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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
The Bowie
- Thread starter AV8R
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2001
- Messages
- 12,336
Great knife. The shot needs MORE EXPOSURE! Can you do that??? (at least two f-stops) We'd love to see it fully.
Coop
Coop
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2002
- Messages
- 2,954
I've noticed that on many of Daniel's knives, the edge really curves upward towards the point. Hopefully he'll see this and chime in, but I'm curious to know his reasons/philosophy on this aspect of the design. On this knife it looks like the edge at the tip is dang near at a 90 degree angle to the rest of the edge.
- Joined
- May 9, 2000
- Messages
- 29,205
You can sure tell who made that knife as soon as you look it. Always a pleasure to see a Winkler knife.
Okay, worse than bad! I shot it real quick as I was rushing to get out the door to work one day. Doesn't capture the character of this knife at all. I'll shoot some better ones in the next day or so.
When I was asked Daniel to make this one, I specified 8" to 8 1/2" blade of 5160, roughly 1/4" at spine, flat ground with a "V" edge (as opposed to convex), antiqued finish, "S" guard, copper with wrap in the handle, specified a 5" to 5 1/4" handle, I asked him to use the nicest elk he had available for the handle and I asked him to "seal it all up" (no gaps anywhere, basically watertight). With those specs, I asked him to make the nicest carbon steel bowie that he's ever done. Seomthing that feels "right" in the hand and is built to be used. A real knife. I didn't specify actual blade shape, handle shape, size of the guard or anything else. I wanted him to make it the way he chose according to the above specs.
The blade shape does have a lot of belly all the way out to the tip, as mentioned above. I really like it and the more I looked at it, the more practical I realized it is. It's very sharp at the tip and would pierce very well, although not as well as a "pointier" tip. However, the shape is ultimately suited for skinning (looks like a skinner), slash cuts, fine work, gives more useful edge and lends support to the tip. Out in the mountains, you're not piercing body armor very often, but you might have to dress out an elk, make a fish hook out of wood, or trim your toe nails. The kicker was when I was watching The History Channel about some old, nomadic, warrior clan (Mongols, Huns, or Vikings or something......) and I saw they used basically the same style blades for all around survival and warfare. This basic blade shape and tip shape was also used by some of the Mountain Men of the old West and a lot of the "Green River" knives had tips like this. There's a reason that variations of this design have been used for many centuries. Daniel's knives are usually variations of historical designs and that's one reason I like them.
The handle. The picture makes it look small. It's not. I could go on about the handle more than I did the blade, but I won't torture anyone with that. Suffice it to say that only a nice, big, contoured Ed Fowler handle has ever felt as good in my hand as this one. Like I said before, either you know what I mean, or you don't.
The sheath. I'll shoot pics. I asked Karen to build me a simple sheath that holds the knife tightly, tight on the belt and real practical. She did a great job. It's one of those knife / sheath packages that just "work".
My plans for the knife and my reasons for owning it are a little different than for really any of my other knives. I won't sell it and I wouldn't hesitate to sharpen it or use it. More than that, it's something that reminds me and pushes me to spend a part of my life in areas where a knife like this is an appropriate and needed primary tool. I'm in suburbia now with a wife and a couple of little baby girls, surrounded by pseudo-rednecks driving Escalades to Starbucks and it's all good. I wouldn't trade it. But, when I look at this knife, it reminds me to make plans for leaving suburbia behind every once in a while. Way behind.
Sorry about being long winded. It's 4 AM and the coffee pot is now empty. I'd love to send the knife to Coop for pics, but I'm not shipping this one anywhere. More mediocre pictures later.
Pete
When I was asked Daniel to make this one, I specified 8" to 8 1/2" blade of 5160, roughly 1/4" at spine, flat ground with a "V" edge (as opposed to convex), antiqued finish, "S" guard, copper with wrap in the handle, specified a 5" to 5 1/4" handle, I asked him to use the nicest elk he had available for the handle and I asked him to "seal it all up" (no gaps anywhere, basically watertight). With those specs, I asked him to make the nicest carbon steel bowie that he's ever done. Seomthing that feels "right" in the hand and is built to be used. A real knife. I didn't specify actual blade shape, handle shape, size of the guard or anything else. I wanted him to make it the way he chose according to the above specs.
