http://www.primosknives.com/public_images/thuya_burl_bowie.jpg

Forged of course. The steel is 1084.

This one has a 6-1/2" inch blade and is approximately 12" overall. The guard, ferrule, and pins are nickel silver. The handle is Thuya burl. The ferrule has a groove fileworked around it. The groove was blackened for contrast.

I love it. Truly beautiful. Is that a false edge or is it sharpened?

Thanks Jim. The grinds on the clip converge into a peak but it is unsharpened. In other words, it could be sharpened. If I get a chance, I'll take a shot of the clip from the top so you can see what I mean.

Very nice,Terry.The design is great and I can't get over the coloring of that wood.Cooooooooooooollllllllllllllll.Dave

Terry, thats one fine looking knife.Did you do something to enhance the color of the thuya or did you just get a piece with some color in it? Ray

Thank you Dave and Ray.

Nothing added Ray. It was hand-rubbed to 1500 grit and soaked for eight hours in boiled linseed oil. When the shot was taken the oil finish was still curing, so the color is a little brighter. In a day or two it will be cured and won't be quite as shiny and bright. To get that high luster back, it can be hand-rubbed with wax.

Also, in the pic, the blade looks almost mirror polished. Actually it's hand-rubbed to a 600 grit finish. I do a LOT of hand work. Kinda crazy I guess. I've got about a $400 Baldor buffer bolted to the bench and don't use it.

It takes about 10 times as long to do it the way I do, but I like hand-rubbed finishes. Mine are dang sure handmade. My wife say's I practically gnaw them out with my teeth. :lol:

Absolutely a beauty! They're right, you can't escape the drama of that handle--but that's the point! Nice understated touches on the guard and ferrule, too. I'm with you on the hand-rubbed look. Nice work.

Coop

Real nice man

That is a great looking little bowie Terry. A few hours extra by hand makes a big differrnce and it certainly shows in this one.

That is a sweet one, Terry. Well done.

What a great little bowie love the profile and that handle is fantastic. Gib

2 thumbs UP!! Excellent job.

BTW: I'm glad to hear about the hand rubbing, man, I know what you mean its addictive!

Frankly, I don't care how many teeth it took to gnaw that one out. It was well worth it!

Great looking wood as well. Question: was the handle soaked before attached to the blade/bolsters/ferrule or after? I'd like to know your method..

Chris

Thanks everyone. I really need a confidence boost every now and then.

Chris,
The handle was soaked after assembling the knife. I used masking tape to mask off the ferrule, guard, and blade. Then I filled a jar with boiled linseed oil to a level that was equal to the length of the handle, and put the handle in jar.

I leave the handles in the oil for several hours, sometimes overnight. When I take it out, I wrap a piece of leather around the blade and put it in the side end a vise with the handle sloping downward. I place a can on the floor under the handle to catch the "drippings". It can take a few days for the linseed oil to cure. If there are any uneven rough spots, I'll smooth everything out with 0000 steel wool.

By the way, I'm sure everyone knows this already, but just in case, the product is boiled linseed oil. It does not mean that I am boiling the oil and putting the handle in.

Now I like that Terry! Very clean and smooth, everything flows where it should! You da man!

Terry-

That is just flat gorgeous! Everything flows very well, and that's a knock-dead piece of Thuya.

I totally appreciate your sentiments on a hand-rubbed finish.

I have a $325 Baldor in the shop and it doesn't see very much use at all...but the sanding sheets and blocks sure do.

I know a lot of guys think straight steel is boring or what-have-you, but to me a well-done hand-rubbed blade is hard to beat...

Thanks for posting!
Nick

Many thanks to all for the kind words. I'm particularly flattered to receive praise from some of the guys whose work I admire so greatly.

I saw the title of the thread "Gentleman's Bowie" and I was all ready with some smartalec remark about "Gentlemen don't carry Bowies, that's what the manservant is for" but then when I saw the picture I decided if I was a gentleman I'd carry one like that :)

Nice work Terry. I agree that the hand-rubbed finish and the handle complement each other perfectly. You definitely have an eye for the nice clean lines that make a knife look just 'right'.

Roger

Forget the boost ... I want to know when you found the time to make it?

Sweet bro!

