BladeForums BEST BOWIE - 2012 - Voting Closed - Finalists Selected!

sorry for the delay......... that's the way of the duty!!!!!
here's my vote
post 15,# 1: Lurquin- maximus bowie
post 19,# 1: Lurquin- Dragonfly
post 20,# 5: John White- D guard bowie
post 21,#2:John White-Nihonshiki bowie
post 25,#1:Kyle Roger- shadow of the west bowie
post 113,#1:Lurquin- damascus fighter
Happy New Year... :-)
regards from Belgium,
Fred
 
# 2-7 Lurquin Tsavo. It's mine and though a blade length of a little over 11" and overall 17" it is light in the hand. Great catoyance in the crossed ladder damascus and top fit and finish. To me the best work Sam has done.
# 6-1 Gerhard Wieland Toruk. Having seen other knives from Gerhard this one must be stunning.
# 23-1 Cas
#34-2 M. Ruth Subhilt
#67-1 Wheeler ladder integral. Great lines, great damascus and workmanship.
#118 Rhea subhilt. Great shape and damascus, just asI like it.
#135-2 Wheeler bowie ( see comment at 67-1)

There are fancier or more ornate bowies in this competition but some times it is too much. All are wonderfully made but do not do it for me.

Thanks for starting this!
 
The top makers continue to push each other higher - and we all get to enjoy the results.
My picks:

Post 3, #1 Royer Blue Ivory Bowie. - This knife is perfectly executed & I'm a sucker for blue ivory.
Post 9, #1 Knight "Blade" Bowie. - Classic Knight style. Very aggressive profile.
Post 20, #4 Sfreddo Integral. - Very technical, very impressive. Rodrigo is going in an interesting direction.
Post 21, #1 John White D-Guard. - The lines of John's work are always perfect to my eye.
Post 25, #1 Royer "Shadow of the West". - Just plain "Cool".
Post 26 #1 Fisk NLT #4 Clam Shell Dirk/Bowie. - It's such a great "retro" piece with all the goodies. One of my favorites from him.
Post 70, #1 Ruth Jr Stag Bowie. -This one he nailed. Great steel, great stag, great work.
 
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The competition keeps getting better each year. To me these three just stand out:

1) Post 68 knife #1--collaboration bowie

2) Post 22 knife #2--Bump Hide-Out bowie

3) Post 99 knife#1--Lin Rhea

Gary
 
There are so many great knives here, it’s difficult to pick only seven. This is my list, in no particular order:

Post 2, knife 2: Russ Andrews, MS -A super clean Bowie.
Post 19: Samuel Lurquin -“Dragonfly”
Post 135, knife #2 (3,4,5): Nick Wheeler JS –Damascus Bowie
Post 92, photo #3: Samuel Lurquin -W2 Tsavo with hamon
Post 3, photo #3: Stuart Branson –Bowie with hamon
Post 21, knife #3: John White, MS -"Eli's Exquisite" Damascus Bowie with Ivory
Arrrgggg! I can’t pick a seventh! There are too many good choices.
 
Congratulations to all and the excellent craftsmanship provided!
POST#2/BOWIE#7/LURQUIN, TSAVO
POST#6/BOWIE#6/WIELAND, TORUK
POST#4/BOWIE#5/SOBRAL
POST#5/BOWIE#5/WEILAND, SIMPLY BLACK
POST#68/BOWIE#5/KNIGHT
POST#70/BOWIE#1/RUTH
POST#82/BOWIE#4/FISK
 
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Post 16 #1 Branson
Post 16 #3 Branson
Post 69 #4 Ruth
Post 92 #2 Lurquin
Post 118 #1 Seward
Post 129 #1 Doyle
Post 135 #1 Wheeler
 
Post 2 - #6 Dogwood Bowie - Lin Rhea
Post 6 - #1 Toruk - Gerhard Wieland
Post 21 - #2 Nihonshiki Bowie - John White
Post 34 - #2 Sub hilt fighter - Michael Ruth
Post 65 - #4 Amber stag fighter - David Lisch
Post 67 - #1 Damascus Integral - Nick Wheeler
Post 92 - #1 Damascus Tsavo - Sam Lurquin
 
It is just like Nick Wheeler to screw up my carefully considered selections with Post 135 #2, at the very last moment. And for Roger to up the number of nominations to seven. Back to the drawing board. Dave Lisch and Sam Lurquin are suffering from a severe dose of DonHanson3itis (too many fine examples of their work to consider). Last year I was stunned that Sam's piece did not make the final five, it was one of my top picks. Lisch is making great art out of amazing steel. It is simply too hard to choose individual knives.

