Knife #8 1/2 - - a Bowie

R

rlinger

Joined
Mar 29, 2002
Messages
4,591
To keep my knife count straight I'll call this knife number 9. It is my first hidden tang and I am very happy with it. The model I used for the handle design is on the front cover of the Summer 2002 A.G. Russell catalog. I felt the Maple would be a traditional choice for an early to mid American design. The guard is a Bruce Evans style oval with ball ends.

Special thanks to Bruce Evans for teaching me how to make an oval guard with ball ends. All guard parts are silver soldered and the spacer materials are pinned together and into the handle wood.

This Bowie came to me as a blade and tang only. It had been laying in an old barn for many yeas. When I got it it was rusted and pitted. Wow it was hard to get those pits out without ruining the temper. Finally I was able to get it to reflect images. The steel is un-known and there were no maker marks on any part of the blade or tang. The best I know of the steel is that it forked yellowish at about 10 to 12 inches.

Here are some pictures: http://riflestocks.tripod.com/pics6.html

I hope this gets a fair grade from the Bowie makers. HOPE.

Thanks; Roger
 
Roger it's a beauty, the unkown steele might be a cause for concern but the execution and package are above criticizm. The shallow hollow grind is kind of impressive. It presents a whole differnt idea. Thanks for posting. Your execution on handle, guard and spacers is great. Terry
 
Very Nicely Done!!!!!!
Looks like you did a really great job on the guard as well as the rest of the handle.Great finish on the blade also.
Bruce
 
Very nice! Great work cleaning the blade up, and that handle looks great!

I do beleive you've given an old useless piece of a knife anougther chance at life!:cool:
 
hello Roger. I am just starting to build knifes. Would you please share the steps of making a guard with ball ends? Thank You, Jack Maraglia, In Redding, Calif.
 
Thank you all. Its off to Wheeling til Christmas night.

Merry Christmas to all and yours;

Roger
 
That's reallllly nice looking! Great job putting it all together. That shallow hollow grind is kinda interesting. Do you have any before pic's?

Rick
 
Rick,

I wish I would have taken some before pics. It was rough but the edge was okay. Lots of rust pits but not deep enough to weaken the blade or tang too much after grinding. The hollow grind was hand rubbed only, so no danger of losing the temper there. I machine ground the flats above the hollow grind and kept it in plenty of water often. It is very hard steel. Not knowing what kind of steel it is would make it very difficult for me to re-temper it correctly.

Roger
 
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