Custom Bowie Pricing

I am willing to change the blade design i understand that performance of a knife is important as long as the handle and sheath remain the same design I am fine with the blade being altered. I mean is my design really that ugly ?

But honestly these past two experiences are souring the idea of a custom knife I don't want some ornate custom knife that's will end up as a shelf piece I want manly mans knife that not afraid to dirt under it's nails

And if I had the knife made and somebody said that the maker makes ugly knives I would say "f*** you I designed that knife" and then I would defend the knifesmith to the death

Also henelgo I do want real silver it has a different shine and color then steel
 
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Silent John-

It's not exactly my thing, but I think you've got a very solid foundation for a great knife!

I was just trying to help explain how many knifemakers approach such a thing--- it had nothing to do specifically with YOUR design. :)

Hopefully somebody can step up and make something for you as I hate the idea of you being soured on a custom knife. Quite honestly, there are more new makers popping up all the time, but very few new collectors/buyers...
 
It isn't that it is ugly. That is a totally subjective opinion. I can appreciate a well done, but somewhat clunky knife. Seriously.

But the design and construction of a knife is, like many things in this world, not as simple as it appears on the surface. A bar of steel with an edge on it is a Knife Shaped Object that will cut and handle poorly. It has as much in common to a real knife as a table knife has in common to a screw driver. No good maker is going to want to put his name on one. The cross section and tapering of a blade is what allows a large knife like that to work well as a cutting tool. Distribution of weight (balance) and the amount of meat behind the cutting edge are very important elements. Otherwise it will feel like a hammer, and cut about as well as one. No maker worth his salt would omit these considerations in their work. And there are other considerations as well. Thus, it is possible your negative experience with makers, wanting to change the design, could be due in part to their experience with knives and understanding something that isn't necessarily intuitively obvious to you.

Or they could just be wankers, who knows... :D
 
I Understand that Nathan when it comes to the blade I will take suggestions as a knifemaker I realize that you know what grind works for certain knives , it's that I just don't get why having silver in the handle is a problem if I have a brass gaurd and pommel that's what got me going
 
If you want to enjoy your final product here is something to consider:

You seem like you have a pretty good idea of what you want. I can respect that. You also seem to be comfortable with the possibility that there could be a 'better' way of building a ten inch Bowie knife (from a pure performance perspective -- from an ergonomic standpoint -- etc.) -- but you're really just interested in seeing this vision of you and your father's realized. Also cool...

If you have the time -- it might be wise to whip up a 'model' of the knife -- to proper proportions -- out of glued together layers of cardboard or balsa wood. If you are going to be dropping a fist full of dollars (lolz) on this baby -- and you are taking on some non-trivial role in it's design -- you should probably have a feel for the guy in hand before giving someone the design.

Just so this all does eventually work out in a way that satisfies you and your dad, you may have to do a bit more than you have done in laying everything out as you want it. You know what you want -- and plenty of makers would be happy to build the thing -- but the instructions you have given aren't detailed enough for anyone to implement them to a customer who is very sensitive to his design being altered. The drawing -- for instance -- ain't to scale; everybody does this at first when planning knives out on paper -- but the handle is way too small if the only item that we know the dimensions of is the blade; if the blade above is ten inches the Spyderco Chinook has a bigger handle than your knife; and the Chinook has a 3.75 inch blade that can't build the sort of inertia that your Bowie will.

Now -- I know that you just were sketching the knife out -- and don't want the 'letter' of your design reproduced by a disastrously narrow reading of your 'literal' vision.

Constructive comment: the handle seems unto itself to scale with the fittings -- and could stand alone as a good pattern for a more appropriately proportioned handle. You just have to re-think the junction of the handle and blade and tang, if you are going to do this. Again -- making a model to hold in your hand will help you enforce this sort of proper proportioning.

The drawing of the blade is also okay unto itself. I have actually re-ground Ontario Marine Raider bowies to look like that before. It's pretty freaking wicked if you thin the blade out and move the hollow grinds up along the initial run, belly and clip. But -- as somebody who does practice Jim-Keatong-Style big knife fighting -- let me tell you that counter-balancing the thing is a little tricky; the blade is always going to be heavy -- but it also carries it's weight in a sort of wonky way. There's a lot of brass on Clint's knife -- I don't know if the thing is based on a historical blade, or if it's a pot-metal invention of the prop-crew -- but if you want to whip the thing around while listening to Enno Moriconne soundtracks you may want to give the guy a little bit of liberty to keep the thing balanced with the brass butt cap and guard as counterweights.

If you wanted a re-ground Marine Raider Bowie for this blade I think you could save yourself a lot of money and time and headache...
 
you do understand that to have this made is going to cost a fair bit right.. like upwards of 500$ to make your design look appealing.. minimum.

