Rustic Southwestern Bowie

primos

primos

Joined
Jan 27, 2000
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This one just about ate my lunch. Lots of work and lots of time (many days) involved. The blade is forged from 1084 and is somewhere between 10 1/2" to 11".

Other than a little grinding to get the bark off after annealing the blade bevels and clip were primarily draw filed then hand-rubbed.

The ricasso and spine are hammer textured and blackened, then the tops were dusted off with 2000 grit paper to provide more contrast. The blade was clay treated and if you look close you can see a hint of the hamon running down the center. It sweeps up just behind the clip. I just couldn't get a good shot of the hamon. If you hold the blade in front of you tip forward under sunlight or incandescent light you can see it quite well.

The guard and ferrule are from the same bar of 1084 as the blade. Both are hammer textured, fileworked, and blackened. This was an experiment using a technique in blackening I picked up off Don Fogg's forum. It's not some spray on / bake on finish. It's a form of controlled rusting sort of like browning.

The handle is curly maple that was colored using Majestic Maple made by R.W. Wilson, which is to the best of my knowledge, Chromic Trioxide and distilled water. Neat stuff. You can get anything from a golden color, through reddish browns, through chocolate brown. It's not a stain. I've been told that what it does is burn the sugars in the maple -- could be.

Anyway, the handle was then treated with multiple coats of Richard's Fine Finishing Oil. It is a deep penetrating hardening oil that supposedly will make the wood 25% harder. The down side is that it take a long time to cure completely. I waited 7 to 8 days between coats. Right now it has a high luster. I may tone it down a bit to a less glossy finish in a few more days. Absolute cure time something like a month I think.

The inlay in the handle is mother-of-pearl, and the handle is secured with 1/16" nickel silver pins. This handle was not my normal mortised tang construction. Instead I used my new custom handle broach (reamer) made by John Perry to make the slot and fit the tang.

Sorry for rambling. Too much coffee today.
 
Beautiful Knife Terry
I had to get that out now back to the photo to take in the infinite georgous details..Wonderful
 
Wow Terry. That is a fantastic knife. I can see lots of work went into that one, it paid off, that's for sure.

Matt
 
kicked that one up a notch did we? Good work bubba.
 
Terry,

I think that Jim Bowie would have been happy to have that one out on the sand bar. :cool: Your best yet!

Peter
 
That's a beauty. The thing I really like about this knife, besides the obvious great looks and top notch fit & finish, is that it not of a style that you see every day.
 
Simply fantastic - Terry your work gets beeter with each piece. That is a knife I would simple love to have in my collection, a keeper for sure.

Stephen
 
Holy schmoly - what a terrific bowie! :eek: :cool: Very distinctive looking. I'm wild about that blade shape. Remember it for when my bowie order comes up. ;) Great work Terry!

Roger
 
six inches longer and I'd swear that'd be the nicest cutlass I've EVER seen... and that's almost what I thought it was until I read your description... :eek:

Stunning Terry... "Now THAT'S a knife!" seems like an apropos quote....
 
Terry, awesome is one word that comes to mind. You just keep pushing the boundaries. And the descriptions are always fascinating too. Thanks for showing that. Jason.
 
:eek: I think that the handle on this knife is amazing, just the way it is now. Unique and with a wonderful finish.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thank you for all the kind words guys. It is greatly appreciated.

My inbox got loaded down with inquiries about this thing and I've tried to take the time to respond to everyone. If I've missed one I apologize. Please just let me save a little time and say here that the Bowie was spoken for.

---------

It was a heart warming experience that is what being a full-time bladesmith is all about. The owner drove over to take a look at the knife even though I advised him we still had to have a sheath done. He sat at the kitchen table while I did some final finishing on the handle and touched up the edge.

When I handed him the Bowie for his approval, his eyes lit up and a big grin appeared on his face as he waved the blade around. He finally said to just forget about a sheath. He wanted to take it home.

I filled out the paperwork and put the knife in a zippered pouch for him. I jokingly told him that when he let's someone handle it not to let them cut themselves or drop it. He told me that nobody else was going to touch this one. He said that the knife and the paperwork were going to be locked up in his gun safe as soon as he got home. He said that he might have a display case made for it and put it on the wall, and people could see it that way.

There are a lot of makers who seem to be offended if they find out their work will not be used. To me it's the ultimate compliment for someone to think so much of a knife that they don't want it to ever get dirty or scratched up.

When we got out to his truck he said, "You know, one day I may give this one to my grandson when I feel he's old enough to really appreciate it and care for it". It sure made me feel good.
 
Terry,
That's exactly what it's all about!!! :D
And everytime I pull your little piece out of the case, I get a big grin and just plain old coonfinger the daylights out of it! (Never thought I'd ever be able to say that in public! LOL!!) And then I tenderly wipe the prints off and put it back in the case...just wishing I could live in a society that would let me wear it proudly in public so that others, too, could see and appreciate it's beauty... :(

sigh
 
Terry, that is one of the finest Bowies i have ever seen, by anybody at anytime. All i ask for is more pics ;)

Edited to add- on a side note, thanks for being so open with the methods used, i know at a minimum im going to try some of the "Richards" finish, never even heard of that before!
 
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