Let's see your good old basic fixed blades, Bowie's, Stickers, etc.

sunnyd · Jul 20, 2006

A discussion in another thread here brought this subject up. The young member was wondering if other forumites could offer any advice on the subject of the medium to large fixed blades. And I thought a thread broadening the subject a bit and detailing uses of this most basic of knife designs with pictures of collectibles and users alike may be worth exploring for a change.

I'll start off with a Rick Smith custom bowie from his Bear Bones forge in Rogue River, OR. Its built with O-1 tool steel(one of my favorite blade steels) and a full tang design with old pre-ban elephant ivory scales around a classic coffin handle and a brass oval guard. The blade is nearly 7 inches and 10 3/4 overall. I wear a sticker of some kind at work nearly every day and it cuts like the dickens. In fact, today I cut square holes with it on a run of exposed a/c duct work where the grills are to be installed throughout an office building I am remodeling..

JD Mandrell · Jul 20, 2006

RazorBack Knives 5160 Hunter

Blade 4" 5160 1/4" thick.
8" overall.
Jigged Bone scales.

Charles May Holt Collier Special in D2 and Desert Ironwood

PhilL · Jul 20, 2006

sunnyd I don't know how broad you want to get, but when you said collectable & user the first knife of mine that I thought of was this.

I saw it on Ebay, I collect stag handle knives and I thought this would be perfect for my collection. Not beautiful and perfect like your Rick Smith custom, but you have to admit, mine looks a lot more like a user.

The whole story of this knife is on this thread.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303036

cockroachfarm · Jul 20, 2006

Beautiful sheath for that Rick Smith bowie. Actually, what I like best about it is the way the edges have been 'finished'. :thumbup:

Thomason · Jul 21, 2006

PJ Tomes's interpretation of a DE Henry style bowie in 52100 and stag. Blade is about 8 inches.

El Lobo · Jul 21, 2006

Some very cool blades already. :thumbup: :thumbup:

Here is my David Winston in D2, with fluted Ironwood scales. The sheath is designed to fit in my right rear pocket.

Bill

GerberGuy · Jul 21, 2006

How well do the "combat knives" hold up under pressure?

sunnyd · Jul 21, 2006

Whooooa Gents,

What a helluva nice set cutters you all have here! You fellow's have some mighty fine taste in fixed blades. I especially like:

<> TLC's RazorBack custom hunter with 5160 and jigged (red?) bone scales.

<> Thomason's PJ Tomes awesome custom Bowie with 52100 another one of my favorite steels.

<> El Lobo's nice sticker by David Winston w/fluted Ironwood (never seen that before) and a custom pocket sheath.

<> And last but certainly not least, PhiL's vintage Green River 'Russell Brand' large skinner with what looks like the 'true' old Red Stag scales.. PhiL says, "Not Beautiful."..

Are you kidding me, PhiL?.. Beautiful is exactly what it is! I love those old Green River skinners, in fact I have got a very old one here that is in pretty good shape and even still has the original label on it. My uncle found nearly a full wooden crate of these in unused condition in the cellar of the old Hotel-Inn in the Pocono Mountains in PA. when they shut down many years ago..

Anyway,, some great fixed blades so far and cockroachfarm is right on with his observation that my Bear Bones Bowie is deadly sharp and is well on its way to looking like that old Green River Works knife of PhiL'S..

mitch13 · Jul 21, 2006

Some reaaly good looking knives here:thumbup:

Here's a couple. My Billy Smith scagels in 1095. Great pocket fixed blades.
Cheers
Mitch

Amos Iron Wolf · Jul 21, 2006

Well, I reckon I'm gonna have to come in with the basics and po boy pickins.

Simple working stuff.

Stuff you can count on - Older SRK and two Moras.

Two for the woods. The sheepsfoot looking one is a custom made back about 20 yrs ago by some guy getting started. It is 440C and is a very good cutter. The contouring on the handle is great, but it's ugly. I hope to restock it someday.

And this is a nostalgia buy I just got in the mail today. It's an older Imperial. How old? What model? I don't know, I was hoping you guys could help me. As a kid, my first knife was an iImperial fixed blade. It had the striped metal handle IIRC. I abused that knife, but I sure felt like quite the woodsman and cowboy with it. So when I found this one on ebay for cheap, I just couldn't resist. It also has that cowboy bowie look and some age on it so I also wanted it to resheath and stick on a gunbelt with a patinad Ruger Blackhawk.

