I've been a knife lover my entire life, & a collector for about half of it, but I've only recently evolved into digging bigger knives like bowies, fighters, & campers....so I'm always on the lookout for special examples here on Bladeforums.
Last week, pretty late on a Saturday night, I grabbed my phone to check the Fixed Blades Exchange, as I do roughly 942,000,000 times/day. I see a name that rings a bell, but I'm not sure why, then I see "5160 Forged Bowie Knife"...so yes, I clicked it. Boom, there it was, a very classic/classy bowie. It was just the size I go for, about a 9" blade. So right away I'm processing this as a contender, I'm thinking that this may the very next knife that I have to pretend I've had forever & count on my lovely wife not caring enough to notice otherwise. Then I see the details that I love, & are so rare...the darker etched fittings that give the piece a maturity it wouldn't otherwise have. I focus on the handle next, an awesome chunk of Sambar Stag that was born to be a knife handle - then I learn that Mark acquired this decades old handle from his knife making mentor, which I thought was such a cool story....& check out how he transfers the randomness of the Stag onto the butt cap - such a great little detail that adds immensely to the knife. Next, my eyes go to the sheath...obviously very well made, a rich color that goes so well with the Stag, & he kept it as slender as possible, which I knew would make wearing this bowie on my belt so much easier. Finally, the streamlined sheath caused me to really focus on the blade itself - Mark hadn't simply made a classic bowie, he started with the classic bowie idea & then infused his 21st Century know-how into it to make it lighting fast in hand...he kept the blade from being overly wide & thick, with perfect balance...it's such a strange experience to hold this knife....I'm holding a 14.25" knife, but it feels like it's maybe a 9.25" knife. He gave it a great flat grind, but he convexed the edge (hair popping sharp) so it would hold up to real work...& of course his fit & finish is top notch - I always look at the plunge lines, grind transitions...it's all flawless, everything lines up perfectly. I freaking love it.
And he's such a nice guy too...I emailed him a couple days after buying the knife & asked him if he'd be willing to make a frog for it, as I don't like carrying bowies the old fashioned way. Oh, and one of the coolest aspects of this knife is the way it slides into the sheath. He built the sheath to such exacting tolerances that the knife feels like it's being tractor beamed slowly into the sheath with light pressure. It's difficult to describe, but the feeling transmitted as the knife goes into the sheath is exactly the same pressure for all 9.25" of the blade - I've never felt a sheath accept a knife like this - I know it must seem sound strange to read this, but you'd get what I'm trying to say if you sheathed or unsheathed this knife.
Anyhow, Mark's got an Instagram page, I'm not sure if he's got a website, & I know he posted here on BF over a decade ago for years...then took a break due to other work, & now he's back into the full-time knife-making business. I've checked out his Instagram & he does his own amazing Damascus, he makes kitchen knives, all sorts of fixed blades, & even folders....he just sold a great Japanese style knife too, & it looks like he's working on a San-Mai bowie type knife that I'm really excited about. Oh, BTW, he priced my bowie very reasonably, I couldn't shoot that PayPal out quick enough...He shipped it super fast too. I highly recommend his work, but if you see a nice bowie/fighter come up, please don't snag it before I do...that's not cool. Scott Sherman
Last week, pretty late on a Saturday night, I grabbed my phone to check the Fixed Blades Exchange, as I do roughly 942,000,000 times/day. I see a name that rings a bell, but I'm not sure why, then I see "5160 Forged Bowie Knife"...so yes, I clicked it. Boom, there it was, a very classic/classy bowie. It was just the size I go for, about a 9" blade. So right away I'm processing this as a contender, I'm thinking that this may the very next knife that I have to pretend I've had forever & count on my lovely wife not caring enough to notice otherwise. Then I see the details that I love, & are so rare...the darker etched fittings that give the piece a maturity it wouldn't otherwise have. I focus on the handle next, an awesome chunk of Sambar Stag that was born to be a knife handle - then I learn that Mark acquired this decades old handle from his knife making mentor, which I thought was such a cool story....& check out how he transfers the randomness of the Stag onto the butt cap - such a great little detail that adds immensely to the knife. Next, my eyes go to the sheath...obviously very well made, a rich color that goes so well with the Stag, & he kept it as slender as possible, which I knew would make wearing this bowie on my belt so much easier. Finally, the streamlined sheath caused me to really focus on the blade itself - Mark hadn't simply made a classic bowie, he started with the classic bowie idea & then infused his 21st Century know-how into it to make it lighting fast in hand...he kept the blade from being overly wide & thick, with perfect balance...it's such a strange experience to hold this knife....I'm holding a 14.25" knife, but it feels like it's maybe a 9.25" knife. He gave it a great flat grind, but he convexed the edge (hair popping sharp) so it would hold up to real work...& of course his fit & finish is top notch - I always look at the plunge lines, grind transitions...it's all flawless, everything lines up perfectly. I freaking love it.
And he's such a nice guy too...I emailed him a couple days after buying the knife & asked him if he'd be willing to make a frog for it, as I don't like carrying bowies the old fashioned way. Oh, and one of the coolest aspects of this knife is the way it slides into the sheath. He built the sheath to such exacting tolerances that the knife feels like it's being tractor beamed slowly into the sheath with light pressure. It's difficult to describe, but the feeling transmitted as the knife goes into the sheath is exactly the same pressure for all 9.25" of the blade - I've never felt a sheath accept a knife like this - I know it must seem sound strange to read this, but you'd get what I'm trying to say if you sheathed or unsheathed this knife.
Anyhow, Mark's got an Instagram page, I'm not sure if he's got a website, & I know he posted here on BF over a decade ago for years...then took a break due to other work, & now he's back into the full-time knife-making business. I've checked out his Instagram & he does his own amazing Damascus, he makes kitchen knives, all sorts of fixed blades, & even folders....he just sold a great Japanese style knife too, & it looks like he's working on a San-Mai bowie type knife that I'm really excited about. Oh, BTW, he priced my bowie very reasonably, I couldn't shoot that PayPal out quick enough...He shipped it super fast too. I highly recommend his work, but if you see a nice bowie/fighter come up, please don't snag it before I do...that's not cool. Scott Sherman