A lot of times enthusiasts post this big hunt thread for a maker, get all the details worked out with them, and when the craftsmen mentions the price the customer craps his pants!.
 
cool cool.

actually, if your good with a bit of a waiting period I might be able to help you out.. It'd be a month or so before I could show any reasonable progress..
we could certainly bounce some sketches back and forth..
 
sorry man ill think ill wait after this happend we are thinking of just buying a CS trailmaster and having it customized and it might be cheaper in the long run
 
Kenon Rain said:
you do understand that to have this made is going to cost a fair bit right.. like upwards of 500$ to make your design look appealing.. minimum.

A lot of times enthusiasts post this big hunt thread for a maker, get all the details worked out with them, and when the craftsmen mentions the price the customer craps his pants!.
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SilentJohn said:
sorry man ill think ill wait after this happend we are thinking of just buying a CS trailmaster and having it customized and it might be cheaper in the long run
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It would be funny if it wasn't so predictable...
 
hahaha.. yeah, ah well :P
beats selling knives at a rennfaire.. they balked at my 1/4 of usual prices.. "30 bucks for a knife!! pah, c'mon kids, lets leave this mad man."
 
Doesn't everything come down to money. This has come a long way from " This is what I want, no if's and's or butt's."
 
Keep in mind the name of the thread is "custom Bowie pricing" and I do realize that your prices are more then fair but I don't even have the money yet and if you can just make the handle and sheath the way I want and have the snake etched on the blade I will let you grind the blade any way that works for you
 
As a custom maker I will chime in here.

The knife you want made is a project for an accomplished maker. Engraving in steel is not a beginners task. Such a knife would be a bargain at $500-600, and a known maker may charge $2000. The handle and blade are fine as you described them. The blade geometry ,grinds and tapers will be determined in the discussions between maker and buyer. Most accomplished makers have waiting lists, and special projects take even longer.

Be aware that if you re-grind a commercial knife you won't be doing any engraving on it.

Now, myself being a Clint Eastwood fan since he was Rowdy Yates, I can appreciate your ardor. I used to carry a .41 cal Navy Colt ( cap and ball) that I made, and wore a serape ( I have worn a Stetson for nearly 50 years, too). I clearly recognize the belt design of his holster, but admit that I never paid much attention to his knife. That is funny because I have seen the movie dozens of times.

FWIW, the gun in the movie is merely a prop. It was a .36 calibre Navy Colt 1851 reproduction that was bored out to take cartridges. Since no such gun actually existed, you have to guess at what they were trying to represent. I had a .45 cal 1873 Colt and matching rifle ( both took the same cartridge), which was what he carried in his other "Man with No Name" films. Since the GBU movie gun was a fantasy, I guess you can have/make whatever you think are the "right" weapons to match his.

My suggestion is that if you want the look, you get a commercial camp/bowie knife that looks similar in shape ( the handle won't be the same obviously) and make a sheath yourself to look any way you wish. This way you get a knife for $100 or less and make the sheath to you desire for maybe $30-50.

Now, if you want any further suggestions from me, I would ditch the cursive writing in the sheath. It would be difficult to do and probably won't look good. The best way would be to have "THE GOOD" carved in western letters ("the" over "good"). The snake could be carved into the sheath ( above THE GOOD) with much better detail than on the knife blade. The stitching would look funny IMHO, but that would be your choice ( certainly not my cup of tea). If you really wanted the design, maybe it could be stitched on the strap, and a small design stitched in the sheath between the snake and the words.


Edited to add:
The 1851 Colt pistol reproduction kits are fun to build and require no special skills. They are readily available for around $300. A standard pistol belt could be hand stitched to add the design you like.
 
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I never said he carried a knife I said the knife was a original design and that it was based on his gun sorry for any confusion

And if I do have a CS trailmaster customized I won't have it re-ground just logos removed and a custom handle and sheath
 
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I am never going to have it made because by now and by reading comments left here the idea of a custom knife just seems like a headache
 
SilentJohn said:
It will be but I won't have it reground
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it would have to be re-heat treated too.. most people cant engrave hardened knives.. which is why I said it wouldn't be engraved.. at that point you mine as well have a knife made all anew.

Custom anything is a headache, but one many people enjoy greatly.. I think you came into this all from the wrong angle. There's a reason why you cant just make this knife yourself. practiced knifemaker's have experience in the designing, maintenance, build, and over all quality upkeep that goes into making a quality blade, so communication with them is key as they no doubt know much more than you about what you are asking them to do.
You wouldn't tell a welder how specifically to weld a trailer you want, would you?

Anyway, this would have gone down a lot better if you had been upfront and detailed in your original post. saying

"I have 400-600$ that I would like to spend on having this knife my father and I came up with, themed from..... I would like to keep it as close to the sketch as possible, but minor changes are fine if I am informed of them, and am part of the decision making process. Thanks!"
 
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