Southwest Competition Cutter w/ Blackwood

Ben Seward

Ben Seward

Full-time Bladesmith/Part-time Idiot
Joined
Jun 28, 2012
Messages
1,092
Here's my latest. This was an order from the performance Bowie I used in the competition @ Little Rock last February. Here's the specs: 10 in. 1075 blade, sharpened clip, stainless fittings, blackwood handle, 15 in. overall. Also a nice field-grade leather sheath from David Seward. This one is going to be used. Thanks for looking, comments/feedback welcome.

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[/url] Picture by sewardknives, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
Man, that is NICE! Great job and that ought to be a winning cutter..... :cool:
 
Dawkind said:
Man, that is NICE! Great job and that ought to be a winning cutter..... :cool:
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Thanks, Dudley. I'm about to start on another one for the 2014 competetion. FYI, at the Little Rock show we have a category for best performance Bowie. It's supposed to a be a traditional Bowie with natural handle material, double guard and a clip. It also has to be available for sale or delivery at the show
 
The opportunity does come up often to talk about comp knives, so I hope you don't mind my asking some questions;

how much does it weigh?
how thick at the ricasso?
where does it balance?
why the sharpened clip?
why the double guard?
what are your thoughts on a forward or rear mounted lanyard on a comp knife?
why chose 1075 over xxxx?
 
Lorien, the reason for the double guard is the rules. It measures 5/16 @ the ricasso and balances about 1 3/4 forward of the guard. A forward lanyard hole would probably be better but it is still a showpiece...not sure how that would look. I used 1075 'cause it flat cuts! The clip is a personal preference...can't stand a clip that ain't sharp. Also in these competitions you might have to cut with it. The purpose of this competition is to show that showpieces cut, and being Arkansas, to showcase the performance of the traditional bowie...not cleavers. This probably wouldn't do well in a BSI competition, neither would a cleaver work in this competition. Nothing against cleavers, they just wouldn't work for this. I'd be glad to hear someone else's opinion as well.
 
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Nice work Ben. Although pictures just aren't adequate for a knife like this - one actually needs to hold it and use it to fully appreciate its beauty.
 
Elegance :thumbup:
Reminds me of some woods that needs cutting!
Congrats and thanks for showing it Ben :)

mohd
 
Ben Seward said:
Lorien, the reason for the double guard is the rules. It measures 5/16 @ the ricasso and balances about 1 3/4 forward of the guard. A forward lanyard hole would probably be better but it is still a showpiece...not sure how that would look. I used 1075 'cause it flat cuts! The clip is a personal preference...can't stand a clip that ain't sharp. Also in these competitions you might have to cut with it. The purpose of this competition is to show that showpieces cut, and being Arkansas, to showcase the performance of the traditional bowie...not cleavers. This probably wouldn't do well in a BSI competition, neither would a cleaver work in this competition. Nothing against cleavers, they just wouldn't work for this. I'd be glad to hear someone else's opinion as well.
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cool, thanks for taking the time to answer, Ben :)
it sure is a smart looking bowie, I'd be all over something like this.
 
Good looking cutter, Ben. Looking forward to seeing you and it in performance at the Arkansas Show.

John
 
I used a Damascus bladed knife last year that had a forged guard and butt cap forming a "D" shaped guard. The ends of the pieces had closed curls so I tied my lanyard to the front one.
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I am thinking of another guard that has a piercing in it's design that would also serve in a similar way. The object of these "rules" is to get the makers/users of these knives to design a knife around traditional materials, specific to the competition, maintaining the traditional feel and look of a Bowie as most would recognize. This would also require the user to use techniques unique to his knife depending on the design.
 
I was looking around youtube for some footage of this type of cutting comp- couldn't find anything, so I'll look harder. If I find something, I'll post it up here :)
 
Thanks, y'all! Lorien, you need to hop on a bicycle and come see the next one. Lin, yours was the best lookin knife in the competition.
 
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