Blacksmith Bowie with a Cowboy Touch

[Church & Son]

I’ve been messing with this one a long time. The blade went easy but the guard and handle didn’t.
I put way to much thought in it and nothing seemed to work so I threw them in the pile and just done it my usual way.
Don’t think, have fun!
The Cowboys Bowie is my interpretation of mid 1800′s blacksmith/farrier made blade/guard
and any Cowboy could finish it and sheath with what would have been available on a good chuck wagon.

The blade was part of a ’40′s era truck spring, forged in charcoal, hot filed and quenched in salt water.
The guard is obviously the end of a file and the handle is a chunk of maple stump, burned onto the tang and
filled with pine pitch glue.
14″ overall, blade is 8 1/2″ x 2 1/4″ by a 1/4″ thick.

The sheath is a cross draw made from horse hide, a saddlers scraps traded for. The fringe is garment leather
from a bag and the whole thing hardened with hot water and sunshine.
My usual finish of dirt, grease and shellac.

I like the way it turned out. Have to quit thinking so much…..Randy

 

[franklin]

very cool. I'm liken the whole package.

 

[Church & Son]

Thanks Franklin......Randy

 

[Wade Hougham]

Hey Randy,
This one looks like it should have been on the belt of the Duke in one of his western movies. You really are excellent at making what really could have been. Wade

 

[grafton]

This knife has balls. They are on the top corner of the sheath. I feel that on a knife like this they should be bigger. :biggrin:

 

[messerist]

Thanks for sharing. The bowie is not better represented:35:. Kudos!

 

[GHEzell]

This knife has balls. They are on the top corner of the sheath. I feel that on a knife like this they should be bigger. :biggrin:

Heh....:35:

I like it, very cool knife.

 

[jonathan creason]

Awesome knife Randy. How well does the pitch glue hold up to chopping?

 

[Church & Son]

You really are excellent at making what really could have been. Wade

Thanks Wade, pieces from makers like US are the ones that didn't get preserved for museums, made out of necessity with what was available and used to death.....

This knife has balls. They are on the top corner of the sheath

I should have known a fellow Brother freak of humanity would notice that. I deliberately didn't say anything about them. Extra ration of swamp juice for you.....

Troy, thanks. The original Bowie was probably merely a big butcher knife but has evolved into an American unique style....

GHEzell, thanks a lot.....

How well does the pitch glue hold up to chopping?

Thanks Jonathon. I have not had any problems with pitch glue letting go. It was used for fletching arrows and making canoes for centuries. Some of the threw the haft 'hawks I've made stood up to my unique throwing style(Any part of the head or haft can hit the target) with only pitch holding the head. On this one I burnt the tang hole larger, filed notches and put in 2 hidden pins to give the pitch some grip. Extreme heat such as in a car trunk in summer may make it soft.
One note while making pine pitch, it is like napalm when you are cooking it so keep a lid around......Randy