The Bowies of the Blade Show - 2008 Edition

Roger , Great review. Thanks for the pictures. There was so much that I missed. It was an overwhelming experience as this was my first trip to blade. It was nice making re-aquaintances with folks from past hammer-ins as well as new. I have to say thanks to fellow makers and show attendies for making me feel welcomed . This was a memorable first trip and can hardly wait till next year. Paul
 
Great pictures. Even though I didn't attend it was nice to see so many knife makers in their natural enviroment. That is surround outstanding knives.

Dave from Diller
 
Looks like I missed alot glad you guy's had a good time hope everyone got home safe.
 
Thanks Roger, sure was some georgeous stuff at the show. Eventhough I missed it, your photos made sure I know what I missed!!

Thanks again
 
A belated peek at the MS test knives of Russ Andrews. Don't drive yourself crazy trying to "click for a larger view" here. For that, go to Russ' web site: http://russandrewscustomknives.com/

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Roger
 
The sub-hilt Bowie is one of the finest knives I have had the pleasure to examine. Really surprised it didn't take top honors. :confused:
 
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Kevin Jones said:
The sub-hilt Bowie is one of the finest knives I have had the peasure to examine. Really surprised it didn't take top honors. :confused:
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Agreed.......all of Russ's knives are super nice, but tha one is above and beyond. Not having a table probably kept him out of the running for anything other than the Hughes award and that only applies to the dagger, right?.
 
Roger, THANKS!!! Of course those knives are typical Andrews awesomeness. That sub-hilt looks out of this world.

Congrats again Russ!!!



Joe.....No, the Hughes award is just typically awarded for an applicant's dagger, but it's supposed to go to the single best knife submitted amongst them all. It's probably inevitable the result will lead to some debate and/or hurt feelings.

If I remember correctly, Bailey Bradshaw won it for a bowie when he got his Ms stamp in 2001.

I am a wealth of knowledge that I probably shouldn't have, but I've long been a fan of Bailey's work. Hopefully he'll correct me if I'm wrong on this.
 
Roger, Thanks for a wonderful review, I have thoroughly enjoyed the pictures, they have reminded me why I need to try and get back there soon.

There are a few knives pictured here which I am really excited about, and one I can't look at without a tinge of regret ;)

Thanks again.

Stephen
 
NickWheeler said:
If I remember correctly, Bailey Bradshaw won it for a bowie when he got his Ms stamp in 2001.
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I don't remember the year - but he did win it for a bowie.

I wouldn't have envied the judges their task in selecting just one knife for this award. It could justifiably have gone to probably 4 pieces or so, but they had to choose just one. There can be no doubt that the knife they chose was a spectacular piece.

I say this a lot of Russ' latest work - but that subhilt may be his finest piece to date. Really something to behold - and to hold.

Stephen - I hear ya bro. ;)

Roger
 
phew..sensory overload.
Roger, thank you very much for all your efforts. I think you captured the essence of Blade.
 
The Andrews subhilt is spectacular. I am not crazy about the guard on the dagger, but lots of daggers leave me cold. His bowies are impeccable. The hunter is also sublime.
 
Bladeandbarrel said:
The Andrews subhilt is spectacular. I am not crazy about the guard on the dagger, but lots of daggers leave me cold. His bowies are impeccable. The hunter is also sublime.
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As Russ is known as a supreme bowie deity , I wonder if he would say that making the dagger was a joy or a chore? Some guys swear that they will never make another one after they pass the MS judging :eek::D My favorite ABS "test" type dagger of the show was the one that Kevin Cashen had on his table Saturday followed closely by Sean McIntyre's MS dagger, which had straight flutes as opposed to the typical spiral design. Was he the first guy to actually ask if the dagger has to strictly follow the typical pattern? The next logical question would be if the twisted wire must be inlayed into grooves in the handle material? My crazy idea would be to have a straight fluted two piece handle with a spacer and the twisted wire "inlayed" into the metal around the diameter of the spacer, ferrule and buttcap.
 
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Excellent review, Roger, and wonderful pics too. Thanks for putting it all together.

Let me add my voice to those recognizing Tom Ferry's fantastic work, about which I had been completely unaware. I spent the weekend assisting Eric Eggly/PointSeven and got a very close look at the detail he packs into the embellishment of his well designed knives. A lot of embellishment doesn't stand up well to magnification and can therefore be difficult to feature at the macro level in photographs without exposing a lot of irregularities and defects. I know now that there are but a very few exceptions to this and Tom Ferry is one of them. No matter how big you blow it up, his embellishments are pure, clean and expertly crafted. He's on my radar big time now. His stuff is pricey but once you've seen it at the level I experienced you will have a hard time settling for less.

Thanks Roger. I was glad to shake your hand again at the ABS awards banquet on Friday night. You're a great contributor to this cause we all love.
 
Thanks Buddy - great to meet you as well.

I hope that the above means that we can look forward to some professional shots of Tom's fine work. That sure would be worth seeing.

Roger
 
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