My Newton bowie.

Keith Montgomery

Keith Montgomery

Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
29,205
Ron Newton is making me a bowie. I asked if it would be possible for him to send me photos of the knife as it was being made. He agreed and just yesterday sent me these pictures. The first is of the rough forged 12" W2 blade and stag carver that will be used for the handle.

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Here is the blade ground to 36 grit and ready for heat treatment.

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The nut on the end of the tang shows that this is going to be a takedown knife. Thickness of the blade at the spine, near the ricasso, is .280".
 
This is going to be one heck of a beautifully awesome, BIG Bowie.
Newton makes some of the nicest looking knives I have ever seen.

Based on my personal taste, I can only say that about a very few number of makers.

I think I may need to order one from him very soon.
 
This is going to be a fantastic thread...as will that big honking knife.The realtime feed from Ron will certainly ease your wait.
One of the best for sure!
 
Outstanding piece of stag too. Ron will finish this one so nicely, you will be drooling at the picture(if you aren't already). Can't wait to see the final product!
 
Man, this is really nice. The knife and the thread. Thanks Keith and thanks Ron.
 
Wow Keith that's going to be an amayzing knife. Is this the one you were mentioning at Ed's Knife symposium this past summer?

Most of my knives in the past have been small knives but since joining these forums about eight months ago and seeing all of these amayzing Bowie's I've been getting the itch to try a really big knife. I think this post has finally tipped me over the edge (hey there's a pun in there I think).

Once the Canadian Knifemakers Guild show is over (coming up very quickly) I'm going to spend part of the spring/summer working on something big. I've got some O1 that is screaming "Make me into a Bowie"!

Anyhow can't wait to see more pics of this very cool looking knife. Thanks for sharing this with us Keith.

Sean
 
Yes, this is the knife that I was referring to at Ed's, though there have been some changes along the way.

Ron is periodically working on my knife at the same time as trying to get knives made for the solvang show, so it may be awhile between pictures.
 
No doubt about it Keith. That is going to be one heck of a knife. Anything I have ever seen with his name on it has always been through and through nothing short of excellence.
 
Ron is also a heck of a nice guy to talk with.

I have agreed not to order any more knives for awhile, but if my wife gives me the thumbs up I would really like to have one of his in my collection.

In fact, I might be willing to sell my wife to help pay for part of the engraving on the one I want! :D

Edited to add:
...And the engraving is not that expensive! :D
 
A few more photos of my bowie on its way to completion. There was an accident with the first blade so Ron started again. This blade is a little over 12 inches.

First photo: Fully hardened blade right out of the oil quench tank.

Second photo: Blade is soaking in Muratic acid to remove all heat treating scale so that colours can be viewed when selectively drawing the spine.(A neat Jim Walker trick)

Third photo: Cutting edge in cool water while torch drawing the spine. Notice the blue color zone which is now a mild spring temper while the edge is a golden straw color (harder steel). It is Ron's view that this process allows for a blade that is tougher than an edge quenched blade that shows a temper line. This fully hardened blade, even though the spine has been torch drawn, will not have a visible temper line.

Fourth photo: Going into the Paragon heat treating furnace for a final draw cycle.

Next step is to finish grind the blade and start the hand sanding.
 
This Forum was created for thread like this to showcase and educate fascinating thanx to you and Ron for sharing the process..so often the art craft and man hours are overlooked.
 
Keith, You KNOW I've pulled up a chair watching this thread. :cool: Thanks for setting this example.

Ron, thanks for taking the time to go through the process of chronicling this fine piece. THIS is taking full advantage of the internet and the capability that it offers. It sure shows the collectors the hidden, under-appreciated work, and makes the buying process and pricing aspect considerably more educated.

Coop
 
Thanks for posting these pictures, Keith.
This knife is going to be a sight to behold when finished.
 
More progress on the Blade. Ron has ground in the clip and hand sanded a nice satin finish on one side of the blade. He will finish the sanding tomorrow and then he will get started on the fittings.
 
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