Bladeforums BEST BOWIE - 2009 Edition - THE FINALISTS

[Lorien]

ps. I voted for Russ Andrews' knife.

To me, it summed up more than any other of the seven what a bowie knife 'is'.

A few of the knives, although amazingly well done, dropped out of contention for me as I construe them to be 'fighting knives'.

The remaining knives, although also amazing pieces of work, were simply too fancy for me to see them simply as a 'bowie knife'.

In a slate full of beautifully embellished and finished pieces, I find it very telling that Russ Andrews' 'plain Jane' knife made the cut. It is universally appealing, and it flies below the radar.

Great knives all around lads!:thumbup:

 

[HTMD]

Wonderful thread and a great learning experience. Actually I learned something about my own evolving thinking on the meaning of the term Bowie. Roger took the smart path on this issue and was inclusive from the start. "A Bowie is a big knife" I heard B.R.Hughes say (as much of a Bowie expert as anyone). But the dilemma here for me was to sort out the difference between two mixed and mingled questions:
1. Which of the 7 is my favorite knife?
2. Which one is the best Bowie?
Tough to sort these out. Though not my favorite knife in the bunch, I think Larry Fuegen's Cowboy Bowie is the "best Bowie." This I say for one reason and it's something this exercise has taught me about what Bowie means to me. There has to be an historical link or nod or whatever you want to call it - something that links the knife with what is more broadly known as "the Bowie era." I'm not saying Larry's Cowboy Bowie is the only knife in the group that satisfies that criteria (of mine), but it does it best by far. In particular; the Coffin style handle with domed pins and the broad clipped-point Bowie blade profile. These things speak Bowie. Larry has integrated those historical elements into his always wonderful and unique Bowie interpretation.

My favorite knife of the bunch? I'll take the Broadwell/Foster collaboration, thank you very much.

 

[blad5]

It was a very tough choice for me. I finally went with the DB/BF subhilt collaboration. I love Bruce's damascus, but the subhilt's handle swayed me.

Paul

 

[RogerP]

fyi, Roger did all the work.

No way dude - the most work involved is logging every vote cast for every knife in the nomination round - and you did every bit as much of that as I did. And it was much appreciated. :thumbup:

Roger

 

[RogerP]

It was a very tough choice for me. I finally went with the DB/BF subhilt collaboration. I love Bruce's damascus, but the subhilt's handle swayed me.
Paul

That piece is a study in sculpture from end to end, but I am really with you on the handle.

Roger

 

[brightred]

that was fun - and educating at the same time. many thanks to roger and lorien!

how did i vote and why?

larry fuegen's skills are breathtaking. i love most of his work, but some knives don't speak to me. these knives are no exception. i like the cowboy bowie very much, a classic, very well balanced (visually), nicely but not over-embellished. everything comes together perfectly, whereas the dress bowie lacks what i'd call flow: the subtle curve of the handle is abruptly stopped by the choil/ricasso area and the first third of the blade where spine and edge seem to be straight and parallel. i'd love to see a deeper choil/narrower ricasso and a wider, slightly curved/bellied edge. how much more of that undefinable flow there would be... however, incredible skills!

i think i am not (yet) educated enough to fully appreciate burt foster's and david broadwell's knife. as much as i look for that flow, there's too much of it in this knife. but i'd love to own it, handle it for some time, and it would certainly grow on me.

don hanson: the only knife i wouldn't use. one stroke, and there it flies away. i'd really love to see some more flare at the butt of the handle... but heck, it is a beautiful knife!

kyle royer: too much of everything: too much colour, too much damascus, an additional tool to much, and too many guards. but talent and skills en masse! i'd like to see my name on mr royer's list in five years, but then he won't accept any more orders and i won't have enough cash. what a pitty!

bruce bump: i love it! maybe the damascus pattern is a little bit too busy? whatever, i love it...

russ andrews: lines that flow from butt to tip, grace, elegance, balance, strenght. this knife has it ALL, i adore it, i want it. it gets my vote.

best regards,
hans

 

[Lorien]

russ andrews: lines that flow from butt to tip, grace, elegance, balance, strenght. this knife has it ALL, i adore it, i want it. it gets my vote.

we're on the same page bro:thumbup:

 

[rayban]

I voted...but I still would have liked to have seen a "working knife" catagory

 

[flatgrinder]

They're all real nice, but Bruce's really stands out. :thumbup:

 

[Jose Reyes]

DDD should think of putting together a modern edition
of the classic of 1990 "The antique Bowie knife book",
maybe something like "The Modern Bowie Knife Book"...

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

I fixed it for you, David...

My vote went to Mr. Bump's Bowie. The guard and engraving really set it apart in my opinion in a not too flamboyant way. I like the flow and how he designed the length of the top edge, the nice piece of stag and clean damascus. Not too much choil either...

