FrontierForge Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Hello, everyone. Just wanted to take a minute to show off the latest Bowie I've made. With a cutting edge of 10", it's the largest blade I've made to date. Overall length is 16 1/2 inches. The blade is 1084. The guard and spacer are mild steel. The spacer has copper liners. The coffin handle is Desert Ironwood and has 5 copper pins and a steel pin through the tang. It wasn't a full block handle. It was two scales fitted and pinned together after cutting out a channel for the tang on the milling machine. Critiques welcome! Thank you all. Have a great day, and Godspeed, everyone! Branden Rapp ABS Apprentice https://www.frontierforgeknives.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Overall, that is quite handsome. My only critique of the knife itself would be that it looks like the fit between the guard, the bolster, and the scales is a bit uneven. Also (and this is not a critique of the knife), the lighting in the photographs seems a little harsh, especially in the blown-out highlight in the last photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Dear Branden, Beautiful knife. You wanted critique and I have a couple comments: If the brass pins are for structural integrity and support of the scales I suggest moving them a bit towards the center line of the handle so that they are not in the roll over over of the back of the scales. The sheath is interesting. I'm not sure I have ever seen one with the large flap being bent around and tucked in like that. Do you have any idea if it holds up in wear the same, better, or worse than a conventional sheath? Did you take the design from a 19th century example? "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrontierForge Posted March 16, 2022 Author Share Posted March 16, 2022 Thank you both for your feedback. I really appreciate it. For JHCC: There was some very slight gapping between the bolster, guard, and handle. I got my new mini milling machine not long ago and this was my first attempt at milling the guard, bolster pieces, and handle scales. Still learning the operation of that. Hopefully, I'm a quick study and there will be no gaps whatsoever in the future. As for lighting, I'm still trying to figure out a good photography setup in the shop. Been watching Walter Sorrels' videos on photographing knives. Still don't have all the bugs worked out. I appreciate your critiques. For George: Thank you for the advice on the pins and will definitely keep that in mind for the next build. As far as the sheath, I'm not sure what year they were introduced. My wife got me a sheath making book for Christmas last year, and that was one of the designs, and I thought it went well with the old west/frontier style blades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 Coffin handle Bowie knives are some of my favorite styles. Yours is a very nice style, even with the very minor gaps. To me it looks like the gap at the bottom might be corrected with a little bit of judicious filing. However if it were my knife I wouldn't much worry about that. In use those gaps may correct themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 Best of luck with the milling, Brandon. It's something that I find fascinating, but will probably never have the time or money to invest in the tools or learning to use them. That said, in the little knifemaking that I have done, the skills I learned in the violin repair business (where you are creating parts to fit to existing parts with great precision) have served me well so far! Looking forward to seeing more of your work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malleus Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Very nice! Good job on the photos also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 Those Ruger Bearcats are fun shooters. I have a couple myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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