PDA

View Full Version : A freehand ground Bowie knife by me.



george wilson
04-01-2009, 11:15 AM
This is to answer a question from Tony Zaffuto about how I would go about grinding the bevels thinner on Pfiel woodworking chisels. I would just grind them freehand like I made this knife.

It was freehand ground on a Wilton square wheel grinder,just the same as it would have been ground in past centuries (but on a large grindstone). Same technique,though.

If you practice,you can learn to do very accurate work freehand. I guess all the custom knife makers do it pretty much the same,though there is a jig sold for grinding blades with a less acute hollow grind.

This blade is D2 steel. It is very wear resistant,and made for shearing out steel parts. It has 13% chrome in it,but is not stainless. We used D2 to make the chisels used in the slotting attachment to cut out plane throats out.

The handle is not ivory,but is Micarta(a phenolic) with layers of impregnated white paper. It looks a lot like ivory,as you can see the "grain",which is the stacked paper.

This knife is after the style of 19th.C. English Bowies that were common here back then.The hilt is sterling silver. The blade is 7" long and 1 1/16" wide. The handle is 4 3/8" long.

Hunters carried these,and longer ones,because they had to be long enough to reach a bear's heart,as a last resort,in the days of single shot rifles. Actual hunting knives much over 4" long aren't too practical for dressing animals,I am told. I do not hunt myself.

Dewey Torres
04-01-2009, 1:48 PM
George you seem to be a man of many talents.

Justin Green
04-02-2009, 10:13 AM
That size of knife and larger probably would have been more benefit in a battle or poker game than for skinning animals. I can tell you for deer sized animals and smaller (squirrels, rabbits, birds), 4" or less is definitely easier. I prefer a comfortable handle about 4-4.5" long and a nice curved blade about 2.5-3" long.

Of course, there are no bears where I hunt.

george wilson
04-02-2009, 10:58 AM
Exactly,Justin.A lot longer than my Bowie was not uncommon,for bears,and fighting.

Bruce Page
04-02-2009, 11:18 AM
George you seem to be a man of many talents.

Dewey, that's probably the under statement of the day.

I was showing LOML some of George's handy work lastnight and even she was impressed - not an easy thing to do!