[RogerP]

Greetings all,

No, this thread isn't about the hugely successful series on the History Channel, but rather the careful and meticulous crafting of a custom bowie knife that I have commissioned from a very talented bladesmith by the name of Mark Bartlett.



1075 bar stock gives rise to a long, lean blade about 11" in length.







It's always good to start with a detailed plan:



Okay the actual sketch of the knife, which will have an elegant s-guard, titanium spacers and linings for the frame handle, and a killer piece of flame Koa for the handle:

 

[RogerP]

Shaping the guard:








Stacking the titanium and steel layers that will form the ferrule:

 

[eagle2250]

My friend, this thread promises to be almost as exciting as getting a new pair of shoes! Impressive first picks...looking forward to future developments!

 

[cortman]

Will be following this thread with great interest. Beautiful work.

 

[derum]

Love it!
Anything that requires the degree of craftsmanship we see here rightly deserves all the praise it will surely get.

 

[RogerP]

Cheers folks. This is going to be the type of knife where there is probably three times the amount of work in the guard and handle than in the blade. The knives I have had all had a hidden tang encased in a solid block of wood, pinned and epoxies. This knife is going to have a frame handle - wooden scales mounted to a steel and titanium frame with the tang threaded and secured inside. The blade, guard and handle can all be disassembled back into their component parts as there is no epoxy holding things together - just compression and precision fit. Here's an example of what I am talking about from a knife Mark completed last year. Definitely not something you cobble together in 3 hours on a tv show.

 

[RogerP]

Here we have the guard and ferrule press fit together with guide pins:



And the frame, upon which will be mounted the Koa wood scales. Notice that a long swedge has now been added to the blade - essentially a false edge running nearly the full length of the spine. This serves to take some unnecessary weight out of what is a very large blade and also add some sleekness and visual dimension.



A closer look at the frame:



The handle starting to take shape with the fitment of the Koa scales to the frame, and the butt cap fitted to match the curved end of the handle:



Don't click the image below - it's not a vid, but a quick screencap to show off some of the colour and figure in the Koa:

 

[RogerP]

Mark decided that while he liked the fittings well enough, there were two significant embellishments he wanted to add to elevate the piece overall. The first was to ad a stippled texture to the guard to give it some added visual dimension. He used an engraving tool to cut a border within which the stippling would take place. Then is was several hours of VERY careful tap-tap-tap with a small mallet and stippling tool. To paraphrase Mark, if he had a dollar for every tap, he could buy a Ferrari. :rofl:





Note that the circumference of the frame has also been fully file-worked:



Butt cap also got the stippled treatment:



Which brings us to a knife that now looks even more deceptively complete, but still has a significant to-do list:

 

[Flanderian]

That's a truly magnificent merger of beauty and functionality! :beer:

(Plus, you now have the perfect tool for managing recalcitrant clients! )

 

[Andy]

RogerP:

WOW!!!

One of my favorite movies and book upon which it was based is "The Iron Mistress"! A somewhat fictionalized biography of James Bowie! I even have an autographed book!

Plus a knife or two, but NOT bespoke!

 

[RogerP]

RogerP:

WOW!!!

One of my favorite movies and book upon which it was based is "The Iron Mistress"! A somewhat fictionalized biography of James Bowie! I even have an autographed book!

Plus a knife or two, but NOT bespoke!

I remember that book well, Andy, and read it with relish in my youth. A good part fiction no doubt, but a gripping larger-than-life tale nonetheless.

The story of Bowie's knife as a cultural phenomenon, both during his latter years and in the decades following his death, is itself a fascinating tale.
It remains the definitive icon of American edged weapons and its popularity has survived some three centuries unabated.

 

[Oldsarge]

And its S. American counterpart, the cuchillo criollo, is a fascinating study in its own right. I kind of like 'em.

 

[drlivingston]

@RogerP Thank you for posting all of the content to this thread. It's rare to see such craftsmanship in today's day and age. That is truly a work of art. We are losing more and more of these cutlers every year. My collection is minimal. But, that piece would be the cornerstone of it. Simply awesome!

 

[RogerP]

Thanks gents.

Now to the final step in the process: colour case hardening. This is an element seen on many high end firearms. The metallurgy is kind of complex, and the methodology fraught with secrecy and mysticism, but the basic gist is taking steel parts and cooking them at high temps (1400 farenheit) over several hours in a sealed case filled with a precise mixture of charcoal, charred animal bone, leather and other stuff.

The end result is that the surface of the metal becomes super-hard - but only the very thin surface of it. This makes the metal much more wear-resistant. But the real reason it is done these days is that it imparts to the metal a random medley of colours from blues to golds. This aspect, even with the most careful preparation, is down to chance. You can do everything right and have the parts come out a dull grey. Chasing colour requires real commitment.

Here's a look at the process on my knife:

Parts to be colour case hardened beside the charcoal mixture:



Packed tightly within a metal casing:



Fully covered:



And sealed:



Now for a loooong heat-soak and an appropriate sacrifice to the knife gods in the hope that they will smile upon your efforts.

They smiled. Check out the fittings now:



The warmth of the colour in the fittings now provides a perfect compliment to the rich warm tones of the koa scales, with he bright anodized titanium spacers lending just a bit of visual pop.





And that's all folks. Next step will be a custom made sheath by a different artisan, then professional photographs submitted for publication, then at last on to me.

 

[fishertw]

Ive got a friend who made all the armaments for the movie "Last of the Mohicans". From that he was commissioned to make custom tomahawks for certain Navy Seal Teams as functional additions to their standard equipment.
This is nearly a lost art.

 

[RogerP]

Ive got a friend who made all the armaments for the movie "Last of the Mohicans". From that he was commissioned to make custom tomahawks for certain Navy Seal Teams as functional additions to their standard equipment.
This is nearly a lost art.

Dan Winkler? Love his work. I've met him a few times at knife shows (Karen as well) but have not seen him in a good many years now.

 

[The Irishman]

Roger,

That is a beautiful knife.

Is the back edge / swedge sharpened?

 

[Oldsarge]

Good heavens, look at that guard. It's an Art Deco Bowie! Amazing.

 

[eagle2250]

An seriously stunning work of "Knife Art!" Thank you for sharing this with us.

 

[Dhaller]

Very nice work. Is anything more beautiful than finely crafted, functional items? (tools, weapons, etc?)

Not 100% my cup of tea, as I myself prefer a more solid handle, but looking at the Bartlett's other work I see that kind kind of detail with the exposed bolts and so on is his signature thing. He's obviously a man who takes great care in his craft (I see poking around on some forums he can take up to 2-3 years to make a knife! Reminds me of Japanese craftsmen.)

It inspires me to look into having a bespoke knife made! Or maybe an axe.

DH