Searles Bowie

BrianThie

BrianThie

Joined
Jun 18, 2007
Messages
382
Hello all

This is a Searles (like) Bowie that I recently finished and had Chuck Ward photograph.

This knife was inspired by the Feb 2010 article in Blade Magazine by Dr James Batson. This knife and sheath are very similar in design and dimension as the knife that Daniel Searles made for Resin Bowie around 1836.

The primary differences to the origional are the handle material is pre-ban elephant ivory and there are no pins within the diamonds of the checkering.

The other side of the handle has an escutcheon plate with the owner's name engraved on it. The leather in sheath is elephant that is lined with pig skin to be friendly to the blade. Much like the origional, there are also 2 leather straps that attach to the sheath rings so the sheath may be attached a belt. All the fittings and sheath parts are nickel silver. Also like the origional, there is beaded borders around the ferrules.

Thanks for looking.
Brian

Searles1.jpg
 
BrianThie said:
Hello all

This is a Searles (like) Bowie that I recently finished and had Chuck Ward photograph.

This knife was inspired by the Feb 2010 article in Blade Magazine by Dr James Batson. This knife and sheath are very similar in design and dimension as the knife that Daniel Searles made for Resin Bowie around 1836.

The primary differences to the origional are the handle material is pre-ban elephant ivory and there are no pins within the diamonds of the checkering.

The other side of the handle has an escutcheon plate with the owner's name engraved on it. The leather in sheath is elephant that is lined with pig skin to be friendly to the blade. Much like the origional, there are also 2 leather straps that attach to the sheath rings so the sheath may be attached a belt. All the fittings and sheath parts are nickel silver. Also like the origional, there is beaded borders around the ferrules.

Thanks for looking.
Brian

Searles1.jpg
Click to expand...

Now THAT is a gorgeous piece of work, nice job! Hey can you expand on something for me? You mentioned that it's lined with pig skin instead of elephant to be more friendly to the blade. Is elephant particularly bad for blades for some reason?

Anyway, again fantastic work!
 
Thanks Triton

No the elephant is not necessarly bad for the blade and is not unlike most other leather, but what I did was line the elephant leather with the nice soft pig skin so the smooth side of the pig skin contacts the blade rather than the rough side of the elephant leather. It is a little extra work, but I feel it was worth it.

Brian
 
Very ambitious and nicely done work on both knife and sheath. What a way to celebrate historical knifemaking.

John
 
BrianThie said:
Thanks Triton

No the elephant is not necessarly bad for the blade and is not unlike most other leather, but what I did was line the elephant leather with the nice soft pig skin so the smooth side of the pig skin contacts the blade rather than the rough side of the elephant leather. It is a little extra work, but I feel it was worth it.

Brian
Click to expand...

Ahh gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I agree that you would want that blade BABIED. :)
 
I believe that's my favorite rendition of the Searles-R. Bowie-Fowler bowie.
Great execution of bowie and sheath and the ivory makes it even more elegant than the original in my opinion.
 
WOW, wonderful job Brian. The knife and sheath compliment each other perfectly, outstanding work. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Bill
 
Thanks for the comments folks. I do appreciate them.

This knife was a real challenge and I have a great amount of respect for the skill that Daniel Searles had to create the origional piece at the time he did.

Brian
 
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