John White Memorial 2015 Bladeforums BEST BOWIE - Vote here for the winner!

Which is your choice for the John White Memorial BEST BOWIE 2015?

  • Karl Andersen

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Russ Andrews

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Jerry Fisk

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Dave Lisch

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Sam Lurquin

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .
RogerP

RogerP

Joined
Feb 28, 2002
Messages
13,348
Here are your 2015 finalists!

1. Karl Andersen
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2. Russ Andrews

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3. Jerry Fisk

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4. Dave Lisch

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5. Sam Lurquin

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Poll will be open for 24hrs - we will ring in the new year by crowning a champion.

Feel free to share your thoughts on your selection and the candidates in general. These are ALL ABSOLUTE WINNERS to me - but I'm interested to hear which is your favorite and why.
 
My thanks again to makers and all who participated. This was a stunning field of nominees. We are now down to 5. Have at it gents!
 
Well this has shaped up into quite the blood bath finale.

Two of my original picks have made it through to the final 5. The Fisk & The Lisch.

I am going to choose one of them, but I will be darned if I have decided which one.

OK. Off the fence now:

1. Dave Lisch, The guard, the stag, the steel & the flow combine to make this one irresistible.

2. Jerry Fisk, an absolute classic beautifully executed.

3. The Musso by Lurquin is a tour de force and it would not surprise me in the least if it is the winner.
I am just not into the Musso Bowie look period.

4. Any Russ Andrews knife is always an instant contender. The blade profile is just a bit too conservative for me.

5. The Steel on the Karl Anderson is simply stunning, as is the handle. The whole package is very impressive.
 
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Although they all are outstanding in there own way there is one that I would pick up if I were standing on the wall of the Alamo watching an enemy hoard gather to overtake my position......... I think it's the same one old Jim would of picked up himself :)

LURQUIN MUSSO
 
We all have our likes and dislikes. I was never that keen on Bowies. I've owned a few embellished Warenskis over time, but even the art of Buster Warenski, if in Bowie form, never really cranked my chain much.

Even so, I've known for many, many years that if I were ever to decide to own and keep only one maker's Bowie, it would be or have been a Damascus piece by Jerry Fisk. And when I saw Roger's first nomination, the Fisk, I was awestruck, without any regard for the WTC connection. I have always been a lover of wood, and that handle was a knock-it-out-of-the-park piece, by George! The "simple" gold-engraved blued fittings were just stunning, just the right pattern, just the right amount of gold, perfection, executed flawlessly. His engraving has never stopped improving, it just gets better and better.

Put it all together with that explosive Damascus blade pattern and, at least IMHO, you have THE perfect Bowie.

Edit: My appreciation for Bowies and Damascus has changed over time, all the way from dismissive to objective appreciation for many very masterful creations. I confess.
 
This was a really tough decision.
It came down to Fisk vs Lisch.
In the end, my love for stag handles won me over.......plus the steel and guard took massive amounts of skill and innovative thinking. Love the dragon on the finial!:thumbup:
Darcy:)
 
Taken all together, I think this is the finest five finalists we've had yet in my time here on BFC.

It came down to Fisk and Lisch for me, with the nod barely going to Jerry Fisk.
 
Bob, that was a very thoughtful response.

I was torn three ways. The Andrews is absolutely stunning and SO my kind of knife. The Fisk is nothing short of EPIC and arguably qualifies as an historical artifact. Anyone, including me, would count themselves lucky to own the Andersen or the Lisch.

However, it may be that I am influenced by having seen and held my overall fave at Blade this year, or maybe I am influenced by the fact that for me a bowie is, was and always shall be the definitive BADASS blade, or maybe because it's the one that I can actually envision Jim Bowie himself sliding from its sheath to stand in the face of utter mayhem with resolute defiance. That knife is the Lurquin Musso and it got my vote.
 
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Super lineup here. Would have been a much harder vote for me if the CAS bowie's had made the final vote.

The Lurquin Musso is just quintessentially bad. It is a mean, fighting bowie. The handle contours, the blade shape, size and hamon. All of it.

The other bowies all tug at me. I'd love to own and pet, and love any of them!

From the perfect stag and guard work on the Lish, to the damascus, wood, history on the Fisk, , the laminated Damascus and creamy warm handle on the Andrews, to the take down Anderson blade shape, handle shape, sheath and wood. I'd just about kill to own any one of them.

