Bladeforums BEST BOWIE 2013! Voting Thread

Vote for your favourite bowie of 2013!

  • Bump

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • CAS (Sobral)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Feugen

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Lurquin

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Marchand

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Rhea

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Royer

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .
they are all fantastic but I had to vote Bump becuse every time I see that picture I have a visceral response of "holy crap!" Those magnificent flowing lines, the materials and the detail-work all come together so well, it just blows my skirts up
 
I'd be thrilled to own any one of these knives, and found the choice harder this year than most because of the tremendous diversity of styles, blade steel, handle materials and embellishment. Not to mention the extra finalists!

Lin's execution of the D-guard is nothing short of brilliant. He has made forged fittings a signature aspect of his knives.

The CAS offers a compelling blend of colour and texture coupled with excellent lines.

Kyle's Damascus is off the hook - just unreal - and the overall execution makes it the prettiest knife here.

Not hard to understand the appeal of the Bump - heck, it almost got my vote for the outstanding checkering alone. I'd love to see Bruce kick out a European hunting sword one day - he's more than half way there with this beauty.

All of Sam's JS test knives were winners, and I love this one a lot. Stunning in its comparative simplicity.

The Marchand bowie had by far the strongest emotional appeal. The true essence of a bowie as I see it. I think I need to ask him to build me one.

The Fuegen captured my vote. It is sublime. Exquisite work by a living legend.
 
WOW- what a contest! Made me finally register after ages of lurking. I'll go for the GAS. It's the only one of the finalists that flows from beginning to end whithout any interruption. Part by part, the Royer is probably the finest and most delicate, but the overall package is just too much, imho. That's why the Royer only comes in second.

A big round of applause to the other finalists as well! Guess I'll have to go begging for spot in the order book of each of the finalists. LOL
 
This is generally (for me) a contest between

a) The "prettiest" knife
or
b) The "Bowiest" knife.

In the end for me this year it came down to 2 different ones that appeal to me in these categories. All the other ones are amazing as well. But these two just scream "Bowie" to me.

The Fuegen and the Marchand pieces.

In the end the Fuegen wins it for me. Because it's not only in every line and angle what I think a Bowie should look like. (The Marchand is the same even if it's very different) But the details also make it one of the most visually interesting knives.

So mr. Fuegen wins this round in my book.
 
Not a pretty pic, but with my friend is waiting impatiently at home
the result.
 
All of the pieces are exemplary

The Bump is fit for a king

The CAS is organic and raw and he is one of my favorite makers

The Fuegen is high art but a bit to anemic for me

The Rhea is wonderful but I just can't get past the open guard

The Royer is outstanding but not my taste

This leaves the two that I am struggling with

The Lurquin is clean and right and stands alone here with its pure look. I have handled this knife and it is all business like a Bowie should be

The knife I would like to own the most in the field is the Marchand

It is primeval in a wonderful way. I picture this knife as the Bowie from the book Blood Meridian

It is my favorite Musso interpretation to date

I like to reduce the knives to a basic line drawing, and the last two relatively plain knives mentioned in my post can stand next to heavily embellished knives for their pure lines and performance characteristics.

That to me is the art of making a true Bowie

I would love to own Ricks knife and someday I would like him to make me something similar, but today since SAMs knife is doing so well I will give my vote to him in the hope that a plain carbon and wood knife can take the prize of Best Bowie on its pure design elements :)

Thanks to all.....you are all winners

BTW the Lurquin belongs to Jason Knight

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I struggled with my vote. None of the knives compare with each other, so it comes down to personal taste. I decided by going back to my original selections. Interestingly, all of the knives here except one were the last ones eliminated from my original selections. That one is the Bump knife, so it gets my vote. All of the knives are great, but the Bump is perfect to me.
 
Jos said:
For me, it was close. Fuegen or Bump, Bump or Fuegen?

In the end I voted for Bruce Bump. But it was a though choice.

Kind regards,

Jos
Click to expand...

This was my conundrum as well. I actually had to consult with Mrs. Scurvy and in the end we agreed that the Fuegen was our favorite.

Really hard to compare them all and I would be proud to own any of them (and I'm not even a fixed blade guy!) but the Fuegen is the one that stuck with me the most.
 
I am floored, folks! Thanks to Joe P. for throwing me into the mix. I never imagined my Bowie to have this kind of response... I was completely stoked, just to have it in the nomination!
 
Rick like I said my biggest regret was not buying it at Blade.

I've regretted it ever since

We need to get together on a knife my friend :)
 
I voted for the Bump. It has a "Old World Master Craftsmanship" feel that really appeals to me.
 
