Buckeye Bowie / Hunter by Burt Foster, MS

Joined
Feb 28, 2002
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The bowie has been seen here before, but earlier this week the matching hunter arrived, so I thought I'd post up the completed set. For the dial-up users, you will find a link to the pictures here:

http://www.fototime.com/inv/27CD6E5B2574359

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Specs on the knives:

* Handles of California buckeye burl;
* Blades of forged 52100 carbon steel ;
* Dimensions (blade length / overall length) - bowie : 9 1/4" / 14 1/8", hunter : 5 1/8" / 10" ;
* Dual finish on the blades - hand rubbed satin finish on the blade flats, mirror polished on the spine and underside of the choil;
* Spine and underside of choil rounded - not flat - for greater comfort;
* Guards / ferrules crafted from two-bar twist damascus, heat blued;
* Three domed pins securing the full hidden tang.

Notice that the blade profile on the hunter closely matches that of the bowie. Even though it is about half the size, the lines, proportions and overall flow translate well into a compact package.

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Here we can see a close-up of the blued damscus fittings on the hunter:

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And on the bowie:

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Both knives bear Burt's traditional date stamp with the year of manufacture bracketing the master smith stamp. I think this is a terrific feature as it creates a historical record that forms an indelible part of the artifact itself. It sure would be easier to accurately date some of those wonderful antique bowies had bladesmiths in the middle and late 1800's shown such foresight.

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One of the real treats that come with every Burt Foster knife (apart from the superb fit and finish for which he is renowned) is an absolutely top quality custom sheath crafted by the maker to complement the knife. Here. Burt made the hunter sheath to closely match that which had been supplied with bowie:

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Not a bad match for knives made nearly a year apart, wouldn't you say?

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As always, it was an absolute pleasure working with Burt. His high level of skill, his passion for his craft and his consummate professionalism ensure that he will be one of those makers with whom I will always have a knife (or two) on order.

Roger Pinnock
 
That is gorgeous. I love the blued damascus combined with that wood... wow...
 
Fantastic looking set i really like the gaurds on there, and I love the buckeye piece too.
 
Roger,
What a lucky guy you are,this Bowie/Hunter set is impeccable in fit and finish.:thumbup:
The Buckeye Burl and blued,twist Damascus are stunning together and the sheaths sew it up.Congrats,sir!


:cool: :D

Doug
 
I hate them both, and that Burt Foster , well what can I say :jerkit: , and what a really stupid surname! I think that your best bet is to send them over to me and I'll modify them a bit .......... you know, assign title to me so you won't be so embarassed and all that!

PS: Ok, so I love them, and the only real thing wrong with Burt is that I don't own one of his knives yet, but hey, the above made me feel a bit better after a really crap week!:D

Stephen
 
Roger, next time I'm in Buffalo I'm going to cross the bridge and liberate both of those from you :).

The size of the hunter handle looks about perfect, not much smaller than the bowie. Those fittings are really smoking too...great score(s).

Matt
 
Stephen sorry for your bad week. Go to a quiet corner and think blade show. Roger this just might be be the best pair of user/collecter knives this forum has seen. I do wish they were mine. But they are not, so you enjoy them.
 
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