There Can be Only One- Bladeforums Best Bowie 2014 Death Match :)

Your Choice for 2014's Best Bowie!

  • Sam Lurquin's Tsavo

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • John White's Brown Takedown

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Lin Rhea's Southland

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Kyle Royer's Shell Guard Hanger

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Russ Andrews and Friend's Tembo

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Ben Seward's Checker

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .
There wasn't necessarily a piece like the Weiland one from a couple of years back where it's unique design it just reached out and slapped you in the face, so it was a rather tight race IMO. With that said, i would have still voted for the Brown Takedown even if it had been made by Schecky Finklestein's kid brother from Levittown and not the late, great John White. Amazing piece.
 
For me, the choice boiled down to two. Lin Rhea's "Southland", and John White's
Brown Take-down. Ultimately, I chose The latter.....not easily...
 
Like Russ, I narrowed it down to the same two knives. Funny, they're so different in form to one another.

To me, the deciding factor was the handle material- both knives have miles of largely uninterrupted flow, assembled with top tier precision. Lin's knife does display more creativity, (like Lin's knives do) which I greatly appreciate in this cookie cutter culture. The fossilized ivory of the John's knife was more in keeping with my viewpoints on the use of natural materials, and I try hard not to be a hypocrite, so that's how I used my vote :)

I also won't lie to anyone- I miss John's presence on this forum, he seemed like a solid dude, and a sincere vote for this piece felt like the exact right way to honour his memory. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't vote for it if it fell short of the mark, but it landed well beyond the mark in my opinion, and deserves the title of Bladeforums' 2014 Best Bowie.
 
Hmmm?

1)Monday

2) Tuesday

3) Wednesday

4) Thursday

5) Friday

6) Saturday

On Sundays I'll carry one of my own. Oh?, I have to just pick one??

It could depend on mood just like the days of the week but it has " For Me" come down to two !

Tsavo or Checker, that's 1 or 6, drum roll please, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Crash!

The winner is Tsavo. I got into knife maker because I couldn't stand most of the handles on production knives so it was time to make my own.

Of course the blade is important but if I'am going to use a knife for more than 10 minutes the handle just has to be there. Those two have the most comfy looking handles with Tsavo gaining for the index finder cut out which gives me an improved leverage point and direction so then I'm over to the blade,


Tsavo wins there. Tall at the heel with just a kick of a recurve and the harpoon looks great and would add just a little weight up front for chopping.
 
Okay here is my take on these wonderful and special knives

First congrats to all for getting here

Especially Ben

You are young and you are very good and I look forward to much more from you

As for the knife, it is one that I would buy :)

As for Mr Andrews knife

What can I say.

Russ is one of the the greatest knife makers to grace the game ever

This knife just didn't do much for me even though it is such an excellent piece and I so respect a good steel sheath

Kyles knife is high art and he is certainly destined to be one of the greatest knife makers of all generations

I have seen a lot of good engraving and Kyle is off to a fantastic start but alas I really do not care for Sheffield Bowie style blades and even though I can apreciate the wonderful build quality it is just not my taste.

Kevin you know I love you so it would not matter who's knife this is. In fact I would be quick to vote for a knife of yours bcause I like you so much :)

This brings me to Lin's knife

I love it

I Like the shape of the blade, his fit and finish are incredible and this piece of all the knives is one that I really like. In fact it might be my fav D Guard of all time

But as much as I like How he did this D Guard I do not like D Guards due to handling and carrying issues

This brings me to John Whites knife

This knife is so well done and I hope it wins

For obvious reasons I wanted to vote for it but John would want me to vote true to my heart and that vote went to Sam

Not because it was a project piece even thou no one has pulled off a project of this magnitude as well as Sam has done

But because of all the knives shown and yes they will all perform well.

The Tsavo if all the knives were reduced to a line drawing, is the knife to me that would stand out the most

It needs no embellishments

It visceral raw stance exemplifys the modern combat Bowie in a way that no other knife here does for me

If you have not handled one of these and you truly are a fan of this genre of blade do yourself a favor and do so. They are terrifying and in my mind that's what a Bowie knife should be

The one knife that you reach for when everything goes wrong
 
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All such wonderful example of the knifemakers skill.

I love Sheffield Style Bowies and Kyles is my choice.

The lines of the flow of the knife and materials are stunning.
 