Good showing by all, especially all my favorites that did not make the finals.
 
Gawd, and I thought choosing my favorite hunter was hard. Each of these Bowies has its own special attraction. Three were on my list of nominees. I'm voting for one that wasn't - - I nominated the "wrong" Lisch but it's easy to switch my vote to the "dragon". All the classic elements, wonderful flow and proportions plus innovation and recognizable style.

If this contest were more narrowly focused on "Bowies" rather than including such a broad array of styles, I would have chosen the Lurquin Musso. As an art piece, the gorgeous Fisk. For straightforward simple beauty, the Andersen or Andrews. As it is, I just picked the one spoke to me the loudest as something esthetically pleasing and different.
 
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Hello!

Congrats to all finalists! More than well deserved!

While all have something going for them, my clear favourite is the Musso by Sam. Pure Power!

All the best,
Alex
 
It has damascus, it has hamon, it has the wicked blade, a carved handle with a super looking guard...and it is the most bad@$$ knife on the planet
...Lurquin gets my vote.
 
Tough, tough, tough!

These are ALL terrific knives and their makers and owners should be rightly proud.

But there has to be one winner. Given that these knives are the best of the best, but there has to be some way to distinguish, I am forced to rely on personal preferences and peccadilloes. With that in mind . . .

1) Nothing not to like on Karl's Bowie. I own one of his take-down Bowies myself and they are fine pieces. The ONLY very minor nit for me is that I would have preferred a slightly longer (especially on the blade side) and thinner/more tapered guard. Again, extremely minor and just personal preference.

2) Yeah, this knife (and # 1 for that matter) may look to be more "fighter" than "Bowie." So the only thing against this one is that (to me) this does not scream "Bowie." But this forum gave up a long, long, time ago trying to define that distinction for this contest, and this knife clearly fit into the rules for this contest. Otherwise, having seen and held it in person (and having tried and failed to buy it - LOL!), there is nothing about this knife that I would change.

3) Some really cool historical materials in this one. Must be really neat to own and be able to share the stories with friends and acquaintances when they see it. But personally, I do not care for the way the Damascus turned out. So when you take away the mythology of the materials . . . it did not make it for me.

4) Absolutely gorgeous piece! Look at that Damascus; look at that stag! The level of effort and difficulty on this one had to very high. Maybe even this one should win on merits. I am just not personally a fan of this kind of large and elaborate guard. It is just as simple as that for me. But that is a personal quirk, and if I had to guess, I am thinking this one might do well.

5) Now THAT is a Bowie! If I am in a fight, I am probably choosing this one. And I think this is the kind of piece that usually seems to win this award. But aesthetically, the handle shape seems odd to me (maybe I would understand better if I held it), and the guard seems a little clunky to me and does not flow. Again, extremely minor matters of personal opinion.

So in the end, it came down to #1 and #2, and I vote for #2.
 
I voted for Karl's. Karl and Russ were the only two of the finalists that I selected in my first round votes. I like the knife from Russ very much. But in the end I voted for Karl's. I just like the profile, the materials and the bold contrast of colors.
 
I got to handle Sam's Musso bowie and Russ' Compact bowie. Both awesome pieces. Love both. Choosing the Compact as it is more my style knife. Amazing damascus and Russ' oh so clean work and feel.

What a great group of work this year!

Thanks Roger, and all involved.

- Joe
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
I had to give a vote for Jerry.
It is everything a Bowie should be.
Click to expand...

I am going to have to respectfully disagree with you Karl. Your knife for me just came together so well. The pattern in the handle reflecting the pattern in the steel took it over the edge. I have always appreciated the precision of your takedowns.
You got my vote.

5 very fine knives from all the makers. Here is wishing everybody a great and prosperous new year.
 
All the work this year was fantastic. It is very hard to get down to the final 5.

For me the choice is clear......Sam's knife just speaks to be.

I love a forged blade with a stunning Hamon and this knife has one. That coupled with the fantastic use of Damascus for the fittings and the overall clean look of what is essentially a short sword.......Awesome.

Happy New year to everyone here..........:)
 
It's already New Years Day where I am - Australia.... But I figure I can still vote, right?:D

I've had very spotty internet access so I couldn't post nominations, but I have to say these 5 knives are as good as it gets. Wish I'd had a chance to handle them all!

As it turns out, the only one I've had in hand was Dave's and it was magnificent in every way. That makes it my choice by a razor thin margin!

Bill
 
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