- Joined
- May 16, 2010
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- 9,347
Well, not so much blame as thank 
A big thank you to not only Ebbtide and JParanee but to all who responded to my question.
A while ago, I started this thread
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...led-Bowie-pro-or-cons?highlight=coffin+handle
In order to pick the brains of some of the knowledgable folks here, I asked their opinion of coffin handled Bowie knives.
Ive had some customs knives made, but though Im huge fan of Bowie knives, I wanted to get some pros and cons on the coffin handle shape before asking a custom maker to make me a coffin handle knife.
I use my knives and would be loath to have a knife made only to have it be a beautiful wallhanger.
Anyway, lets go on to the knife, but first a warning:
For those tender souls who wants to primarily be exposed to over the moon beautiful, intricate and very very expensive custom knives...... this is NOT it!
If you have Jerry Fisk, Bagwell and Bruce Bump at one end of the scale....., this is at the other end. In fact, the esteemed gentlemen cant even see my knife from where they are at
Okay then.
In the link to the thread above, Ebbtide (who by the way makes some great looking knives and equally good looking sheaths) gave me the excellent advice, that I buy a knife blank and make my own knife, as he had bought from the same source and made his own excellent coffin handled Bowies.
I thought that good advice. Buying an inexpensive knife blank would ensure, that I got to handle a coffin handle prior and making up my mind whether or I like that particular and to some peculiar knife handle shape.
Last year in the summer time I ordered a cheapo knife blank and met up with my buddy to make a coffin handle Bowie.
My buddy Dravis did most of the 'heavy lifting' in regards to the chores, while I mainly fashioned a few pins and mounted them in the handle.
First the cheapo knife blank. Its of a shape that some call 'Natchez.' I believe the vendor calls it the Appalachian. The grade is not mentioned in the sales blurb, but its stainless steel or SSS (Some Sort of Stainless), as Ebbtide coined it
I would have preferred carbon steel or some super steel, but it really didnt matter, as this was merely to be a cheapo testbed for a custom knife.
Further more, the blank is so cheap it doesnt matter.
Its a beefy knife blank and should easily could withstand some use in the field.
The blank came polished, which I didnt much care for, so a quick and dirty blasting job was called for.
As for scales, Im a fan of Westinghouse or similar antique 'ivory' Micarta. But I was able to put my mitts on some non-antique looking white ELFORYN instead.
About Elforyn:
elforyn is a high-grade ivory substitute material thathas a high mineral content.
The aim was to promote environmental sustainabilityand develop a material that would
as closely as possible resemble ivory. elforyn can be processed like natural ivory,
i.e. carved, turned, milled etc.
elforyn is more than 89% similar to ivory; it was possible to reproduce
all the typical characteristics of ivory. elforyn is fluorescent in black light...
...elforyn enchants and enhances .
The key characteristics of elforyn are:
- excellent mechanical machinability in terms of drilling, milling and polishing,
- minimal risk of breakage due to high E-modulus and homogenous structural composition,
- superior surface properties thanks to surface hardness and minimal abrasion loss, fluorescent,
- resistant to all standart substance such as cleaning agents, oils, fats, weak to
medium-strenght acids and alkalis,
- little or no water absorption - hydrolysis-stable,
- can be thermo-formed in boiling water,
- can be polished and lacquer-coated to produce shiny or matt surfaces,
possibility of creating translucent and fluorescent effects,
- pleasant feel thanks to good thermal characteristics,
- potential to supply pre-forms to reduce waste.
Technical properties
- Density (DIN EN ISO 845) ≈ 1600 kg/m³
- Hardness Shore D (DIN 53505-D) 87
- Tensile strength (DIN EN ISO 527) 50,5 N/mm²
- Elongation at break (DIN EN ISO 527) 14,2 %
- Bending strength b-4% (DIN EN ISO 178) 93 N/mm²
- Bending E-modulus (DIN EN ISO 178) 2495 N/mm²
A few pics of the mounting process for the handle scales. I went with a black liner to offset the white Elforyn and small pins instead of only a couple of larger pins in the middle for that period look.
