Who's Your Favorite Bowie Maker and Why?

J

Jumbi

Joined
Mar 12, 1999
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377
A two-parter

1. Who do you think makes the best bowie knife? (regardles of price)

2. Who makes the most affordable bowie knife, i.e., $400-$600
 
Whoah, gonna try to pin me down on best bowie at any cost? That would be tough, and I dont think I want to try to pinpoint just one maker. If somebody twisted my arm, I would be able to narrow it down to a small handful. Jerry Fisk, Tim Hancock, Harvey Dean. Of the three, I would say that Tim Hancock generally makes the fancier stuff. Jerry Fisk makes the fancy stuff too, but usually makes knives for actual carry and use. I dont know anybody who takes one of Tim Hancock's bowies out and uses it, but I do know a few who use Jerry's bowies. The fit and finish on any of these three maker's knives is top notch. In fact, you would have to use a proton magnifier to see anything remotely considered a flaw.

If I had to pick a maker for the most bowie for the price, I would pick Kevin Cashen. Generally, his carbon steel knives are about half what the other ABS Mastersmith's knives are in cost. And his fit and finish is great.
 
Fred Carter and D.E. Henry. Take a look at the Carter Bowie on page 47 in Points Of Interest, Book I and you'll see what I mean. It's one of my favorites!
 
I'd have a real hard time disagreeing with Danbo on this subject. I'd very much like to own a Tim Hancock bowie some day - he does incredible work, and his refined, classic style shines through in every bowie he puts out.

In the value category, however, I'd definately have to mention Bruce Evans. His forged bowies and fighters can be compared to the work of Bill Bagwell and other more established makers, but his prices are much lower. Another exceptional bang-for-the-buck bowie maker would be Matt Lamey, who makes knives both by forge and stock-removal. Very clean work at very good prices.

But my favorite maker of bowies would probably be Kieth Kilby. Ever since I saw a small black & white picture of a multi-bar damascus D-guard bowie in an ad in the back of Blade, I've been a huge fan of his work (anyone remember that ad? anyone remember that knife? WOW!).

Kieth Kilby is a true master of the bowie. His creations combine elegance with brutal toughness; grace and beauty with raw passion and a fierce, unwavering sense of purpose. His work is, simply, awesome.
 
When Danbo mentions bowies, shut up and listen. I have the feeling he knows of what he speaks. ;)

While I dare not say that Matt Lamey makes the best bowie, for their price I feel that they are hard to beat (and I really am trying to pound my 7" Camp Bowie ;) ). While they deviate a little from the true "classic" bowie look, I find them to be more of a bowie/fighter hybrid which appeals to me. Canted guards, recurved blades and comfortable contoured handles create a knife that is pleasing to the eye and a pleasure to hold and use.

The above mentioned maker's are all godly in their ability to capture the true essence of the bowie. Mike Connors and Joe Flournoy are also a couple of my other favorites. Life would indeed be great if I could own one of each of these. But alas, life is pretty darn good just being able to study these maker's work and dream :)
 
There are too darn many great bowie makers to come up with a favorite. I could be here for an hour listing the makers that have bowies I would kill for.
 
So far my fellow member's have excellent taste. I have to agree with Dan as far as Hancock, but if a bowie came to me out of the sky and I could pick the maker I would have a real tough time deciding on Tim or Harvey Dean. Throw bowies by D.E. Henry, Kilby, Fisk, Carter into the collection and we are talking a world class display of the finest going today.
I think you guys did great!

Matt Lamey as Wulf stated offers a lot of performance for the buck with some great handles.

Other guys I would want to have in my dream world class collection of Bowie’s include:

Ron Newton - no surprise here, his work is incredible and he is one of the finest you would want to meet.

John Fitch - John is the type who is never satisfied and always is trying to learn and teach (as well as give). I think very highly of John, his attitude and his skills.

Steven Rapp - More incredible work.

Doug Casteel - I am running out of adjectives on these guys.

Wayne Goddard - I like the looks of the bowies I have seen of his too.

Steve Dunn - Awesome work.

Howard Clark - not sure if he is doing them any more, but I have a lot of respect for Howard and his work.

Dave Ellis - I like the looks of Dave's Bowies a lot but I have only seen pictures.

Sava Damlovac - Knives aside, Sava is a very close friend. He makes only a handful of knives a year and makes what he wants to make. When he puts his name on a knife it means he can not make it any better and that is saying quite a bit. To top off his talent and attention to detail, he is the second nicest man I have known in my life.

Jim Crowell - Very Clean work.

Jay Hendrickson - Another nice guy doing work that I drool over.

