Doofus: No. 24 - First Bowie

ddavelarsen

ddavelarsen

Joined
Dec 7, 2000
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Well here's my first bowie, it's been a long time in the making - I ground the blade last October... :rolleyes:

I've been practicing displacement behavior ever since! But finally almost have it finished. I'll explain the "almost" and the "doofus" in the next post along with a pic worth more than words. :o

Meanwhile, some specs:

Overall Length 17 3/8"
Blade is O1, 11 1/4" hand rubbed to 1500 grit
Guard, Ferrule, Escutheon Plates and Pins are Brass
Framed Handle is Ebony and O1

Thanks to Bruce Evans for the heat treat (Bruce, remember this one from the dim past? :) ).
 

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...after all this time I'm closing in on finishing this baby and it's looking good, all fitting together nice and tight...

...so I get everthing just so and put a touch of super glue here and there to hold everything in place while I drill for the pin to hold the handle on...

...get it all finished, put the escutcheon plates on and sit down with the polish and wax to put the "sale" finish on it...

...turn it over...
 

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Crimeny, I didn't finish the choil!

Crap.

Now what?

Freakin idiot!

You know, I've almost done this a couple times before -- but I bet I never will again!

So I guess I tape off the guard and get as close as I can, and chalk it up to

Doofusness! :o :rolleyes:

Dave
 
Get a small piece of steel, 1"by whatever. Put a chisel grind on it.
Use it as a backing for sandpaper, with the bevel side up and to the front. You can get into a tight corner that way, just be careful, and go slow.:eek:
Very nice Bowie though, all things considered.:D
 
Dave,This is a really Great looking Bowie.Fantastic in fact.:cool:
Is the ferrule made from three solid pieces or two pieces that are solid and a hollow ferruke in the center with a framed handle?
Man I did the same thing with the choil myself years ago and now I make sure it is eubbed out long before the guard ever even is fitted up.You learn these things by making this mistake.I heard years ago that this is a spot that allot of people will forget and thus collecters will always check it to see if it is finished out.
Yes some tape on the face of the guard and some sand paper will fix it for you.
I had started wondering what happened to that blade by the way.
Bruce
 
Dave! That's a fantastic Bowie! I think it came out great and you'll manage to finish the choil without marring the guard. I am very impressed with the guard construction and the matching file work on the brass picked up with the file work on the blade and framed handle. All in all an incredible piece of work!
 
Dave, Thats a fantastic bowie!! Very good work and I like the fine detailing. The choil will take a while but it can be done. Ive done that a time or two also. Be careful to stay off that soft guard.I think I would protect it with sheel metal instead of tape just in case you slip.
 
Great knife!!!
Try super glueing a piece of razor blade to the guard. This will protect the guard from almost anything including a Bader. Don't ask how I know. :barf:
The blade is so thin no one will ever know....Ken
 
You sure nailed everything else.:eek: What a great looking bowie and super file work.
 
Dave with talent exhibited in the knife as a whole
you will have no trouble fixing this f-up it happens
to all of us at one time or another, that is how we
learn and that Bowie is truly one of a kind. Gib
 
Fantastic work Dave
It's great you guy put your knives on display. Part time amatures like me can see how it should be done and strive to achieve the same results.

I will be saving an image of your file work to put with the Bruce Evans Tutorials.
 
:eek:WOW!:eek:
For a "first Bowie" that is one gorgeous knife! I love the file work on it, especially the guard. Whoever buys that one will probably lock it up behind break proof glass.:D
 
Thanks guys, very complimentary - I thought we'd all get a good laugh off my goofy mistake and move on. Thanks for the nice words too! Bruce E, this thing has just been getting pushed aside by paying knives; this one isn't an order so it had to wait its turn. :)

After I finish the choil - and Ken thanks for the razor blade idea, you and Bruce nailed it - I have to make a sheath for it, will try my hand at a brass tipped wood sheath...wish me luck! Maybe I'll remember to finish it all before I put it together. :D

Edited to add: Bruce, the ferrule is three pieces, the big one in the center is solid, not rolled like you do; I haven't the soldering courage to try that just yet! I'll stick with what I know I can do. :)

Dave
 
love the blade and handle, by the way dave if you haven't made any mistakes lately, it most likely that you haven't made very many knives:D i have gotten many new ideas for future knives while fixing the @#$% up!
 
Since October? - hey, no good knife should be finished before it's time......What a beautiful job !!!!

Bob

"http://home.attbi.com/~southriv/"
 
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