Guess Who 3?

PhilL

PhilL

Joined
Oct 1, 1999
Messages
6,490
I’m not going to ask you to guess who the maker is because his name may be new to some of you. I know it was new to me. The maker of this knife is named Bill Burke. He sent me an e-mail along with this pic, he had a feeling I’d like it. He was right.

Would you care to guess who his influences are?

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Once again this is just for fun and no prizes will be awarded and please no wagering.

BTW this knife is SOLD
 
I would have to say his influences are Scagel and Fowler.
What did I win? :p

btw. Very Nice Knife.
 
Bill is Ed's protege who is probably the closest living human being that has Ed's trust to carry on the forging of 52100 if and when Ed decides to stop making. Just looking at the guard, choil and blade shape just screams Ed Fowler to me. This is an incredible art knife. I would imagine that when Ed looks at this picture, though he will appreciate its beauty, he is going to wonder how it cuts and bends. :D
 
Greg, sure knows who Bill Burke is and I appreciate Bill letting me introduce him to the rest of you. Although Bill makes several styles of knives one of the styles he does very well is Fowler, and rest assured it’s not just looks.

Here’s the second pic that Bill sent me and it should make all of you Pronghorn lovers sit up and salivate. Once again all of these knives are sold these are from the Oregon Show. Bill will have knives available at Blade West, if I were going I would run and not walk to his table.

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Pretty scarey huh? Are you wondering how Ed Fowler feels about this guy? Me too, so I asked, here’s what Ed had to say about him.

Hello Phil:
I would be delighted to comment on Bill Burke.

I received a call from him about three years ago, his bride, Patty had
purchased him a copy of Knife Talk and he wanted to know more about
forging knives. Since that time we have spent many hours on the phone
and he has visited my shop several times a year. He is my companion in
exploring the frontiers of the forged blade. All I have to do is ask
him about a variable in our knife making techniques and in a few days he
calls back with the results of how ever many experiments he has had to
conduct to find the answer. He keeps me on my toes and pushes the limit
of high performance blades. I have found him to be intelligent,
motivated, absolutely honest, dedicated and as good a friend as any man
could ask for.

I am sorry that I could not find anything good to say about him! Hope
that is brief enough.

Thanks for posting about Bill, he is one of the good guys.

Ed
 
Phil,

While the first pic is obvious in its homage to both Fowler and Scagel, the second pic is downright scary in its capturing of the Fowler look right down to the subtleties in working the sheep horn.

I'm only sorry I won't be able to see Bill's work close up since I won't be attending Blade Show West.

Thanks for sharing, Phil.
 
I didn't mention that he learned from Ed as I didn't think that was what you wanted. A few months ago, AG Russell had about 1/2 dozen of his knives for sale at the cutting edge. He may have 1 or 2 left if anyone is interested.

Dave
 
Hello Gents, and Ladies!!
Just want to let you know that Bill Burke is the first one I have seen here to study w/Ed that is 100% dedicated to performance!! Ed is pretty excited about him. Bill is quite smart, and comes up w/all sorts of questions that challenge Ed all the time----plus he is a real up front guy. His wife, Patty, is 100% behind him---so lets applaude her also. I know most of you would love a wife like that.
:)
Thanks for all those nice remarks.
angie fowler
 
Bill is a really nice guy and there is no doubt Ed's influence shows in his knives.

Something I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned here... Bill missed his swing by a touch at the MKA rope cutting competition around 5 or 6 ropes and was eliminated. BUT, after the competition was over, he cut through 8 ropes with his knife! The best I know of in rope cutting competition is Ed Schemp getting all but a few strands on 9 ropes, so yea, Bill's knives can cut! :)

Good to see you introducing him here.

Nick
 
Thank you all for your support:D And thank you Phil for posting my pics.

Knife #1 has a chainsaw damascuss blade and in three test averaged 128 cuts on a strand of one inch hemp rope. The edge flexed over a steel (for sharpening) three times per side before it stayed deflected to one side. It's sister blade (god bless her soul) was flexed 180 degrees five and a half times before the edge cracked. I hope this will answer your questions about it's performance.


Bondo
 
Bill (Bondo) since your email link is not active, send me an email at your leisure. I'd like more information. Thanks.
 
I can't say how great it is to see knives so much like Ed's, and to know that there is someone who will truly carry on the push for the ultimate forged steel that has taken so much of Ed's time and thought. I knew he has had some apprentices, but that doesn't mean an approach like Ed's when all is said and done. It appears Mr. Burke will take that torch gracefully. The knife world will be the better for it.
 
Phil as you know I am a huge fan of Ed Fowlers knives and without a doubt you can see a lot of Ed in Bill's knives. He has made some great looking knives there.

Bill do you do other styles as well? If so I would love to see them.
 
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