Mr. Andrews' Bowie came in a close second, another "perfect" piece in my opinion. I prefer his damascus/ladder pattern but the "Best of Show" just seemed to have a little something that set it apart from what we're used to.

Thanks again Roger and Lorien. :thumbup:

 

[bluejaunte]

First off, all of these are phenomenal.

Picking any one was a matter of simply asking myself "If I was told I could take only one of the seven knives above home with me, which would I choose?" This really came down to minor details in each knife that I didn't like, and to list these out would be a disservice to all of the makers since that is about my preferences (and nobody cares about those unless I'm paying them to! ).

In the end I had to choose Larry Fuegen's Cowboy Bowie. It's the one that most says "Bowie!!!!" to me, yet has the simplicity of design and elegance of embellishments that work perfectly together.

 

[RAN]

My absolute favorite nominees didn't make this round
I respect all the makers represented and consider most of them Good friends

But The Fuegen Cowboy gets The Nod out of these seven..CRISP.

 

[Don Hanson III]

I look forward to this every year, it's interesting reading all the comments. Thanks for doin this, Roger.

I think Russ's bowie would have more votes, had the photos been better.

Also, five of these knives (photos) do not fit my 20" screen. I have to either scroll up/down or side to side. Hard to get a feel for the piece, when you can only view part of the knife, then scroll for the rest. Is this just me? Maybe Coop can comment...

I'm honored for one of mine to be part of the top 7 bowies. Thanks folks!

 

[SBranson]

russ andrews: lines that flow from butt to tip, grace, elegance, balance, strenght. this knife has it ALL, i adore it, i want it. it gets my vote.

best regards,
hans

we're on the same page bro:thumbup:

I'm on that page too. I voted early this morning but lost my post as I voted but I said almost the same words.

They are all fine knives for sure and each shows remarkable skill and design but to me Russ Andrew's bowie was the one that had all elements in conjunction with each other. What I mean is that it is the one that is the most coherent as and entire piece. Understated sure but everything is in perfect balance in this one, from the lines to the choice of materials to the proportions.
Each of the others, for me, had a dominant feature or even "unnecessary" embellishment. I only say "unnecessary" to highlight the grace in simplicity that I find in the Redoubt Bowie.
There was only one knife I thought that captured that better but it didn't make the list. Perhaps my tastes are traditional but for today and for now, that perfect balance is what gets my vote.

Fine work by every one. It's been a real treat to see these all together.

Thanks Roger and Lorien for your work!

 

[John White]

Thanks go to Roger for putting this together, and to Lorien for helping, and to everyone who posted pictures and comments. This thread is a real annual treat.

Seeing such a variety of super knives in one package winds the year up right.

John

 

[Kevin Jones]

I look forward to this every year, it's interesting reading all the comments. Thanks for doin this, Roger.

I think Russ's bowie would have more votes, had the photos been better.

Also, five of these knives (photos) do not fit my 20" screen. I have to either scroll up/down or side to side. Hard to get a feel for the piece, when you can only view part of the knife, then scroll for the rest. Is this just me? Maybe Coop can comment...
I'm honored for one of mine to be part of the top 7 bowies. Thanks folks!

That's basically the problem I have with knife photos being shot in portrait mode rather than landscape. A knife definitely loses something when you have to scroll up/down to see the complete knife or greatly reduce it to fit the screen. However it seems that portrait is greatly preferred by most knife photographers.

 

[Don Hanson III]

That's basically the problem I have with knife photos being shot in portrait mode rather than landscape. A knife definitely loses something when you have to scroll up/down to see the complete knife or greatly reduce it to fit the screen. However it seems that portrait is greatly preferred by most knife photographers.

Yeah, portrait better for magazines. Landscape better for internet.

Anyway, this is good fun!

Riad, we're on the same page

 

[Durwood]

I didn't post in the preliminary because I figured my picks would end up as finalists

It's always been between two for me. These are the two that "spoke" the most to me: The Bruce Bump OKCA and the Kyle Royer Ring Guard Bowie.

I voted for the Bruce Bump OKCA in the end only because you can't vote for two And maybe just a tad because the color of the ivory appears a little too blue/bright for me There are a lot of nice pieces and I'd be happy to own any of them--thanks to all for posting them!

 

[Kevin Jones]

Yeah, portrait better for magazines. Landscape better for internet.
Anyway, this is good fun!

Riad, we're on the same page

OH, makes sense.
Thanks for enlightening me. :thumbup:

 

[JParanee]

Very hard to make a decision for me

All are outstanding in there own way

I changed my mind a few times back and forth between 3 of them

In the end if I could have one and not considering monetary value but which knife I would like to carry and have

With out a doubt I went with the Andrews Redoubt