My five nominations are:

Post 2, #3, Jerry Fisk, Trail of Tears
Sole authorship tour de force, Stunning classic design that can't be ignored. Bravo!

Post 9, #1 Jason Knight, Blade Show Bowie
Possibly Jason's best work to date, even better in the hand, than in the pictures.

Post 25, #1 Kyle Royer, Shadow of the West
There may be a knife profile with more flow and there maybe a more beautiful clip, but I am not sure that i have ever seen them!
Carved handle combined with black blade with a discernible temper line... WOW!

Post 25, #4 Lisch/Quesenberry, Collaboration Bowie
Dave Lisch's sensational Damascus contained within a traditional design, executed to perfection. OUTSTANDING!
It should be interesting to watch these two battle it out for the Hughes Award at blade 2013.

Post 135, #2 Nick Wheeler, No name, badly photographed, improperly numbered damascus/ironwood Bowie, posted at the last moment.
I confess that I am a craven junkie when it comes to Nick's knives. Absolutely KILLER, pushes every one of my buttons.

I would also be very pleased to see Any Lisch and/or Any Lurquin also make the cut.

A truly great year for great Bowies.
 
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1) Post 2- Knife 7 - Samuel Lurquin – Damascus Tsavo Bowie. So terrific to see so many compelling entries from Sam this year. I saw a pic of this knife at a near-complete stage and immediately tried to move heaven and earth to acquire it. The bad news is that it was already spoken for. The good news is that it went to a great guy. I don't love it any less.

2) Post 9, Knife 1 - Jason Knight - Blade Show 2012 Best Bowie. Winning THAT award at THAT show counts for something. A beautiful and badass recurve fighting bowie.

3) Post 20- Knife 6 Kyle Royer Damascus Bowie - a stunning full-dress gentleman’s bowie that fully displays the impressive skill set of this knifemaking prodigy.

4) 25-1 Kyle Royer Shadow of the West Bowie. A comparatively simple piece, yet one that offers a unique aesthetic even among diverse assembly. Dark, sinister, lethal, beautiful.

5) Post 26- Knife1 - Fisk NLT# 4 for 2012 Clamshell Dirk. Just an off-the-hook stunning piece. Long and lean. Perfect proportions. Complex construction, flawlessly executed. A museum quality piece to be sure.

6) Post 115- Knife 1 Burt Foster Half Light Fighter – Creating a unique style is perhaps one of the hardest tricks to pull – and one that Burt has accomplished for some time. The damascus on this piece is electric. The lines fast and fluid. The balance, perfect. And razor sharp top and bottom.

7) Post 2 - Knife 1 - Dave Lisch Fighting Dragons bowie. I fell in love with the first version of this knife - Flying Dragons - captivated equally by the crisp lines and innovative damascus. Then Dave kicked it up a notch by rendering two opposing dragon armies in aerial combat - I fell more in love.
 
In the order they were posted:

Post #2, Knife #1- Dave Lisch Flying Dragons- This damascus is SO cool. Also, the blade and whole overall profile is perfect. Yeah, the good vs. evil, two color dragons is an example of the nice extra little details that separates Dave from many.

Post #17, Knife #1- Don Hanson Ivory Bowie- The blade profile on this is perfect. A killer hamon and a great piece of ivory.

Post #21, Knife #1- John White Old Glory Bowie- I love the Damascus and the whole theme of this knife. The d-guard is perfect to my eye.

Post #25, Knife #1- Kyle Royer Shadow of the west bowie- Dark and sinister, yet elegant at the same time. I really like the guard and fittings.

Post #57, Knife #5- Bruce Bingenheimer- The pointy blade and the cool hamon, along with the guard go perfectly with the color of the ivory.

Post #60, Knife #2- Jon Christensen- I love everything about this knife so much I wish it were mine. I love ‘cowboy’ bowies in this size range and I’m a sucker for blackwood and silver. Jon’s work is always so INSANELY clean and just right. At first glance it maybe looks simple but I look at the little subtle details that are executed to perfection. That’s not easy.

Post #69, Knife #1- Mike Quesenberry- again a ‘cowboy’ type bowie. I love the hamon, the awesome grinds and the perfect coffin handle. Another one who has perfect execution on all the little details.
 
My nominations:

Post #20
Knife 1. Maximus Bowie by Samuel Lurquin - Everything on this knife is just mind blowing, especially the gold vine motif.

Post #25
Knife 1. Kyle Royer – Shadow of the West Bowie - If I could only own one bowie this would probably be IT. The way the thin brass and silver spacers compliment the darkness of the handle and blade is just stunning. And the way that hamon just peeks out from the darkness like a shadow is just chilling.

Post #21
Knife 1. Nihonshiki Bowie - It's all about the guard and handle, awesome choice of materials and excellent execution.

Post #26
Knife 2. Rodrigo Sfreddo Hiram Bowie - Amazing damascus and super sexy integral handle detail combined with classic lines makes this one an incredible package.

Post #44
Knife 1. Armin Drumm - If I where to carry and edc a damascus bowie this would probably be it. The damascus reminds me of jasper and the desert landscape, just irresistible.

Post #57
Knife 5. Bruce Bingenheimer - The coloring on the guard matching with the ivory is simply perfect, so delicate.

Post #82
Knife 1. James R. Cook - The horsemen really got me. Super awesome idea and amazing execution.
 
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Here's my choice out of this unbelievable selection.
Post#2 knife #6 Lin Rhea. A bit of a different look for Lin and I love it!
Post#3 knife#2 Stuart Branson.Brilliantly designed and executed.
Post#21Knife#1 John White Old Glory.Flawless in evry aspect.
Post #65 knife#2 John Cohea Copper S Guard.It might be cheesy voting for my own knife,but this is one of my best to date,and I would loved to have kept it for myself!
Post# 65 Knife# 4 Dave Lisch Amber Stag Fighter.It's long and lean,and beautiful,it's mine,and it's just plain bad ass,nuff said!
Post #70 Mike Ruth Jr. Just a fantastic example of Jr's artistry!
Post#57 knife#2 Andrew Takach Fighter.I got to handle this one.It's well thought out and made,and it's just plain nasty,and I mean that in a good way!
 
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Wow, not easy and my poor ass internet doesn't like pages with that many photos!

These are just a few that caught my eye. I could easily come up with another 7 or so...

Post 3 #2 Branson

Post43 #1 Royer

Post 70 #1 Ruth Jr

Post 135 #2 Wheeler

Post 21 #2 John White

Post 2 #7 Lurquin

Post 5 #1 Wieland
 
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Some great knives this year. Always a highlight to see them all in one place.

Post# 22 #2 Bump Hideout Bowie. A Bowie/Fighter and a folder. Amazing.
Post 57 #1 Butch Deveraux. A nice change of pace and very strong-looking.
Post 68 #1 DesRosiers, Royer, Gann, Bobbitt. Really nice package.
Post 68 #3 Fuegen. Elegance.
Post #70 #1 Ruth Jr. Great damascus and stag combo.
Post #115 #1 Foster. Half Light Fighter. Maybe the best of the bunch.
 
Boy, that was a lot of work... =]

Post 18... #3 knife... David Mirable

Post 20... #1 knife... Joe Keesler 50th Year

Post 34... #2 knife... Mike Ruth sub-hilt

Post 68... #8 knife... Rick Marchand

Post 82... #5 knife... David Lisch

Post 118... #1 knife... Ben Seward

Post 135... #2 knife... Nick Wheeler

Mike
 
An amazing collection of bowies here. Here are my votes:
Post 6 Knife #1 "Toruk" by Wieland--I really like the guard, subhilt and flow of this knife.
Post 17 Knife #1 Hanson--Nice ivory, beautiful hamon and has Hanson written all over it.
Post 21 Knife #2 White--The Nihonshiki Bowie just blew me away when I saw it posted here. Like nothing I had ever seen before.
Post 65 Knife #4 Lisch--Awesome stag, awesome damascus, and the pommel carving just finishes it off for me.
Post 69 Knife #9 Wheeler--This knife just has it all as far as I am concerned.
Post 70 Knife #1 Ruth Jr.--Stag, guard, damascus....everything is amazing on this knife.
Thanks for doing this Roger.

-Mike
 
I am pretty sure I could nominate 70 instead of 7 but here goes:

Post 3 Knife 1 Maker Royer Blue ivory
Post 20 Knife 5 Maker White D-guard
Post 22 Knife 2 Maker Bump Hideout
Post 25 Knife 1 Maker Royer Shadow of the west
Post 41 Knife 1 Maker Bump/Janik Relief engraving
Post 68 Knife 3 Maker Fuegen Carved ivory handle
Post 70 Knife 1 Maker Ruth Jr. Ladder/stag
 
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