The end result
To say, that Im pleased with the result would be an understatement.
The coffin handle sits very nicely and stable in the hand. After finished this knife and having used it for a year and a half, I can say the coffin handle -in spite of what some no doubt perceive as ungainly looking - is a very nice and secure knife to handle.
I much prefer guardless coffin handle knives. In spite of having no guard, the coffin handle almost 'locks' itself into the hand. IMO the coffin handle is certainly not just for looks.
The 'knob' of the coffin handle can be placed very securely in the palm of the hand. Its practically rock steady.
Positioning the knife handle thusly also give the user longer reach, should that be called for
Having no guard, the thumb is placed like so, so you dont slip when for example you want to ram the knife in a log or what ever.
The coffin handle Bowie can easily be used for kindling with the usual precautions
As for the sheath, I want to thank JParanee for drawing my attention to sash carry, which I now know is one of Joes preferred carry methods. Ive certainly become a big fan after making yet another test 'vehicle' - a quick and dirty hurriedly made sheath for the carrying of the coffin handle knife sash style. I made it to look old and abused. Please keep that in mind. I can make prettier sheaths though not quite up to Ebbtides standard. This was only to test the knife and intended to be made fast and to discard, did I not like the carry mode. How ever, Im a believer and kept the sheath, as it works fine. In time, Ill make another for the Bowie knife.
Its carried IWB and with a static line, which ensures, that the sheath releases the knife. An excellent and very comfortable mode of carry IMO.
Here the sheath resting on fifty inch Kudo horn which I bagged in Africa. Ive used the coffin handle Bowie for a camp knife when hunting though not internationally. Its does great service.
IWB carry. It works. It more than works as a matter of fact.
Bottom line(s):
Ive become a big fan of the coffin handle Bowie and will most certainly have a custom coffin handle Bowie made.
This knife kit was fun to make and the knife exceeds every expectation. Ive used it far more, that I thought I would. Ironic, that it along with my custom knives are such a hoot to use and that it gets used a lot in conjunction with other knives.
Thanks again to all and thanks for reading this. All comments welcome.
A big thank you to not only Ebbtide and JParanee but to all who responded to my question.
A while ago, I started this thread
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...led-Bowie-pro-or-cons?highlight=coffin+handle
In order to pick the brains of some of the knowledgable folks here, I asked their opinion of coffin handled Bowie knives.
Ive had some customs knives made, but though Im huge fan of Bowie knives, I wanted to get some pros and cons on the coffin handle shape before asking a custom maker to make me a coffin handle knife.
I use my knives and would be loath to have a knife made only to have it be a beautiful wallhanger.
Anyway, lets go on to the knife, but first a warning:
For those tender souls who wants to primarily be exposed to over the moon beautiful, intricate and very very expensive custom knives...... this is NOT it!
If you have Jerry Fisk, Bagwell and Bruce Bump at one end of the scale....., this is at the other end. In fact, the esteemed gentlemen cant even see my knife from where they are at
Okay then.
In the link to the thread above, Ebbtide (who by the way makes some great looking knives and equally good looking sheaths) gave me the excellent advice, that I buy a knife blank and make my own knife, as he had bought from the same source and made his own excellent coffin handled Bowies.
I thought that good advice. Buying an inexpensive knife blank would ensure, that I got to handle a coffin handle prior and making up my mind whether or I like that particular and to some peculiar knife handle shape.
Last year in the summer time I ordered a cheapo knife blank and met up with my buddy to make a coffin handle Bowie.
My buddy Dravis did most of the 'heavy lifting' in regards to the chores, while I mainly fashioned a few pins and mounted them in the handle.
First the cheapo knife blank. Its of a shape that some call 'Natchez.' I believe the vendor calls it the Appalachian. The grade is not mentioned in the sales blurb, but its stainless steel or SSS (Some Sort of Stainless), as Ebbtide coined it
I would have preferred carbon steel or some super steel, but it really didnt matter, as this was merely to be a cheapo testbed for a custom knife.
Further more, the blank is so cheap it doesnt matter.
