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Post by markus313 on Sept 17, 2020 20:19:42 GMT
Ursa has updated his Edwin Forrest. Wider blade, tapered tang. Very nice... Nice bro! Do you have any photos showing the full tapered tang before the wrap? Definitely good to see URSA bringing tapered tangs into the mix, brings a whole new element to his craft. I too actually have a Edwin Forrest variation "original type" bowie being handforged for me in the USA out of a file just like the original made by Jesse Clifft. And stay tuned because I actually have a Mid to late 1800's antique bowie coming also! Very cool, keep us updated!
Hmm, antique bowie sounds good to me...
Didn’t take more pics showing the taper, here is a pic from Ursa of the spine:
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Post by szabla on Sept 17, 2020 21:29:18 GMT
Nice bowies Marcus!! Ursa has updated his Edwin Forrest. Wider blade, tapered tang. Very nice... New Edwin Forrest looks much "gooder". How is weight distribution on new one, since it has tapered tang and wider blade?
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Post by markus313 on Sept 18, 2020 17:28:35 GMT
Nice bowies Marcus!! Ursa has updated his Edwin Forrest. Wider blade, tapered tang. Very nice... New Edwin Forrest looks much "gooder". How is weight distribution on new one, since it has tapered tang and wider blade? The new one feels more powerful, yet very nimble. I much prefer it over the older ones. Very good “fighting knife”, imo. Below stats for my two older ones and the new one. Grip length is 12,4 cm on all three. Attachments:
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Post by markus313 on Sept 18, 2020 17:37:24 GMT
Some more stuff, most I had already posted under my old account. But I thought why not post some pics again. Have stats for all of those, too. Owned more than one exemplar for a few of them. If you have any questions, just bring ‘em up.
Let's start with some modified CS machetes...
Attachments:
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Post by markus313 on Sept 18, 2020 17:40:27 GMT
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Post by markus313 on Sept 18, 2020 17:44:37 GMT
Some more, my definition of "bowie knife" is a broad one...
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Sept 18, 2020 19:50:50 GMT
Nice grip wraps!
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Post by Eric Bergeron on Sept 18, 2020 20:13:14 GMT
Who did your Musso bowies Markus? They look fantastic. Thank you, Eric. The aged ones are from Ursacraftsman1 on ebay (highly recommended!!!), and they are indeed very nice. The other two brass backs are from Windlass (Primitive bowie) and Anglo Arms “Expendables”. Both real nice for the price they go for, really nice for the price. No match to the Ursa, though. Yes I did own a Atlanta cutlery(windlass) primitive bowie, was my favorite back in the day but at that time I may have gotten a lemon or not but the tip of the bowie bent, I wasn't happy. I had a look at Ursa's page, looks like I might be getting a musso again only time will tell.
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Post by markus313 on Sept 18, 2020 20:16:22 GMT
Nice grip wraps! Loosing grip at the wrong time of a back cut cannot be much of a pleasant experience, I think
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Sept 18, 2020 20:25:38 GMT
I wrapped my Maßkrug/stein!
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Post by markus313 on Sept 18, 2020 20:26:52 GMT
Tell me more about those butterfly swords! These were a gift from a very good friend of mine, a Wing Chun sifu running a school here in Germany. He said he ordered several of them, from China. Mine are not sharp, but could easily be sharpened. I think they’re made from a stainless steel, but they feel solid and good in the hands. Don’t know much about the Butterfly forms and applications (yes, he showed me some stuff, and some other Kung Fu guys I know did too). These things could do some damage, that’s for sure.
I have measured both of them and recorded stats for one. They are pretty much identical, almost to the gram and millimeter. Attachments:
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Post by markus313 on Sept 18, 2020 20:27:58 GMT
I wrapped my Maßkrug/stein! Good idea, since it can be more dangerous than the meanest bowie!
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Post by markus313 on Sept 18, 2020 20:36:36 GMT
Thank you, Eric. The aged ones are from Ursacraftsman1 on ebay (highly recommended!!!), and they are indeed very nice. The other two brass backs are from Windlass (Primitive bowie) and Anglo Arms “Expendables”. Both real nice for the price they go for, really nice for the price. No match to the Ursa, though. Yes I did own a Atlanta cutlery(windlass) primitive bowie, was my favorite back in the day but at that time I may have gotten a lemon or not but the tip of the bowie bent, I wasn't happy. I had a look at Ursa's page, looks like I might be getting a musso again only time will tell. Yes, I think bending can be a problem with those very slender tips. Must Musso styles take the tips to an extreme, and the Ursa is slender, too. However, the Ursas are very well tempered. And after all, better bend than break, of course. They stab incredibly well though and back cut like hell, of course.
I had three of the Windlass Primitives (sold two) and always found them to be well-weighted and balanced. The last I got was a bit too thick behind the edge, but that can always be worked on. Good fighting bowies. Tough steel / good temper from Windlass, from my experience.
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Post by szabla on Sept 18, 2020 21:32:22 GMT
[/quote]The new one feels more powerful, yet very nimble. I much prefer it over the older ones. Very good “fighting knife”, imo. Below stats for my two older ones and the new one. Grip length is 12,4 cm on all three. [/quote]
Than you for comparison!
