Which custom Stainless Bowie is right for me?

Happy Camper

Happy Camper

Joined
Jan 8, 2000
Messages
311
Hello,

I've already polluted the general discussion area with a thread in search of a production knife that apparently doesn't exist, so I'm now looking for a custom knife that would fit what I want:

I want a Bowie with simple, traditional looks. A wood handle would be great. I want a flat grind (or convex grind) "Stainless" steel blade of 9" or more, geared more towards working than fighting.

This will be my first custom, and I am looking at the lower end of the price spectrum ($300 range or so). That probably means I'll need to aim for a standard model a maker may produce.

So far, I love the style of the Matt Lamey Sunrise Fighter,

http://www.lameyknives.com/dstsunbig.jpg

and his prices are within my reach. Any other suggestions I should consider? The custom knife wold is a large one, and it's unchartered territory for me.

Thanks!
 
check out makers websites and see what they may have to offer. The knife you mention at the $300 range certainly would seem to fit the bill by the looks of the Lamey but I have never held one.

If you are looking for lots of great knife sites, point to

http://www.mijneigenfavorieten.nl./knivelinks/

If you then want lots of US sites, near the top on the left is the link to them or scroll to the bottom and find the US sites linked at the lower RH area of the opening page.

Spen some time looking at sites including dealer sites.

choose some you like and keep the urls and post to the forum and ask for opinions.

Good luck!
 
While certainly not as "traditional" as Matt's bowies, this one fits the bill in your other requirements. As a bonus, Ron's leather sheaths are flawless and he supplies very high quality Kydex (Concealex) rigs as well if desired. Steel is 154-CM, full flat grind, beautiful fit & finish with your choice of exotic woods. You can even opt for some very nice mosaic pins if you prefer and add stainless bolsters. Ron is also great to work with and his waiting time is only about 3 months. OOPS! Forgot to mention the price is right in your range as well ;)
 

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Blademan, that knife is up my ally, but Ron who?

MW, thanks for the link. I'll check it out and see what I can find there that piques my interest.
 
Ah - I just read the thread near the top and methinks that I posed an uncomfortable question. As I said, this is uncharted territory for me and now I realize that I'm unintentionally ringing the doorbell for advertising.

It was easy to ask which knife may be a good match for me in the production knife forum, but it's another thing entirely to blunder into a room full of knife makers and ask the same question.

Consider my question in its original state withdrawn, then.

Let me rephrase it as follows:

How do I go about finding a custom knife maker who specializes in what I'm looking for? Do I follow internet links and magazine adds, relying upon only advertising? Or do I simply contact the first knifemaker whose work strikes my fancy?

It's an easy thing to address a group of people and find out where to get the kind of food I like in town, or which production knife company makes the kind of knives I want. But at this point, connecting with a custom knife maker seems almost a random occurrance. Comments?
 
Most knifemakers have web sites now, check them out using links provided by Bladeforum and others. If you see something you are interested in Email.
 
Happy Camper, please email me there is a guy who does good work that you may be interested in and he does not want to post since he is not the type to come across as too pushy. Even if you are not interested he would be a good guy to talk to.
 
If you are interested in the Livesay/Vancook Sandbar Bowie , I can help . I even made a period sheath for CAS . Drop me an E-mail and I will forward a pic .
 
Are the people who frequent this forum really getting that stiff about the content here???

I was jumped on before about posting a thread for a local knife show.

Now you feel (or have been made to feel, I don't know) that your post was in need of a follow-up apology???

I don't get it. This argument gets brought up over and over again about posting pics and I'm not going there...I understand that's what the gallery is for. But come on, if something like asking for advice on who to look to for a custom bowie is not allowed here, what's next?

Soon it will be boring, neutralized, non-specific details about makers' work labeled as Maker 1, Maker 2... Now wait, then there would be an argument that Maker 1 has an unfair ranking over Maker 2, so then maybe we could all just be Maker X...

Some of you need to lighten up.

Okay, I'll step off the box now ;)

Nick
 
Worry not, Nick, nobody jumped on me. Rather, I read the thread "Makers, Purveyers please read" and thought I had blundered into a very fresh cease fire with a gun in my hand.

However, if this was not so much a flare up but an ongoing balance of opinions on the matter, then I feel better.

My main point still is that I don't walk into a teacher's lounge and say "who should I pick for my math teacher?" because it's uncouth to do so. However, when I get into the student lounge, I can ask away without being tacky or putting anybody in an awkward position.
 
If you like the Matt Lamey knife, go for it, if it's not available in SS, well thats another problem.Personally I like Lamey's style, he makes a good looking knife IMO.
 
Oh yeah, Nick, were all keeping our eyes on you, dont try to slip anything past anybody.LOL:D
 
Got to recommend Lonnie Hansen, he makes a great knife/sheath combo he calls the Dragon Slayer in 440V. At $375 it's a bargain. Check him out: www.lchansen.com
Your best bet would be to try and make it to a knife show and handle a piece yourself.
 
I do not think that what you asked is wrong in any way. I think you asked a very reasonable question. If there are makers out there that are interested in doing the work for you, they are free to email you and tell you so.

There was a thread just recently where a member was interested in making knives but wanted someone elsse to make the blades for him. He was wondering if there were makers that would do this. It was pointed out in that thread that we should not recommend one maker over another as this might hurt the feelings of the other makers that were not mentioned. That would certainly not be my intent. It is just that if I know of a maker that does what a person is looking to have done, I think I should be able to recommend that maker. I would hope that this would not offend the other makers on this forum. Personally, I think they have thicker skins than that.

Maybe I am wrong about this. If I am please let me know.
 
Sometimes it seems that political correctness is entering the knife community. That's gotta be one of the horsemen of the apocalypse (sp?), doesn't it?

Funny, in the general forum, everyone is free to say, "oh you need factory (or semi-factory) tactical POS this-or-that" with impunity, but in the customs forum, it's a no-no. Apparently, we knifemakers are a sensitive lot, prone to offing ourselves and all manner of nervous tics.

Or maybe I'm just late for my prozac. Now where's that bottle?
 
when i sighed up as a maker i thought that the perpose of this custom form was so people like your self could interact with makers asking some of the very same questions you are. i am not interested in making this bowie at this time so this is a few ideas for you that are my opion as a full time maker of culinary to bowies. you said you wanted a worker, matt lameys great knike in the pic is a fighter, the reason being is that there is very little belly in the blade. the second one posed R.W. clarks bowie is more of a worker, notice the increased belly of the blade. this give you more chopping power because there is more ark and weight towards the tip. now i am just pointing out some factors of blade geormatry that you should consider when picking out the maker and blade. good luck, let us know what you come up with.
 
Happy Camper, since you mentioned you liked flat grind you should check out Barry and Phillip Jones. With a wood handle I'm sure they are in your price range and they do some awesome flat grinds.
If you want, email me for the contact info.

Dave
 
Pitchers...?

People, good points about treading too softly. I'll try to avoid such backstepping in the future. So who's good and who sucks? Just kidding. :)

That Dragon Slayer is shorter than what I was looking for, and I was hoping more for a brass guard than one of titanium.

As far as a tip heavy blade with more belly being a better chopper, I have no arguments. But if I wanted an efficient chopper, I probably would go with a Bolo. I do want an emphasis on utility, but not to the point of specialization; I'd like to maintain some fighter traits.

I feel like I'm finally making progress here. Thanks, everybody!
 
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