I came down off the fence by choosing the one knife I would take home if I owned none and could choose but one. That is the Rhea Southland. And I say this as a spectacularly happy Tsavo owner.
 
JParanee said:
Okay here is my take on these wonderful and special knives

First congrats to all for getting here

Especially Ben

You are young and you are very good and I look forward to much more from you

As for the knife, it is one that I would buy :)

As for Mr Andrews knife

What can I say.

Russ is one of the the greatest knife makers to grace the game ever

This knife just didn't do much for me even though it is such an excellent piece and I so respect a good steel sheath

Kyles knife is high art and he is certainly destined to be one of the greatest knife makers of all generations

I have seen a lot of good engraving and Kyle is off to a fantastic start but alas I really do not care for Sheffield Bowie style blades and even though I can apreciate the wonderful build quality it is just not my taste.

Kevin you know I love you so it would not matter who's knife this is. In fact I would be quick to vote for a knife of yours bcause I like you so much :)

This brings me to Lin's knife

I love it

I Like the shape of the blade, his fit and finish are incredible and this piece of all the knives is one that I really like. In fact it might be my fav D Guard of all time

But as much as I like How he did this D Guard I do not like D Guards due to handling and carrying issues

This brings me to John Whites knife

This knife is so well done and I hope it wins

For obvious reasons I wanted to vote for it but John would want me to vote true to my heart and that vote went to Sam

Not because it was a project piece even thou no one has pulled off a project of this magnitude as well as Sam has done

But because of all the knives shown and yes they will all perform well.

The Tsavo if all the knives were reduced to a line drawing, is the knife to me that would stand out the most

It needs no embellishments

It visceral raw stance exemplifys the modern combat Bowie in a way that no other knife here does for me

If you have not handled one of these and you truly are a fan of this genre of blade do yourself a favor and do so. They are terrifying and in my mind that's what a Bowie knife should be

The one knife that you reach for when everything goes wrong
Click to expand...

Good post Joe.
I agree Joe, some folks just don't care for Sheffield Bowie style blades. I liked that style before I even started collecting knives and still do.
 
All of the finalists knives are awe inspiring. Congrats to you all. Like everyone else its very difficult to pick a winner here when you consider the complexity of the builds, so as Mat Gregory stated earlier I've gone with my gut feelings #1, John White (RIP) It really is a toss up for all the others, however Bens checkered and Sams Tsavo really walk the talk.
Thanks Roger and Lorien for putting this up again this year. Outstanding.
Cheers Keith
 
For me Sam's Tsavo spoke to me the most. I love the lines of it and I could see carrying and using it.
 
Among all the exceptional pieces, for me choosing one comes down to a few personal, petty preferences. I like the lines of the Tsavo, and like someone up the page said, if reduced to a line drawing, it would win hands down, but I am just not a fan of harpoons. Along the same lines, I've met Lin and love the handle treatment of the Southland, but I'm just not a fan of the dramatically curved clips. Kyle's piece is exceptional, but I just can't see how a shell guard makes this more of a 'Bowie'. It's outside what I think of when I think of a bowie knife. Those petty things aside, I'm left with three... John White, Tembo, and Seward. Tembo stands for something, and is an amazing collaboration. The checkering and lines on the Seward are exceptional, particularly for a relatively newer maker. In the end, there will not be any more John White bowies. I cast my vote for Mr. White.
 
Exceptional group that covers a surprisingly wide range within the knife community, while all being classified as "bowies."

For real-world use - give me the Tsavo (or Ben Seward's). For an art piece - Southland or Shell Guard. As a collector's item - Tembo.

But...if they were laid out on a table, and I was told to pick one, I'd grab John White's and run!
 
John Whites got my vote, they are all so impressive. But if I had to take one to the grave, it would be his.
 
:eek: WoW...Can I vote Six times:D ALL are Magnificent Knives:thumbup:

I could never be a Judge of Knives.

Everyone's Taste is Different

I wonder if all knives where made without the Makers mark How it would go. Although most can tell who made it by The Makers Style
 
For me personally, the shell guard bowie rings all my bells. It's complicated, it's beautiful, and it's flawless. Kyle is a very, very rare talent indeed.
 
It came down to the 2 voting leaders, the Tsavo and John's Takedown.
My favorite clips are Bagwell's talon style, and Harpoons.

Tremendous work by all involved, many thanks.

Doug
 
I set this poll to last 3 days, which in hindsight was a little too long. Anyone know how to change it, or do you like it as is?
 
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