Pic. Request: how does a good sheffield clip looks like?

B

BrB

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Sep 16, 2003
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I was wondering the other nigh (going through the pages of the Dr. D´s books) that one style I really love is the Sheffield style recreated in modern hand made knives.

But most of the pictures available on books and the Internet show the knives as a whole (and do a wonderful job) but I figured I was missing detail on the clips.

So my humble request for you, collectors mostly, is this:

If you happen to have such beauties in your collection, would you provide two or three pictures in detail of the clip in different angles? That would help me (and other collectors/makers/enthusiasts) to understand the way it is properly done, or nicely done (though not necessarily in a traditional way) or just in a not so good way...

Thanks!

Jeff Velasco
 
Sheffield bowies came with many different styles of clips. Are you referring to the Woodhead style clip, or to a different one?
 
Hey, I'm all for pics of Sheffield (style) bowies! One of my favorite subjects- let's see em! I know there's gotta be some good pictures of originals in Bernard Levine's forum here, too...
 
Actually, what the hey. Here's a couple I just Googled.

1170796726_offer_P1010002.JPG

rogers1.jpg


Not my absolute favorite examples; just the first ones I came across.
 
Are you referring to the Woodhead style clip, or to a different one?
Click to expand...

If you mean the clip on the first picture posted by the possum, that´s it! I am not familiar with all the "names" here :).

Possum,

Cool pictures! Thanks. But what I was looking for was pictures of the clips from several angles, including top view, so I can understand how those clips are ground and what to expect when I pick up such a knife.

Since there aren´t many pictures in such angles on the internet I figured I had to appeal to our friends here.
 
Sorry - no multiple-angle views of the clip. Next time I'm over at Murray's for a photo session I will try to take some of the Wheeler.

orig.jpg


orig.jpg


Roger
 
Good examples Roger.

This is exactly what I was looking for. See the differences between the Sfreddo and the Wheeler on the clip?

Of course, both look great, but you can see the much more traditional design on the Sfreddo and the more modern approach of the Wheeler.

I don´t mean to get to a conclusion of what´s best, or even of what fit´s best with what. But to gather visual information to keep in mind for future comparisons and evaluations.
 
Check out JR Cook's site. He does an excellent clip on his bowies.:thumbup::thumbup:
 
BrB said:
See the differences between the Sfreddo and the Wheeler on the clip?

Of course, both look great, but you can see the much more traditional design on the Sfreddo and the more modern approach of the Wheeler.
Click to expand...

To my eye, both seem like they're narrower than what I'm used to seeing on antiques. I.E., the grinds aren't as wide, leaving the spine/false edge thicker. Again, not better or worse; just different.
 
To my eye, both seem like they're narrower than what I'm used to seeing on antiques
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I see that too. The thing that comes to my mind here is that most antiques (like the one you posted) have bevel from the edge up halfway the blade. That leaves more material close to the spine for a "not so narrow" clip.

Now on full flat ground knives that leaves less material to work with. This is one of the reasons I wanted to see some clips from above. Questions that come to my mind are:

- Are they sharpened?
- If not, how thick is the "flat" part on the "edge" of the clip?

Sorry for the weird words, but my English language skills are not that great in such a specific vocabulary (count on you to learn more on that too).

Jeff Velasco
 
BrB said:
The thing that comes to my mind here is that most antiques (like the one you posted) have bevel from the edge up halfway the blade. That leaves more material close to the spine for a "not so narrow" clip.

Now on full flat ground knives that leaves less material to work with.
Click to expand...

I could swear I've seen full flat ground bowies in some of Wilson's books that still had a pretty wide grind on the clip.

The clips on Woodhead bowies do seem a bit narrower though...

bowie1.jpg



Edit-
Aha. This one's not a clip point, but it is full flat ground with a wide swedge. See the second knife from the top on this page.
 
I love the bladed profile in this one, but the handle proportions are not good at all, and I could go without the notch as well.

Jeff Velasco
 
That is a great site, thanks! I am saving some examples to post in this topic.

Jeff Velasco
 
The contemporary Sheffield-style bowies that I have seen and handled have not had sharpened clips.

Roger
 
The contemporary Sheffield-style bowies that I have seen and handled have not had sharpened clips.
Click to expand...

Mine does. :)
Edit-
I'm changing the picture here because the proportions seem very skewed with my amatuer snapshots- this one is skewed as well, but doesn't make the blade look quite so hulkish-
bowie4xn6.jpg


And that's one of the main reasons I used the wider swedge grind. It gives the back edge something more resembling cutting geometry.
 
GREAT PIC BUDDY!

That´s exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

I got some nice examples from the website Mr. Possum (:D) has provided:

bowie3fk2.jpg


bowie5sh3.png


bowie7gc9.jpg


Those are all blade profiles that appeal to me in the sense of getting to see what visual information I am seeking in order to educate myself.

Very good classic examples.

Jeff Velasco
 
Jeff,
Good thread. :thumbup:
Possum,
How long is the blade on your Bowie?

Doug
 
Hey, what the hell happened to my reply???

Weird... server must have been busy when I hit submit and eaten it.

Anyway... GREAT thread Jeff!

To my eye, a clip totally changes the look of a knife. It can, IMHO, make or break a knife. Aesthetically, not structurally :)

I really don't know much about the historical references (although I am very interested!).

I just get an idea what I want when I make the initial pencil sketch, and then don't REALLY know what it's going to be until I'm done grinding/hand sanding it. :o :)

I agree on that auction knife. The blade is awesome, but the handle doesn't match/flow with the blade.

Possums short hunting sword/bowie is WHICKED awesome :)

I think those Woodhead pieces would be gorgeous if they had a dropped edge in the exact same profile, but that super wide ricasso area and thin/menacing tip profile looks like a narrow shouldered fat person with extra wide hips ;) ;)
 
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