Alex

Just came back in from the shop. I've had enough for one day! That is one darn sweet gentleman's bowie! I think the Thuya is the best piece I've seen, to date. How did you blacken the ferrule, with lacquer or baked enamel, or what? Very nice knife Terry. Off to bed I go, the Mrs. needs my body heat... snowing like crazy here. Later, Charles

A wonderful style to that knife and the Thuya burl is beautiful. The overall shape is very pleasing to the eye and the handle looks like it should be very comfortable to hold.

Thanks again everyone. I probably should have just waited a few days and then said a big thanks to everyone at one time. I'm afraid it might look like I'm just trying to keep bumping this thing back to the top. Anyway ...

Charles, The groove was blackened with Birchwood Casey Brass Black. It does a nice job on nickel silver and is more durable than one might think. And the fact that it's in a recess means that it will should up quite nicely.

This is done prior to the final assembly of the knife to make any necessary cleanup easier to do. For this type of knife there is a lot of dry fitting done. That is, put it together, check the fits, take it off, make adjustments, check again, etc. etc.

I doubt that many folks realize what a job these little jewels are. Alex obviously does because he asked where I found the time to do it. It's got to be done at a time where you're not watching the clock and thinking, "I've got to hurry up so I can get ready to go to work". Unlike simple hunters, you can't just bond everything together at once and grind it down flush. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not making light of what it takes to make a standard hunter. It's just that this type of thing takes a lot more planning, measuring and fitting. It's a simple looking design that's a booger to execute.

For example, you have to get the guard to fit dead flush against the back of the ricasso with no gaps. Then you have to make sure that the ferrule is dead flush against the guard with no gaps. Next you have make sure the handle is dead flush against the ferrule with no gaps and the sides of the handle need to be flush with the sides of the ferrule. You also have to make sure all the pieces are in alignment and centered on the knife. Otherwise, when you sight down the knife, the butt of the knife will be kicked off to one side. Also the oval ferrule needs to be centered in oval guard. AND, for this one the top and bottom of the ferrule need to be in alignment with the top and bottom of the ricasso.

It's a lot to think about. Then you can imagine, on that last dry fit where you determine everything is right, you have to take a deep breath and think about the next step. That's where you get nervous. You have to file a centered groove of equal depth, all the way around this little oval ferrule. You're thinking, "Please don't let the file slip!" :lol:

I'm sorry, I'm rambling. You can see though why I so greatly admire the guys who can pull these, and more complex projects off flawlessly time and time again.

One thing is for sure, when I do have time to visit this forum, something makes it worthwhile!!!

WELL DONE TERRY!!

That is a BEAUTY!!!! I enjoyed reading the responses and your wood finishing methods. My dad used to spend HOURS finishing his wood projects like that. 30years later, a little wax, and they still look great.

Neil

Terry-

I just had to come back and say again how sharp that piece is :)

Again, I totally empathize with what went into this knife. But just to pick on you, I haven't seen a picture of your work where it looked like you did anything but get a perfect fit at the guard ;)

I'm wondering how you grind your clip in? That is the one thing that I swear I do differently every time I go to do it trying to find the best way. I'd like to hear what works for you???

Thanks,
Nick

Thank you kindly Neil and Nick.

Nick,
This one was done vertically on the contact wheel, point down. Rather than just "eyeballing" it to get both sides to match, I drew where I wanted the bottom of the grinds to be on both sides of the blade with a Sharpie (permanent marker). You just sort of roll the blade as you grind to follow the lines. Don't just watch the lines marked for the bottom of the grind. Keep a close eye on the top of the clip to make sure you are keeping the edge straight. You want that sucker dead center. I won't tell you it's easy, cause it "ain't". At least not for me. Use fresh belts and don't hog it. You don't want to get it too hot. Let the belts do the work.

I do the clip bevel grinds after hardening, tempering. You can imagine how nervous I am at that point because of all the time I have in the blade. I used a 60 grit belt to start out, then switched to a 120. After that I used a draw file to make sure everything was flat. After the file you can guess, it was all hand sanding.

When you're ready to start, say a little prayer, (if you're Catholic you might throw in a couple of Hail Mary's), take deep breath, clamp your butt-cheeks together, and go for it. :lol: