Opinions-Harley Battle Bowie

M

mb

Joined
Feb 8, 1999
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I'm looking for opinions on Larry Harley's Battle Bowie or his knives in general - thinking of buying one.

Thanks,
Mark
 
Go for it! Larry makes some great knives.
Those Battle Bowies are sweet.

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If a man can keep alert and imaginative, an error is a possibility, a chance at something new; to him, wandering and wondering are a part of the same process. He is most mistaken, most in error, whenever he quits exploring.

William Least Heat Moon
 
Ive never used one of Larrys knives, but the battle bowie is a wicked knife. I handled one, and the only thing i would do (if i had one) would be to soften up the handle a bit with 220 then 400 grit while watching a long movie like Braveheart or something.

Also, if you take care of your knives i would get one in L-6. Larry must have this steel down pat as it is the steel type he used to win the ABS cutting competition last fall, i believe.

Keep us posted if you get one!!

Matt.
 
The grip shape on the Battle Bowie is unique; it's basically a "power stabber" with just one solid grip position, the "hammer". Might be the best brute-force stabbing knife on the planet.

The Battle *Dagger* is more of a "finess fighter" piece somewhat like a Mad Dog Shrike in concept, but longer. Not a bad critter at all. The BB is more specialized but for what it does, it's the king.

Jim
 
Not the last time I looked. Nor'west Cutlery used to have pics of the Aus8 Paragon licenced versions. These are the ones I've handled at gun shows. Per Larry they're an ergonomically-correct and otherwise faithful replica, but he wasn't real happy with that deal or with Paragon afterwards.

I haven't handled Larry's true handmade versions.

Jim
 
I've seen other, better pics of Harley's Battle Bowie but this is the one I could find:

<IMG SRC="http://www.nt.net/~admclean/harleybb.JPG" WIDTH="400" HEIGHT="186" BORDER="0">

This is a pic of a real one, btw - not Paragon.

A. Dale McLean
<A HREF="http://www.nt.net/~admclean/Index.htm" TARGET="_blank">ADaM Sharps Cutlery - <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Canadian</FONT> Knife Dealer</A>

[This message has been edited by Radioman (edited 24 November 1999).]
 
Years ago, there was an article in Fighting Knives Magazine about this knife. Mr. Harley uses these knives for wild boar/feral pig hunting! These pigs have ready made knives of their own: the razor sharp tusks(?or are they called canine teeth?). One was also used in Desert Storm if I remember right.


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K. Williams
kel620@aol.com
Modern Arnis Student
 
Ya, that's it all right. See those two DEEP finger grooves? They lock that thing in your grip tighter than any other piece I've *ever* held, and work best in a "pure hammergrip" where the blade is exactly 90degrees to your hand. Also known as the "Gorilla" grip. Pure stabbing power
smile.gif
.

The B-Dagger is the same basic knife but "skinnier" and with more shallow finger grooves allowing more "flexibility" in where you put the tip.

They're very good at what they do. I think the BB is specialized in a way I don't really need but...the BD is a NICE general-purpose fighter and a definate "nice to have".

Jim
 
I handled both of these knives and I have to say that Jim March has the most accurate take on these two extraordinary blades. Once you grab'em, you'll want'em really bad.

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If a man says something in the woods and there are no women there to correct him, is he still wrong?

 
Never have mine eyes seen such perfection! That is 100% uncompromsing function. You can see just by looking at it, how much thought, experience, and experimentation went into it.

It's made of L-6 you say? Wonder if Howard Clark did the heat treating. It gets better and better.
 
Harley does his own heat-treating. He appears rarely on the web forums, more often on rec.knives. He's quite a guy ... writing style like Cro-Magnon Man, but he knows what he's talking about....

-Cougar Allen :{)
 
There's a picture of Larry Harley on page 75 and 80 of the January Blade magazine using one of his knives. If you ever see him in person, make friends quickly.
 
The most popular variant of the BB is done in ATS34! That's what he uses personally for pig hunting and what he generally supplies his guided pig-hunt customers with when they make the kill.

It says a lot about that steel that he feels it's adequate for THAT task.

Larry is interesting because he's both a stock-removal *and* "heat'n'beat" maker. There aren't many "dual role" makers around.

If I recall right, about two years ago he'd sell you a hand-made BB in ATS34 for a hair under $300. Prices should have gone up a bit but not too bad, he considers these working knives versus "big bux collector pieces".

Jim
 
Does anyone have a contact address or web site for Larry? I think when I can save up the money I need one of those.
 
I did a search of dejanews and found an email address: hrlyblade@aol.com kinda old though - 1998

A. Dale McLean
<A HREF="http://www.nt.net/~admclean/Index.htm" TARGET="_blank">ADaM Sharps Cutlery - <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Canadian</FONT> Knife Dealer</A>

 
That handle.....the finger grooves look really severe....do they really work?

Larry used to be a regular on rec.knives. I miss him.
If you haven't experienced his "cut to the bone" version of written English you need a language refresher. Three words from Harley and you have a page of usefull information.
No BS......really.
AND a sense of humour.

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BrianWE
ICQ #21525343


 
Here are some more pics. This is the Paragon variety that I have for sale. Although the website listed above claims the knife has an AUS8 blade, Paragon says that it is ATS34.
<center><img src=http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=33630&a=208307&p=13270033&Sequence=1></center>
<center><img src=http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=33630&a=208307&p=13270031&Sequence=1></center>
 
Brian, the grip with those extreme finger grooves REALLY works, with one major limitation: the blade is locked into the "Hammer" or "Gorilla" forward grip.

Visualize walking up to a punching bag wrapped in a serious bullet-proof vest (IIIa or above) and stabbing into it at gut level. Picture the grip you'd need to do that. This knife is absolutely the best ever made for that sort of move and/or grip.

Put it in any other grip position and it sucks!
smile.gif
Larry once referred to it as a "pure killin' knife" and that's exactly what you get. He threw finess out the window and went for pure brute stabbing force.

Considering the task, that's exactly what was needed. The guy hunts feral pigs with a knife, and does guided hunts for customers. Snickersnee really NEEDS one o' these bad boys, he's been known to try nailing large ugly critters with a knife.

For bear, boar, 'gators, sharks or anything similar, this is the ultimate. Where I live, the main threat is "two legged rattlesnake" so it's not for me...but I can respect the hell out of it.

Jim
 
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