The Cowbell Build Thread

Cool video John. Your Cowbell belt sheaths are such a fantastic design. So lean and versatile. It is a perfect compliment to the handiness of the Cowbell.

Happy New Year! I look forward to seeing what surprises you have in store for us In 2023.

Phil
 
Comprehensivist said:
Cool video John. Your Cowbell belt sheaths are such a fantastic design. So lean and versatile. It is a perfect compliment to the handiness of the Cowbell.

Happy New Year! I look forward to seeing what surprises you have in store for us In 2023.

Phil
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Hey Phil, good to hear from you! 2023 is going to bring good things. With the new workspace in our leather room I have an area that be dedicated to building belts, which is going to be awesome. I'm also going to cut the Cowbell dibs down to smaller numbers to get a shorter turnaround for you guys. I tried doing large batches last year but it just didn't work out. Having a dozen knives and sheaths in different stages didn't work well for me, I spent more time organizing pieces and labeling things that it kept me from having any flow amd caused stagnation.

Now for s quick confession. I had an epiphany this fall that has rearranged my thinking. I had built a belt for my nephew while he was here for Thanksgiving in 3 days, and completed 4 Cowbells for a last minute Christmas request in under 3 weeks. It was a request I shouldn't have taken but it was for a friend that I'm indebted to, not in the monetary sense but in the loyalty sense.

To be very honest I was extremely disappointed in myself afterwards (pissed off really) once I realized that under a time constraint with pressure on myself I could put out the same quality product in an absolute fraction of the time. Now there were some long days and late nights but my multitasking and time management improved drastically.

So moving forward I'm going to be taking Dibs in probably 2's or 3's but that will result in a much shorter turnaround for you guys. For me it's not about puttin out more product it's about satisfying the demand and getting knives in your hands. The side effects of that is where I benefit.

We'll see a small price increase in the Cowbell for 2023 but it's one that has been planned since I started these in January of 2020, not a result of inflation although my cost on everything is going up.

I'm pretty excited for what 2023 is going to bring.
 
I definitely have been liking this Opal G10

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Just wanted to let you know how my Zulu Cowbell has grown on me. At first I thought it was smaller than I thought it would be, but now I realize it is just right, compact but still a good blade size for serious work ( to me means opening letters and flattening boxes, etc ) and I can get a good 4 finger grip on the handle, making it very maneuverable.F1C1692C-A7AF-45EE-B681-404AF3B16185.jpeg83958F84-18CA-46B3-96EF-C193213C71ED.jpeg
 
cbach8tw said:
Just wanted to let you know how my Zulu Cowbell has grown on me. At first I thought it was smaller than I thought it would be, but now I realize it is just right, compact but still a good blade size for serious work ( to me means opening letters and flattening boxes, etc ) and I can get a good 4 finger grip on the handle, making it very maneuverable.View attachment 2037051View attachment 2037052
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Good to hear Craig, I tried to get the handle size as small as I could with still being able to lock your hand into a decent hold. For a 6 1/2" knife I think it lets you get a pretty good grip.
 
Fresh from the Redmeadow Deli! Thanks John!:thumbsup:.
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New blue denim on the left, with my OG natural on the right. Notice the new sheaths are a bit wider than the old. And of course the tooling, which the kids did another great job on!:thumbsup:
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jlauffer said:
Fresh from the Redmeadow Deli! Thanks John!:thumbsup:.
View attachment 2059895

New blue denim on the left, with my OG natural on the right. Notice the new sheaths are a bit wider than the old. And of course the tooling, which the kids did another great job on!:thumbsup:
View attachment 2059896

View attachment 2059897
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I was gonna mention that their estimate of delivery on the 30th was probably way off but I didn't want to jinx us. I figured it would be there by Saturday but man that was quick!
 
Would you consider a slightly larger version of the cowbell? Not sure if necessary as the current size fills most most needs. Just a thought.
 
What would he even better is it on a new belt and a Redmeadow belt buckle. Great combo!
 
cbach8tw said:
Would you consider a slightly larger version of the cowbell? Not sure if necessary as the current size fills most most needs. Just a thought.
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I'd like to have two more models eventually. Something around 4" and 6", not necessarily Cowbells, they seem to have become their own animal and Ibdon't want to change that. I'f also like to forge some machetes sometime, along with a thousand other things I'd like to do but am focusing on what I've got going on right now.

I do have a 6" ready that I'll be heat treating with some Cowbells in a few days. It's not intended to be a model just an idea I'm fooling around with.

cbach8tw said:
What would he even better is it on a new belt and a Redmeadow belt buckle. Great combo!
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That would be awesome and I've thought about it but it's not another iron I need to put in the fire.
 
Cool deal and thanks for responding to my ideas, appreciate your feedback, you do have a few irons in the fire right now. Keep up the good work. Have a great weekend.
 
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