David Broadwell - This guys is awesome as a knifemaker and an artist and is a good egg to boot. (I better say that since he is staying here this weekend :).)

Larry Fuegen - Another nice guy making beautiful knives.

Darrel Ralph - I like him and his work. It would be cool to see what he came up with if I turned him loose with one.

Kit Carson - Yup he does some big fixed blades too.

Then I would talk to Roger Massey, Loyd McConnel and a few others.

While I am dreaming I guess I would have to try and scrounge up nice ones by Bill Moran and Hugh Bartrug.

If I was looking for something to use, enjoy and abuse a little Jerry H., Rob S., Ed Caffry, and Ed Fowler come to mind immediately.

We are just getting started. There are a lot of excellent bowie makers out there.
 
I knew this was going to be too hard to narrow down to just one or two. How about we start this thread off with a pic or two? Somebody recently started a thread called "your favorite knife" or something like that. If I had to pick the favorite bowie out of all the bowies I have owned, it would probably be this Roger Massey "S" guard fighter. First knife I bought from Roger, and Ima-gonna-take-it-to-my-grave. 8.5" blade of 1084, nickel silver fittings and curly maple handle. The sucker just flies around in your hand! And yes, the top edge is sharp.


Edited, because I need this pic elsewhere and I'm a computer dummy.
 
All of those listed above are great makers and qualified Bowies. Thanks Gus and others.

I need a BIG lesson from Danbo on how to pick out some bigger knives for my collection! ;) But one that I DO have on order is from Robbin Hudson. He's a MS and does it all from forge to sheath. Here's a look at one of his examples. They're rare and NOT $400.00 ....

Coop

standard.jpg
 
My favorite Bowie maker (and there are many great ones) would have to be Fisk. His knives always look great, but also have great feel in the hand - perfectly balanced. The man knows how to pound metal and produces and absolutely first rate quality knife.

<center><img src="http://www.fototime.com/{E332EE61-5596-41FC-8267-7B466FA567DC}/picture.JPG"></center>
 
Don Fogg is not especially known as a Bowie maker, but I fell in love with this one:

<img src="http://www.dfoggknives.com/images/StagBowieComp_copy.jpg">

It was a good price too, and I missed it. Darn! Rob Hudson and Larry Fuegen are 2 others I like very much. And I was impressed by some pics I saw of Jarrel Lambert's coffin handle bowies - you've got to love those!

Speaking of which, one of the best value maker might be Rob Brown, a South African grinder. Check some of those knives, and check the prices he quotes for them. His site is here: http://www.robbrownknives.co.za
(Of course, he cannot export ivory handled knives. But still....) I'm going to have him make a Sheffield bowie - and maybe more - like this one:

<img src="http://www.robbrownknives.co.za/images/knives/his_55_large.jpg">

Cheers,

JD
 
Oh man those are beautiful. In thinking about Don, I have never seen one of his bowies. Thanks for that shot.

I think we should also add Alex Daniels to our list.
 
Originally posted by Gus Kalanzis
In thinking about Don, I have never seen one of his bowies. Thanks for that shot.
Click to expand...

There are several on his site, including a beautiful set with blue fossil ivory, and some that are textured. But that one's my favorite. (But then, I only have seen a tiny % of his work...)

JD
 
You boys are making me drool all over my keyboard! I have never seen a bowie like that from Don Fogg. Super sweet! The only bowie I ever saw from him, was the one he teamed up on with another maker. Dont even remember the other guy's name. The bowie I am talking about is pictured in Ed Fowler's article on Iron Mistresses from an old Blade mag.

What can I say about that Fisk bowie? Typical awesomeness from Jerry.

Let me fire up the digital camera and see what other pics I can come up with. Keep them pics coming; this is getting fun!
 
Here's the big brother of the Massey "S" guard fighter. The blade is 10" of forged 1084. Same knife, only this one is bigger and honkinier.
 
Don't let Phil see that Fogg Bowie he will pass out and I personally know that Dan was not kidding about his keyboard. As Coop said, that is one guy who knows Bowies. He taught Gus just about all Gus knows about bowies.

I worry about all three of them a lot :D
 
If i had to pick 1 and just 1, it would have to be Micheal Connor of Winters, TX.

Heres why-
No one does cleaner work
No one does more classic work
No one has more experience
No one is more humble than this fine person
They are affordable when you get them right from Michael (full size 10" bowie, file work, sheath etc.. runs 600+/-)

The only problem is getting one. He has a true 5++ year wait.

There are many others out there, but if i had to pick one, thats my answer.
 
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