Buying/Commissioning A Bowie?

[HCM]

I did not say anything earlier, in order not to jinx the package while USPS* had it, but I just took delivery of my Greg Covington-forged Hell’s Belle. Beautiful. This one could be my “grail” knife.

I did not commission this one, so it was not custom-sized for me, but it handles wonderfully. I do not perceive any way it could be a better fit. This Bowie is notably heftier than the production version of the Hell’s Belle sold by Ontario, and the handle fits me better than the Ontario version. This Bowie was one he made, and posted on evil-bay. I just happened to be interested in the subject of forged Bowies at the time he listed it. I had no idea he was an evil-bay seller until I saw the listing.

*I always worry when waiting for an important package, especially if being handled/shipped via USPS.

For a guy who did crime scene photography as a collateral duty this thread is seriously devoid of pictures ;-)

[blues]

For a guy who did crime scene photography as a collateral duty this thread is seriously devoid of pictures ;-)

I was wondering if it was just me...

[Covington Edged Weaponry]

Satans's Lace Bowie




Bloodwood Belle

[Rex G]

For a guy who did crime scene photography as a collateral duty this thread is seriously devoid of pictures ;-)

Well, since the time Flickr disappeared all of my images hosted there, I have not yet trusted, nor established an account with, another image hosting service.

I see that Greg Covington just posted a couple of images, (Thanks!) and while the Belle I mentioned above, which has an oak handle, is not one of the two Bowies pictured, I did also order, and recently receive, the “Satan’s Lace” Damascus Belle, as shown in the top picture.

My Belle with the oak handles is a massive blade, ready serve as my sword in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, with its hand-and-a-half-sized handle. The Belle with the Satan’s Lace Damascus blade is sized more like a typical fightin’ Hell’s Belle, but is notably more stoutly-built than the Ontario-made Hell’s Belle.

Yes, I really should photograph my several Bowies, and figure-out how to start posting images on-line again.

[Rex G]

Hey guys....Greg Covington here.

Rex....the osage handled knife that you have has an interesting history. It was the first knife that Bill Bagwell walked me thru all the heat treat and testing...to what he considers ideal. It was also "double extra forged" from steel that Bagwell told me to use. It was done in the theme of his old "Combat Special" knife that can be seen in the old catalogs. I remember one of the tests was to lay a penny on a log and chop thru it with no ill effect to the blade.

Bill's heat treat is something I incorporate to my Bowies....but I add in a few extra things because you have to find a medium to what works best for you. I was very fortunate to have Bill teach me this stuff and gift me with the notion of carrying on with what he's done. He said something to the effect that he shouldn't take all this info with him and he'd like to see it go forward. Bill's an absolute legend....but not so much that he wasn't interested in the way I was doing things and picking my brain as well....as I remember about using a hydraulic press, making damascus with it, and especially canister damascus.

I work full time as a CAT Scan tech and have so for 30 years....I've always had the dream to go full time but then there is reality...insurance, family, etc. As a result I have started to limit my orders and really prefer to build the Bowies and sell them when they are done. Odd as it sounds, it lets me work more freely with materials and let's the knives kinda go where they go...and I think results in a better Bowie.

I also have to have free time in the shop to do other knives that I get inspired to make. I do alot of Vietnam era themed blades.....SOG's, Randall style, and the rare Nguyen Dan knives.

Interesting! Thanks for posting this, and, of course, welcome to the forum!

Any of your three Bowies, in my possession, could be seen as a grail-quest Bowie. Each seems to be a perfect fit, even though they vary in size and mass. The larger of the two Belles has the mass to be heavy-duty chopper, yet the distal taper and balance of a fightin’ Bowie. I see no reason, at this point in time, to commission a custom blade.

[HCM]

Well, since the time Flickr disappeared all of my images hosted there, I have not yet trusted, nor established an account with, another image hosting service.

I see that Greg Covington just posted a couple of images, (Thanks!) and while the Belle I mentioned above, which has an oak handle, is not one of the two Bowies pictured, I did also order, and recently receive, the “Satan’s Lace” Damascus Belle, as shown in the top picture.

My Belle with the oak handles is a massive blade, ready serve as my sword in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, with its hand-and-a-half-sized handle. The Belle with the Satan’s Lace Damascus blade is sized more like a typical fightin’ Hell’s Belle, but is notably more stoutly-built than the Ontario-made Hell’s Belle.

Yes, I really should photograph my several Bowies, and figure-out how to start posting images on-line again.

You can load photos directly to PF - you don't need a third party host.

[Rex G]

You can load photos directly to PF - you don't need a third party host.

OK, good to know!

[Rex G]

Quick-and-dirty, in harsh light, the two Belles, captured by this I-Pad. I had to first chop-down the tree. OK, not really.

ETA: Ugh, a horrible image. I used Lucid to soften the shadows, but am not sure it helped, overall. Will do better with a real camera, later.

[Rex G]

Attachment 24491

OK, same lame image, but tweaked just a bit differently. No way to fix the out-of-focus parts; gotta get focus right at the time of the shot. At least I now know how to post an image.

[Rex G]

OK, a quick-and-dirty snapshot, straight-out-of-camera JPEG, with an external Speedlight flash mounted on top of the camera, with the diffuser panel flipped down, and no editing. the center of the beam being aimed at the Damascus blade helped mitigate the glare just a bit. I used a 60mm macro lens, though not at macro distance, to minimize distortion. To do this right, I would have more than one flash, off-camera, at about a 45-degree angle, but that will have to wait until tomorrow, or so.

At top is the early Covington Bowie, with the Osage Orange handle, described by Greg in his post. This is a bit over 6" in blade length. I can conceal this one relatively easily, tucking the sheath under my belt, behind my left hip, for right-hand cross-draw, or left hand cavalry draw.

Second from top is the Hell's Belle forged with Satan's Lace Damascus. The blade is about ten inches in length. I have yet to try concealing this one, but it is about the same length as my Ontario factory-made Belle, so concealment should be possible, with more attention to the cover garment.

At bottom is the oak-handled Belle, the oak from an old barn, and the blade forged using a large file. This one makes a swords want to run and hide. This Belle is not the back-up weapon; it relegates the pistol to back-up status. Well, OK, there is some hyperbole in the preceding two sentences, but this beautiful blade will do more than just make holes.