"Ruins"- large bowie

J. Doyle

J. Doyle

Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
7,868
I just finished up this large bowie knife. I'm naming it "Ruins". The wide ragged bands in the blade, the pitted layered texture of the wrought iron fittings and the random "creeping" texture all remind me of ancient crumbling ruins. The knife has a bit of a medieval vibe to it, IMO. The blade is 11" long. Almost 16" overall.









 
Splendid John - I can't imagine the amount of time you put into this bowie. I'm a little in the dark about the blade - is it low layer Damascus? Never seen anything like it - too cool 👍👍
 
would it be fair to say that this one is a little outside your regular work? Looks to me like you let your hair down a bit for this one...
 
TK Steingass said:
Splendid John - I can't imagine the amount of time you put into this bowie. I'm a little in the dark about the blade - is it low layer Damascus? Never seen anything like it - too cool 👍👍
Click to expand...
Thanks TK. The blade is low layer Damascus. It is a single weld (11 or 13 layers??), forged down square then turned on its side (90 degrees) and forged out to flat bar. I forged it several years ago as a part of a higher layer pattern. It was a left over piece from the first weld that I didn't want to waste so I forged it out and it made a long bowie sized blade. Then it sat for 2 or 3 years.

Nobody in their right mind would boast about the pattern by itself. It is as basic and easy as pattern welding gets. The trick for me was to see if I could do something cool with it that turns it from boring scrap into a neat theme where the simple low layer becomes part of the interest of the design. I'm happy with how that turned out.
 
Lorien said:
would it be fair to say that this one is a little outside your regular work? Looks to me like you let your hair down a bit for this one...
Click to expand...
Thanks Lorien.

It might be fair to say that in some ways. The lines and shapes are in my usual style. The use of wrought iron is new to me and pattern welded blades are not my norm. This stippling technique is a new thing for my and I can see other applications of that in my future, though I'm no stranger to stippled blackwood.

Were there specific things you noticed?
 
This is truly amazing. It has a different look compared to other Damascus - blade has a 'liquid' feel in it. The handle details are mesmerizing. Very nice
 
J. Doyle said:
Thanks Lorien.

It might be fair to say that in some ways. The lines and shapes are in my usual style. The use of wrought iron is new to me and pattern welded blades are not my norm. This stippling technique is a new thing for my and I can see other applications of that in my future, though I'm no stranger to stippled blackwood.

Were there specific things you noticed?
Click to expand...
the random(ish) stipling caught my attention- it plays so well against the wrought iron
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top