Mountain Man Bowie

[primos]

This rustic knife was an experiment in textures, finishes, curves, and colors. It is somewhat similar to the Mountain Man Camp Knife I did a while back, but I just carried things a little further.

The blade length is approximately 9". The blade was forged from a 5/16" thick piece of 5160. The ricasso and spine are hammer textured. The blade bevels are etched then hand-rubbed with a mild abrasive paste for a satin finish. The clip is hand-rubbed to a bright 1500 grit finish.

The guard was forged from mild steel. The face and back of the guard are hammer textured, and the sides are smooth and polished. Behind the guard are spacers of buffalo horn and copper. The handle is Curly Maple and is secured with nickel silver pins.

On the last Mountain Man I did, a few folks emailed me and asked me if I meant to leave those little smatterings of hammer marks on the bevels up where the spine and ricasso meet. U-m-m-m, I didn't leave the marks. I "put" them there. The idea was that I didn't want an abrupt change from rough and rustic to smooth. I wanted a gradual transition. Same thing on this Bowie. If you see a hammer mark on one of my finished knives, you can bet it was planned.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

I like this knife as much as any you have done. Absolutely outstanding!

 

[GigOne]

That's sweet !

Not the standard/typical "bowie" blade that we see over and over. I like that.

Would play hell trying to find something not to like about that one !

 

[lifter4Him]

Terry, just awesome!

 

[Danbo]

Terry, THIS is the knife you were downplaying on the phone the other day? Man, you're too modest. This is an awesome looking piece of work! I love the blade shape; kind of a pointy spear point. The guard is awesome(remember how you did that). You won't have this one long, if it's even available now.

 

[RogerP]

Terrific bowie Terry! I like the "pointy spear point" as Danbo aptly described it. And I'm really fond of the hammer texture (and would never have assumed it was anything other than deliberate ). I've seen the occasional Don Fogg knife finished this way and they always catch my eye.

Keep turning out those fantastic blades!

Roger

 

[Coonskinner]

I love this one, especially the handle.

 

[Mongo]

Beautiful job! Just like GigOne, I don't think I find anything I don't like on this bowie. I knew Danbo and Roger would sniff this one out, I bet they have knife ESP or something.
What are you thinking for a sheath for this one? something a little "rustic" perhaps?
Keep up the good work, I gotta go wipe the drool off my shirt.

 

[c.m. arrington]

Cool !!! Nice change of pace, not that you really needed one. Thats a great looking bowie.

 

[Mr.BadExample]

This one's a real beauty.

 

[primos]

Thank you kindly gents.

Danbo, yes this is the one I was playing down on the phone. And yes, it's sold.

Roger, I like the pointy spear points too. You may remember when we all had that discussion over on my forum about the types of blades we like and I mentioned the spear point -- I think you did too. I just find the spear point to be a good general purpose deal. And the "pointy" spear point is a good "sticker" too.

You mentioned Don Fogg. Yeah, the person that got me "turned on" to textures is Don Fogg. His is still way better than mine of course. Don uses dies to get the texturing in. I use the ball end of a small ball peen hammer -- lots of work and real tedious.

Mongo, I'm giving the sheathmaker artistic license on the sheath. There will probably be multi-tones in the leather, some tooling, and possibly a snake skin inlay. I'm just going to let him run with it.

 

[RokJok]

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Originally posted by primos:
I'm just going to let (the sheathmaker) run with it.
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Oh No!!! Don't let him run with sharp pointy objects like that one. Didn't your mom warn you about that kind of thing?

I gotta say that's a beauty of a bowie! Methinks the hog hunters in the crowd will be drooling bigtime over that one. Very nicely balanced contrast of svelte & chunky, elegance & ruggedness. That's a nice touch how the spacers echo and carry forward the striped pattern of the maple. Very nice control on the finish, while keeping the whole package well integrated in one smooth design.

 

[primos]

Originally posted by RokJok
... That's a nice touch how the spacers echo and carry forward the striped pattern of the maple ...

You've got a good eye, and a way with words. Thank you for the compliment. I didn't know if anyone would notice what I was trying to do or not.