been a Foster photo, however had never seen one he didn't mark.
 
If I'd have seen that photo of the Andrews sub-hilt, it would definitely have been one of the knives I voted for.
 
Wow, what an awesome couple of threads to get to this point!

Congratulations Don, an outstanding knife for sure!!!!

I decided not to vote because I couldn't pick favorites, and a little bit, because I knew it was going to come down more to the photos than the actual knives. This is not a ding against anybody, it's just the nature of something like this.

For example, this Fuegen is RIDICULOUS in so many ways! The flowing lines, the choice of materials, and Larry's meticulous carving. It is just a mind blowing piece, and didn't even make the top 5. Had Coop done had it under his lens, I can't help but think it would be, but it's hard to even see the carving in this pic.

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I'm sure not complaining, I LOVED the threads getting to this point!!!! Just pointing something out :)

Edited to add, from a makers perspective, I think Russ's sub-hilt is probably the most difficult construction wise. That's considering the design AND knowing that Russ wouldn't put his name on it if it weren't very closely approaching perfection. :)
 
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You make a good point Nick in that this photo does not depict Larry's knife as well as perhaps other photographer's photos would have. But then on the flip side is it possible that this knife could possibly be depicted better than it actually is by these same photographers? Again as you, I'm not trying to ding anyone but it goes both ways.
As I said in an earlier post, I have examined 3 of the 5 finalist knives and all three's photos were accurate representations IMO.

As you and several others have said, we are judging knife photos, not actual knives.
But IMO, it's still entertaining, interesting and educational.
One of my favorite parts of this exercise is seeing who votes for which knife and why.
 
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NO. :)

Three of the five finalists had multiple views of the detail work in one shot. There's definitely enough detail in Larry's knife to warrant such a photograph. Same thing with Russ's knife... which kind of goes without saying now that Stephen got the new photo complete. GREAT SHOT btw Stephen :) :thumbup:

I'm not trying to take away from this! Roger's Best Bowie Threads are easily some of my ALL TIME FAVORITE threads.

Just thought it was worth mentioning.
 
A valid point again, Nick. And I totally get that you're not being critical of the exercise itself.

I hate to drag out that oh-so-overused phrase, but "it is what it is".

It's not the equivalent of a Best Bowie award at a knife show - the biggest difference being the most obvious - we are seeing the photos, not handling the knives themselves.

As I mentioned at the outset of the originating thread - the main purpose of these annual threads is to capture a comprehensive representation of the "state of the bowie" in a given year. Kind of like expanding the bowie section of the Knives annual to span the entire edition. :) It's fun, it's a lot of eye candy and it's interesting to hear what people like and why. It's also a free focus group for bowie makers - something more than a few have caught on to. ;)

The more makers that participate, the more opportunity there is for collectors to learn as well. The comments made by yourself, Burt and others about the relative complexity / difficulty / challenges presented by the various knives is all really good stuff. If we didn't pick a winner, the mission would be accomplished. Whether we should pick a winner is something that was hashed out last year and resolved in favour of doing so. Personally, I think it is the difficult process of voting - particularly the selection of finlasts - that forces people to think about and articulate why particular knives appeal to them.

With all that said, you are correct that some very excellent knives are placed at a disadvantage if they are presented in average (or below) photographs. One more reason for collectors and makers alike to either brush up on their photography skills, or make sure that at least their top pieces receive the photographic attention of a professional.

Roger
 
Nick, I edited my above post to clarify my point which was that it goes both ways.
Sometimes knife photos depict knives as they are, sometimes less than they actually are and sometimes enhance them.
 
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