Its a beefy knife blank and should easily could withstand some use in the field.
The blank came polished, which I didnt much care for, so a quick and dirty blasting job was called for.
As for scales, Im a fan of Westinghouse or similar antique 'ivory' Micarta. But I was able to put my mitts on some non-antique looking white ELFORYN instead.
About Elforyn:
elforyn is a high-grade ivory substitute material thathas a high mineral content.
The aim was to promote environmental sustainabilityand develop a material that would
as closely as possible resemble ivory. elforyn can be processed like natural ivory,
i.e. carved, turned, milled etc.
elforyn is more than 89% similar to ivory; it was possible to reproduce
all the typical characteristics of ivory. elforyn is fluorescent in black light...
...elforyn enchants and enhances .
The key characteristics of elforyn are:
- excellent mechanical machinability in terms of drilling, milling and polishing,
- minimal risk of breakage due to high E-modulus and homogenous structural composition,
- superior surface properties thanks to surface hardness and minimal abrasion loss, fluorescent,
- resistant to all standart substance such as cleaning agents, oils, fats, weak to
medium-strenght acids and alkalis,
- little or no water absorption - hydrolysis-stable,
- can be thermo-formed in boiling water,
- can be polished and lacquer-coated to produce shiny or matt surfaces,
possibility of creating translucent and fluorescent effects,
- pleasant feel thanks to good thermal characteristics,
- potential to supply pre-forms to reduce waste.
Technical properties
- Density (DIN EN ISO 845) ≈ 1600 kg/m³
- Hardness Shore D (DIN 53505-D) 87
- Tensile strength (DIN EN ISO 527) 50,5 N/mm²
- Elongation at break (DIN EN ISO 527) 14,2 %
- Bending strength b-4% (DIN EN ISO 178) 93 N/mm²
- Bending E-modulus (DIN EN ISO 178) 2495 N/mm²
A few pics of the mounting process for the handle scales. I went with a black liner to offset the white Elforyn and small pins instead of only a couple of larger pins in the middle for that period look.
The end result
To say, that Im pleased with the result would be an understatement.
The coffin handle sits very nicely and stable in the hand. After finished this knife and having used it for a year and a half, I can say the coffin handle -in spite of what some no doubt perceive as ungainly looking - is a very nice and secure knife to handle.
I much prefer guardless coffin handle knives. In spite of having no guard, the coffin handle almost 'locks' itself into the hand. IMO the coffin handle is certainly not just for looks.
The 'knob' of the coffin handle can be placed very securely in the palm of the hand. Its practically rock steady.
Positioning the knife handle thusly also give the user longer reach, should that be called for
Having no guard, the thumb is placed like so, so you dont slip when for example you want to ram the knife in a log or what ever.
The coffin handle Bowie can easily be used for kindling with the usual precautions
As for the sheath, I want to thank JParanee for drawing my attention to sash carry, which I now know is one of Joes preferred carry methods. Ive certainly become a big fan after making yet another test 'vehicle' - a quick and dirty hurriedly made sheath for the carrying of the coffin handle knife sash style. I made it to look old and abused. Please keep that in mind. I can make prettier sheaths though not quite up to Ebbtides standard. This was only to test the knife and intended to be made fast and to discard, did I not like the carry mode. How ever, Im a believer and kept the sheath, as it works fine. In time, Ill make another for the Bowie knife.
Its carried IWB and with a static line, which ensures, that the sheath releases the knife. An excellent and very comfortable mode of carry IMO.
Here the sheath resting on fifty inch Kudo horn which I bagged in Africa. Ive used the coffin handle Bowie for a camp knife when hunting though not internationally. Its does great service.
IWB carry. It works. It more than works as a matter of fact.
Bottom line(s):
Ive become a big fan of the coffin handle Bowie and will most certainly have a custom coffin handle Bowie made.
This knife kit was fun to make and the knife exceeds every expectation. Ive used it far more, that I thought I would. Ironic, that it along with my custom knives are such a hoot to use and that it gets used a lot in conjunction with other knives.
Thanks again to all and thanks for reading this. All comments welcome.