Sam's bowie is a knife to be used. Bruce's is to be admired. Two masterworks in two different way of knifemaking. My vote to bruce bump.
 
Gotta pick the CAS Stag Bowie. First thing that came to mind was "Welcome To The Dark Side" Love the texture throughout the piece as well as the deep gutteral feeling it gives with the dark colors. I'm a sucker for brut de forge and this one carries it from tip to pommel.
 
I would like to congratulate each maker on being included in this elite group of makers of fine Bowies. I’m had a more difficult time making my choice this year than in the past.
Several factors influence my decision in picking my BF Best; personal preference, overall design and execution, material selection, difficulty to create and which piece I consider more a ‘true Bowie’ since this is a Bowie contest. In reading over the posts here, I find the varying opinions as to which piece most represents the ‘true Bowie’ interesting.

Here are my thoughts on each of these outstanding Knives:

Bruce Bump – Outstanding piece. Bruce continues to create masterpieces with each major project he takes on. All design elements, engraving, checkering, damascus are superbly executed and outstanding IMO. This piece just strikes me more as a gentleman’s short Hunting Sword with it’s long sleek blade and fuller/blood grove than a Bowie.

CAS – These guys are amazing as they seem to turn-out incredible knives like McDonalds turns out Big-Macs. ;):D I don’t know how they do it as most every piece looks like it took forever to create. I love this Bowie, and it’s ALL Bowie IMO, but feel that the laminate blade clashes with the handle/guard and the overall ‘Rustic Bowie’ theme of the knife.

Sam Lurquin – I can certainly understand why this piece is doing so well in the voting as it’s so clean and well executed. IMO, this piece rises to the top among the others from an ergonomic perspective. The handle is a masterpiece on it’s own IMO. I’m just seeing more ‘Fighter’ here as opposed to ‘Bowie’.

Rick Marchand – No doubt Rick’s piece is PURE Bowie and he definitely nailed this historic rendition of such. Just personal preference though, I don’t like cord wrapped handles. Extraordinary Bowie.

Lin Rhea – Lin, seems to be hitting a home run with every piece these days. He’s come so far in a relatively short period of time. This Bowie is a perfect example. A great combination of beauty and execution. It’s up against some extremely tough competition here.

Kyle Royer – As I’ve been saying for years, Kyle has the potential to become one of the finest knifemakers of all time. He’s a young man with relatively few years of knifemaking under his belt yet look at this Bowie and all the skills demonstrated. Fit, finish and execution are amazing. I had a hard time not picking it as my Best of 2013. It’s just doesn’t seem to fit the ‘Bowie’ category as well as a few others in the group.

Larry Fuegen – I about fell out of my chair last January when Larry sent me photos of this beautiful ‘Buckaroo Bowie’ set (bowie, sheath, spurs, display). Larry’s Bowies are always beautiful and historically influenced yet still created to perform to the highest degree. This piece is a true example of ‘Functional Art’. This piece fit ALL my criteria stated above and is my pick of Best Bowie of 2013.

I wish everyone a great 2014.
 
Scurvy092 said:
This was my conundrum as well. I actually had to consult with Mrs. Scurvy and in the end we agreed that the Fuegen was our favorite.

Really hard to compare them all and I would be proud to own any of them (and I'm not even a fixed blade guy!) but the Fuegen is the one that stuck with me the most.
Click to expand...

That's funny...I consulted my better half as well and she also picked the Fuegen.
 
Hello!

Kevin - really enjoyed reading your observations! This whole thread is simply a joy to read!

Best regards,
Alex

PS: my liking of the laminated blade on the CAS especially on this one, is because the lamination pattern picks up the hinted flame-part from the handle and looks like dancing flames ;)
 
Good grief, what a competition. I could try all day to articulate the unbelievable craftsmanship present in each one of these blades. In the end though, I couldn't do it as well as it's already been said by others here. Closest I can come is to say that for me, it's like trying describe which snowflake is the most beautiful.

Therefor, my selection criteria has been simplified down to answering the question, if I could have one of the blades nominated, which would it be? I have to go with the CAS.
 
I voted for Kyle, as Kevin stated, fit, finish, execution were exceptional as it was in all the pieces, but for me it was also the complicated damascus pattern, the file work and the soul authorship.
Fuegen, would have gotten my vote - because I really liked the handle carving, inlay and the guard, but the damascus in the blade just didn't do it for me.

Each maker did an outstanding job and I salute you all for creating exceptional pieces that show how the art of knifemaking covers such a wide range of excellence.

Happy New Year

Bill
 
I had to vote for CAS stag-bowie:
-dynamic and flowing lines
-archaic look
-matching surfaces allover the knife

gerhard
 
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