Bowie with Stacked Leather Handle.

SBranson

SBranson

Joined
Oct 29, 2006
Messages
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Lorien's thread from a month ago had this knife in it's incomplete/testing phase. It's now finished and at it's new home so I thought I would follow up with a few pics.
This was one of those ones I would have liked to keep on my belt.

So.. here's a few photos of that bowie.
I went with the dark hamon finish due to the "rustic" nature of the piece. The fittings are deep etched wrought iron. W2 as usual for the blade, copper accents.
It's a big knife at 10 1/4" for the blade and 5 1/8" for the handle and 9/32" thick at the ricasso.

I like the big sweeping guard on this, something usual for me. Not to mention the stacked leather. On that I didn't go to the full polished finish as I liked how grippy, warm and organic it feels like this. I didn't want to seal it in epoxy or anything but it has been heavily treated with leather balm, gum tragacanth and tung oil sealer, burnished and buffed...

Sorry, they're a little darker than I remember but you get the idea.

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It is a beast!!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Stuart, did you take any picture before "darkening" the hamon? I see very interesting things above the line!! Packman ghosts pattern? ;)
 
This one is totally the kind of stuff I dig. You don't see much stacked leather anymore which is a shame. It's so handsome. The shape and proportions of the knife are just perfect. The sweep of the guard is beautiful. The design of the sheath is fantastic as well. I love this one!
 
I like it a lot Stuart. It has that certain aged and rustic look. I like what you did with the leather handle.
 
An absolutely wonderful Bowie and another great example of your vast array of skills plus your eye for lines, textures, materials and your exemplary leatherwork. :cool:
 
Love the richness of the dark finish on the handle and the way the dark touches in the sheath finish complement that, also the narrow bands of the handle stack--one of my favorite leather handles ever. The dark pommel and brut de forge really set it off. Great blade profile, proportions and flow in the guard. :thumbup:

For me the "character" of everything you're doing these days has incredibly engaging depth and interest.
 
Love it!! I'm a BIG fan of stacked leather handles... they feel great in the hand, don't get slippy when wet or bloody and just age well... :)
 
Stuart... I really dig this knife. The handle and fittings are top notch, with a wonderful classic feel. Visually, the package works really well together. If I could see one thing changed, I'd like it if the ricasso were widened slightly toward the front, so it lined up with the front of the handle. It think that would visually tie the profile together and give the piece less of a blade-heavy feel.
That being said... this is a knife that I would be stoked to have in my collection. :thumbup:
Erin
 
Thanks for the comments.

When making a hamon, the thickness of the blade has as much or more of an effect on the hamon as does the clay. The "ghosting" shows more of the clay and the actual line is the result of the "thermal mass" of the blade at the quench. I am always trying to play with that relationship and the other factors.
There's lots of the "utsuri" activity above the line and a lot of subtle details that could only have come from the full polish but that didn't really suit the rest of the knife.
For those that like this hamon, I have another knife that I made with a similar clay layout but there is much less steel mass above the line to affect the hamon and it is a crazy looking thing.. I can't wait to polish that knife.

Erin, yes you've found the one thing that bothered me a little too. It's much better than it was at first as Lorien could attest to. Still the ricasso is over 1" wide..
 
well, that turned out pretty good!
slimming the handle profile down did wonders, much better flow now.
whoever owns this will probably attest to the feeling that this knife wants to go to work!
very substantial, badass piece.
 
That thing looks like it would feel like an extension of your arm. Perfect
 
That is cool Stuart it really has that I was made 100 years ago look to it very nice.
 
Thanks. The toughest part of the stacked leather handle is that I made it for a dropped handle. Most leather stacked handles are straight. This one drops so I had to glue up the stack with a radius. It might be hard to see but you'll notice that the lines of the individual leather washers are not parallel but radial.. That way there's no wedge shaped piece where it mates with the butt cap.
 
SBranson said:
Thanks. The toughest part of the stacked leather handle is that I made it for a dropped handle. Most leather stacked handles are straight. This one drops so I had to glue up the stack with a radius. It might be hard to see but you'll notice that the lines of the individual leather washers are not parallel but radial.. That way there's no wedge shaped piece where it mates with the butt cap.
Click to expand...

So did you use a computer program to work out the edge angles on the washers to get them that perfect? :D
 
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