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Post by markus313 on Sept 18, 2020 21:35:44 GMT
These were a gift from a very good friend of mine, a Wing Chun sifu running a school here in Germany. He said he ordered several of them, from China. Mine are not sharp, but could easily be sharpened. I think they’re made from a stainless steel, but they feel solid and good in the hands. Don’t know much about the Butterfly forms and applications (yes, he showed me some stuff, and some other Kung Fu guys I know did too). These things could do some damage, that’s for sure.
I have measured both of them and recorded stats for one. They are pretty much identical, almost to the gram and millimeter. Sounds awesome. I am in the works right now with one of the fellas in regards to making me a matched pair of butterfly sword type bowies. I am getting an enormous deal on them and it is sort of a confidential thing for right now until they are complete. We are talking San Mai steel with folded side steel, etc. Pretty wild high-end stuff. With my drawings for the blade style. I went with the intention in making a butterfly sword/ fighting bowie hybrid that is not really designed or intended for the Butterfly forms or traditional applications but more borrowing from the style, idea and intention with the Western bowie base. Ah, Brother, you keep coming up with the most interesting ideas. Be assured I’ll stay on my toes to follow that project.
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Post by markus313 on Sept 18, 2020 21:36:13 GMT
The new one feels more powerful, yet very nimble. I much prefer it over the older ones. Very good “fighting knife”, imo. Below stats for my two older ones and the new one. Grip length is 12,4 cm on all three. [/quote] Than you for comparison! [/quote][/div]
My pleasure, Szabla.
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Post by markus313 on Sept 19, 2020 19:13:52 GMT
Ah, Brother, you keep coming up with the most interesting ideas. Be assured I’ll stay on my toes to follow that project. Yes but that may be several months from now... As a way to familiarize myself with this design I ordered the Cold Steel butterfly swords that unfortunately are actually now discontinued. I will put up a thread about them when I get em. Very cool, that would be much welcomed from my part!
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Post by markus313 on Sept 19, 2020 19:15:16 GMT
Speaking of Cold Steel, for some time I had planned to lose a few words on revisiting the CS Natchez bowie...
So it happened I owned an SK-5 Natchez and used to say it doesn’t stab that well. The one I used to have sometimes even failed penetrating six layers of denim placed over a foam roller. The knife was sharp, the grind was good, the whole thing was kind of a riddle to me. At the end I attributed the comparatively lacking stabbing performance on that particular tip shape/curve. After having sold this knife, a few months later I acquired two other SK-5 Natchez bowies and tested them as well. Each of these knives show much better stabbing performance, routinely penetrating eight layers of denim with tip pressed on target without wind-up, and up to sixteen layers with some speed in the thrust. Of course this is a completely unimportant ramble, however I personally found it interesting to observe, yet to me it kind of remains an unsolved miracle. I must say I’m very happy that my other two fare much better in these tests, and since then these two CS Natchez bowies are top favorites of my collection, favorites in all aspects. The Cold Steel Laredo comes second.
I also said the Natchez would be rather heavy. And it is. But now, after months of practice, I find it to be very pleasant to handle − and it’s powerful, also versatile. Centrifugal forces during full-speed swinging (and especially decelerating) of a heavy knife can act greater on the hands, arms and sometimes even the shoulders than with swords. So my abilities have grown up to, or better said, with using the Natchez, or to some extent, at least. It’s safe to say this knife offers a lot to a well-trained practitioner.
Well, whoever designed that knife is a bowie knife genius. A perfect combination resp. compromise of length, overall weight and weight distribution, handle design and blade shape – perfectly weighed out. While favoring the cut, especially snap-cutting and powerful slashing as well as effortless slicing and strong back cuts, it also offers good thrusting. Materials and execution, design and handling characteristics, beauty and function, the Natchez has it all. No element of its design takes away from another, it all fits perfectly together. I must have seen thousands of bowie knife pictures and held/handled a few, but I have never seen a knife with more beautiful lines and never held a knife more capable than the Natchez, regarding all aspects that make a “bowie knife”. There seem to be countless “bowie” shapes predating the Cold Steel and each day smiths and designers put out new ones.
Lynn Thompson’s Natchez bowie stands out as a masterstroke.
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Post by howler on Sept 19, 2020 20:08:55 GMT
I'd like to feel the handling difference between the original san mai version which had the unique cable tang handle and the newer versions.
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Post by markus313 on Sept 19, 2020 20:21:47 GMT
Absolutely! I have always said I think the Natchez is easily one of the best bowies out there. It would be extremely difficult to craft a bowie superior to it. IMO. But stay tuned, I did receive my antique bowie and there is actually a very interesting design element that is almost the antithesis of the Natchez. I have then researched this feature/characteristic and have found out something very, very interesting. I knew you liked the Natchez and that and the fact it didn’t work too well with me was source of my frustration. Luckily the last part has changed since then, changed completely.
Regarding the rest of your post...
You're straight up killing me right here, Brother...
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