The blade shape does have a lot of belly all the way out to the tip, as mentioned above. I really like it and the more I looked at it, the more practical I realized it is. It's very sharp at the tip and would pierce very well, although not as well as a "pointier" tip. However, the shape is ultimately suited for skinning (looks like a skinner), slash cuts, fine work, gives more useful edge and lends support to the tip. Out in the mountains, you're not piercing body armor very often, but you might have to dress out an elk, make a fish hook out of wood, or trim your toe nails. The kicker was when I was watching The History Channel about some old, nomadic, warrior clan (Mongols, Huns, or Vikings or something......) and I saw they used basically the same style blades for all around survival and warfare. This basic blade shape and tip shape was also used by some of the Mountain Men of the old West and a lot of the "Green River" knives had tips like this. There's a reason that variations of this design have been used for many centuries. Daniel's knives are usually variations of historical designs and that's one reason I like them.
The handle. The picture makes it look small. It's not. I could go on about the handle more than I did the blade, but I won't torture anyone with that. Suffice it to say that only a nice, big, contoured Ed Fowler handle has ever felt as good in my hand as this one. Like I said before, either you know what I mean, or you don't.
The sheath. I'll shoot pics. I asked Karen to build me a simple sheath that holds the knife tightly, tight on the belt and real practical. She did a great job. It's one of those knife / sheath packages that just "work".
My plans for the knife and my reasons for owning it are a little different than for really any of my other knives. I won't sell it and I wouldn't hesitate to sharpen it or use it. More than that, it's something that reminds me and pushes me to spend a part of my life in areas where a knife like this is an appropriate and needed primary tool. I'm in suburbia now with a wife and a couple of little baby girls, surrounded by pseudo-rednecks driving Escalades to Starbucks and it's all good. I wouldn't trade it. But, when I look at this knife, it reminds me to make plans for leaving suburbia behind every once in a while. Way behind.
Sorry about being long winded. It's 4 AM and the coffee pot is now empty. I'd love to send the knife to Coop for pics, but I'm not shipping this one anywhere. More mediocre pictures later.
Pete
Joss:
Hopefully, in the future, if I ever post pictures of Natalie's room, you'll see a room filled with hiking boots, pictures of bush planes, a desk with a bowie knife sitting on an "American Rifleman" magazine, and a "Homecoming Queen" picture on the wall next to her Northwestern diploma.
Pete
Hopefully, in the future, if I ever post pictures of Natalie's room, you'll see a room filled with hiking boots, pictures of bush planes, a desk with a bowie knife sitting on an "American Rifleman" magazine, and a "Homecoming Queen" picture on the wall next to her Northwestern diploma.
Pete
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
- Messages
- 13,363
Pete you are right. That blade shape is historically accurate for a Bowie of that time as are most of Dan and Karen's pieces. As a Bowie was basically a tool for any number of hard use tasks from chopping up kindling, cutting saplings for a leanto to digging a fire pit.
The tip had to be broad to insure it would never break off and have ample material to stand up to many sharpenings.
An early Frontiersman once described the perfect Bowie as "having to be sharp enough to use as a razor, heavy enough to use as a hatchet, long enough to use as a sword and broad enough to use as a paddle".
The tip had to be broad to insure it would never break off and have ample material to stand up to many sharpenings.
An early Frontiersman once described the perfect Bowie as "having to be sharp enough to use as a razor, heavy enough to use as a hatchet, long enough to use as a sword and broad enough to use as a paddle".
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2005
- Messages
- 8,167
I have been looking at Winklers pieces for a long time now, that is a very nice piece by him. Thanks for posting a picture of it.
I really appreciate all the comments about this Bowie. I try and use some historical influence in most of the knives I make. Details may come from existing old knives, tools, clothing or other weapons. Studying many different items gives Karen and me some insight to materials and working methods from the past. We then take different details and mix them with our own ideas to produce our style. With the knife designs I try and envision the tasks it may be asked to do and accommodate these jobs with balance, blade design and geometry. I also throw in what I like in terms of design flow. A few blades in The Antique Bowie Knife Book influence the wide tip. It also has a more utilitarian feel to me than the more common narrow point on most Bowies. I like the curves and increased cutting edge. As AV8R stated my goal is for the owner to feel comfortable taking the knife out and really using it.
- Joined
- Oct 1, 1999
- Messages
- 6,490
AV8R, nice score on that big and beautiful Bowie.
Daniel, I've admired your's and Karen's work for many years. I don't think I've seen a piece of yours that wasn't fascinating and unique. I unfortunately don't own any knives from you, but I did have a friend of mine make a knife for me that was inspired by one of your Bowies. I had a chance to show it to you at one of the NY shows and you were very kind with you comments. I certainly appreciated that.
Daniel, I've admired your's and Karen's work for many years. I don't think I've seen a piece of yours that wasn't fascinating and unique. I unfortunately don't own any knives from you, but I did have a friend of mine make a knife for me that was inspired by one of your Bowies. I had a chance to show it to you at one of the NY shows and you were very kind with you comments. I certainly appreciated that.