S-guard Bowie- Bronze and textured redwood burl

J. Doyle

J. Doyle

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
8,205
Here's a nice medium sized bowie I just finished today. All comments, critique, discussion and/or opinions welcome. I particularly like the 'ghost' hamon above the main transition line. Also, how the figure and color changes in the redwood are still visible through the texturing.

Specs:
Hand forged from 1075 steel, clay quenched and etched
13" overall, 8" blade, .225" thick at the ricasso
Radical distal taper, clip is just shy of sharp
Bronze guard and spacer
Stabilized Redwood burl, sculpted, carved and textured
Checkered stainless steel finial nut











 
that's one very nicely proportioned piece! Especially the guard- so hard to get right and you nailed it.
I think a little patina on that bronze will be nice.
Such a classy lady :)
 
Really nice, John. The texturing is such a nice touch.:thumbup:
 
Really slick John, should look even cooler when that bronze darkens up!
 
Another piece that I love! The texture on the spacer and the handle really tie the two pieces together.

I agree that the guard looks just right for the size and shape.

The only question I would have, would be the checkered final. The stainless, I would like to see an acid etch on the exposed space, or other treatment to darken it to match the blade. ( not sure what other treatment would work, using a carbon final and darkening it, or parkerizing). Or a bronze final so it matched the guard.

I like the checkered finals you use very much.
 
Last edited:
have to agree about the nut but o/w this is a wonderful piece of knife art and the owner and maker should be very proud
 
Thanks for all the feedback and the critiques about the finial.

I always go for matching if I can.

The problem with the bronze finial nut is that I can't find any bronze that matches. I've got bronze round stock but it's a drastically different color than the flat stock I have for guards. I have at least two kinds of bronze round and neither one matches the flat. At least one of the rods is supposed to be silicon bronze, the same as my flat stock but it's much more yellow gold than the bronze.

I used to use it anyway and I got comments from people saying they didn't like that it didn't match. My personal rule is, if something like that doesn't match, then it's better to go with a contrasting material altogether.

I didn't know you could etch stainless dark. I'll play around with that. I'll come up with a different finial that matches a little better later today. Give me some time to play around with different ideas. :)

Thanks again to everyone that commented.
 
John, nice little Bowie. As a wood guy I love that redwood burl. Great job on the texturing without hiding the beautiful wood grain.
 
Thanks for your comments everyone.

Due to the majority of the the feedback I've gotten on this, I've gone back and made a new bronze finial to match the fittings. I ended up machining one out of a block of the same material as the spacer. I do think it looks better. I guess I could have done that right from the get go, but it was easier to make a finial out of already round stock vs flat sheet. But the people have spoken and therefore........new finial. :)

 
Very nice!

I usually don't offer "constructive criticism" or feedback outside mentioning what I like about a piece, because I am woefully unqualified. I don't purchase much in the way of customs (I have a few), and it seems like every time I free up money to purchase customs (by selling off expensive productions) something bad happens and I have to spend the newly liberated cash on a medical or car repair bill, etc!


But, lack of ownership aside, I like window shopping, and know what I like!


I loved the knife with the stainless nut, I think it looks even better now.

A darken finish on the stainless, or a carbon steel treated to a darkening would have been every bit as eye pleasing.


I'm just reminded of the maker who got negative comments on a handle, and pounded the old handle off with a hammer.

Not trying to make anyone, at any level of making knives do extra work, or feel bad.
 
It was a 9.9 but now it's a 10. Good call. I don't have anywhere near the knifemaking experience you do but already I have found that following your gut instinct is usually best. Even if it means more work, your gut is probably right.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top