- Joined
- Dec 23, 2006
- Messages
- 15,020
This is one of my favorite blades from Bill
It's just cool looking
Thanks Bob for sending the pics
Bob writes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings Joe and Viewers; this Hell's Belle was made in the late 1990's by Bill and has an interesting story behind it. The blade is forged carbon steel as is the guard and escutcheon plate but where it departs from the basic 'Belle is in the fit and finish. As Bill related it to me the process of heat treat and blueing the blade required a tremendous amount of effort, time and patience given that this was the first attempt. The finish is remarkably bright with the varying hues of purple, orange and blue but is also somewhat fragile: Bill cautioned that if the finish was damaged there was no way to restore it ! Accepting this caveat in stride I bought it for it's one of a kind status and pic on page 14 of *Bill's Book. There have been inquiries about* ordering up a heat blued Belle like this one but the lengthy wait and attendant cost ($4K in 2000) appears to have discouraged those interested... Bill has not made another so far as I know. This Blue Belle has it;s own stand on my display at Shows making a sort of centerpiece. Bill even worked in a gold signature stamp on the blued ricasso! *Big thanks to Bill for this singular knife ( I forgot to *mention it handles great due to the Black Locust wood coffin handle) and to Joe for posting these threads for the past two years for all to enjoy! *Best Regards *Bob Furusho
It's just cool looking
Thanks Bob for sending the pics
Bob writes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings Joe and Viewers; this Hell's Belle was made in the late 1990's by Bill and has an interesting story behind it. The blade is forged carbon steel as is the guard and escutcheon plate but where it departs from the basic 'Belle is in the fit and finish. As Bill related it to me the process of heat treat and blueing the blade required a tremendous amount of effort, time and patience given that this was the first attempt. The finish is remarkably bright with the varying hues of purple, orange and blue but is also somewhat fragile: Bill cautioned that if the finish was damaged there was no way to restore it ! Accepting this caveat in stride I bought it for it's one of a kind status and pic on page 14 of *Bill's Book. There have been inquiries about* ordering up a heat blued Belle like this one but the lengthy wait and attendant cost ($4K in 2000) appears to have discouraged those interested... Bill has not made another so far as I know. This Blue Belle has it;s own stand on my display at Shows making a sort of centerpiece. Bill even worked in a gold signature stamp on the blued ricasso! *Big thanks to Bill for this singular knife ( I forgot to *mention it handles great due to the Black Locust wood coffin handle) and to Joe for posting these threads for the past two years for all to enjoy! *Best Regards *Bob Furusho