Hey, somebody has to represent the common knife!

Rupestris · Jul 21, 2006

Hey, somebody has to represent the common knife!

I'm with Amos. My current fav's are a BK71, SR Howling Rat, and a Bark River Woodland Special.

On top of that, I have a Rapid River Skinner on the way.

Can't wait for it to get here so I can put it through its paces,

kamagong · Jul 21, 2006

SunnyD,

Do you have two bowies by Rick Smith? I took a closer look at your pictures, and I noticed that the two knives are different. One has a fileworked guard with mosaic pins, the other has a plain guard with regular pins.

Rupestris · Jul 22, 2006

kamagong said:
SunnyD,

Do you have two bowies by Rick Smith? I took a closer look at your pictures, and I noticed that the two knives are different. One has a fileworked guard with mosaic pins, the other has a plain guard with regular pins.

Good eye kamagong.
The sheaths are different as well. Pic #2 having a tighter patern and stiching than pic#1. No stitch work on the belt loop of pic 2 either.

El Lobo · Jul 22, 2006

This is an ANZA, (as is my avatar), based on the Model F4, that Charlie Davis did for me. He makes a great working knife, IMO.

Bill

sunnyd · Jul 22, 2006

kamagong said:
SunnyD,

Do you have two bowies by Rick Smith? I took a closer look at your pictures, and I noticed that the two knives are different. One has a file-worked guard with mosaic pins, the other has a plain guard with regular pins.

Right you are kamagong. I do not own two similar BB Bowie rigs, but yet these two are not one in the same rig. They are similar and I was stumped at first, but then realized the tan/brown carpet background is not one of my photographs from any of my cameras, therefore it must have slipped in from Ricks shots at some point. If you'll notice the picture with the tan/brown background is not only a different knife but a different sheath as well. My sheath has a different tooling pattern, slightly different hardware, additional white thread, etc. My knife has Ivory scales, a different pin design and as you stated plain oval guard, etc... His shot shows what appears to be micarta scales and a different pins and pattern, etc.. Thanks, and good eye

my man!

edited to add:

ps <> kamagong, did you get my email reply reference: Rick Smith info??

sunnyd · Jul 22, 2006

Rupestris said:
I'm with Amos. My current fav's are a BK71, SR Howling Rat, and a Bark River Woodland Special.

On top of that, I have a Rapid River Skinner on the way.

Can't wait for it to get here so I can put it through its paces,

Amos & Rupestris,

Nothing common here fella's all fine tools of the trade... BTW which outfit makes the Rapid River model??.. I swear that looks like David Shirley's crew at the Custom Shoppe / Northwoods Knives with some slight variations perhaps.. Whatch you boyz know about this Rapid River group?

Rupestris · Jul 22, 2006

Sunny,

Rapid River was started by a group of former employees of Marbles. Much of Marbles production was sent overseas a few years ago so Kris Duerson started Wolverine Knife Co. From what I understand, Wolverine boot Co. (also from MI) contested their choice of names so they were forced to change names. Rapid River was the outcome.

Almost all of their regular line knives and most of their customs are A2 tool steel. Their fin and feather, and fillet knives are 154CM. They have picked up where Marbles left off when it comes to quality and service.

http://www.rapidriverknifeworks.com/

I don't know how the relationship is between Bark River (Miker Stewart) and Rapid River is (both being in the same neighborhood) but I can't say enough about the service from both companies.

Chris

sunnyd · Jul 22, 2006

Rupestris,

Thanks for the straight dope on the Rapid River clan.

Much obliged,

Anthony

sunnyd · Jul 22, 2006

.. nice custom forged 'Ruana Knife Works' 30~A model Bowie with a very nice sharpened top clip with which to dispatch your opponent's with the "deadly and powerful back-cut!":..

:thumbup: eek:

JAlexander · Jul 22, 2006

PhilL said:
sunnyd I don't know how broad you want to get, but when you said collectable & user the first knife of mine that I thought of was this.

Good grief, but I covet that knife. I collect old butcher knives and I've been looking for an old skinner (Green River or other) for a while, and that one is just about the nicest one I've seen. At least for my tastes it is.

Great buy, Phil.

James