Iron Mistress. For the Bowie collector and user.

Hey Yvasa just wanted to let you know that you can purchase the movie "The Iron Mistress" at ioffer.com. I believe they have it on dvd and vhs. I think it's pretty cheap. I paid 12.99 for mine.
 
jimbowie52 said:
Hey Yvasa just wanted to let you know that you can purchase the movie "The Iron Mistress" at ioffer.com. I believe they have it on dvd and vhs. I think it's pretty cheap. I paid 12.99 for mine.
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Thanks.:)

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I just received my Iron Mistress Bowie last weekend and have only had time to degrease it and to give it a relatively cursory examination. It appears to be exhibit the same workmanlike level of quality that my Musso Bowie shows and I really do like the appearance of the knife. This is what a Bowie Knife has always meant to me, ever since I saw "The Iron Mistress" at the drive-out when I was a kid. And, yes, it was what got me interested in knife collecting.

The surface of the scabbard is leather over the wood and it does appear to be glued on. I have no idea what the metal furniture is.

Yvsa, my Musso Bowie seems to have been a much better example than your's. It takes and holds an edge very well. You might be interested in this thread from SwordForums, especially the report frpom Dale Seago on page three of the thread. http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45619
 
Thanks for the link Hugh the thread was very interesting.
It may be that the edge on my Musso just needs to be taken down a little to get to the hard edge like some of the khukuris that appear softer than normal at first.
This can be very common on handmade knives it seems. The bladesmiths that are aware of the problem make sure there's enough material left on the edge so that when the soft non-carbon bearing iron is removed the hard steel edge comes out.
 
Yvsa, had you ever read that the original Iron Mistress was a great clunky thing to wield? I remember reading that somewhere, but I must say that the Generation 2 version is really quite handy for somethng of that size, but maybe that is because I am comparing it to my various swords. In particular, I have a Gladius Hispaniensis from Phoenix Metalcrafts which has a blade by Atrim and it is, simply, in class by itself as far as sword handling goes, but the two Bowies from Generation 2 both handle darn near as well. Yes, they are blade heavy, as a chopper should be. They are not intended to be thrusting weapons.
 
Hugh I have read about that but don't recall where I read it.
It sure wasn't apparent that Alan Ladd had any trouble handling the movie model and he was a little guy from what I understand.;)

I told Steve Ferguson a while back that I'd like to make a Bowie but thought that 1/4" was too thin and that it should be 3/8" thick to be effective but after seeing and handling the 2nd Generation's Musso and Iron Mistress I now realize that it was because of my khukuris that I was thinking that.:eek:
Actually picking up the 2nd Gen knives it's obvious that they are knives and not the sharpened pry bars that we've been accustomed too seeing the trend run too the last several years.
Even the Cherokee Rose that I designed is a tad less than 5/16" thick at the guard and has a nicely distal tapered blade, or at least mine isn't any thicker than that. Being handmade the HI knives can vary widely. The CR is about 20" long and averages about 26 ounces or so, mine is 28 ounces.:)

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FullerH said:
So do the Philippine Gen 2 products, as you may have gathered.
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Yup, can't disagree with that. The nice thing about the Gen 2 knives, especially the Iron Mistress is the way the Filipino craftsmen hardened them.
They are dipped in the quenching medium as oppsed to having water poured along the edge making a lot better and fully hardened edge from the guard to the point.
The khukuris have a "sweet spot" with the point and the area behind the sweet spot softer. It's done to keep the edge from chipping out when using close to the ground or for digging.
 
does anyone out there have a carver hall bowie (made in the 70's). i have one but i do not have a musso, i was wondering the difference between the two of them (visually). thanks:
 
I have one of them. It is essentially a Case/Western Bowie with a brass strip tack welded to the back and it is not what I would call a class act while the Musso Bowie replica by Generation 2 is very much a class act. I especially disliked the etching on the blade of the Carvel Hall Bowie.
 
Hugh you mentioned in the thread on Swordforums that you have the AC Primitive Bowie and talk about its edge thickness. Did you ever sharpen it?
If you did or didn't I'm wondering about the heat treatment on them and if the steel is hard enough to take and hold an edge?
I may have to have one to play with myself.;) :D

Edit:
I also have a Case Bowie and I also don't like the engraving on the blade nor do I particularly care for the handle material as over the years mine has became dull and no amount of polishing will last for very long on it.
 
No, I haven't. I was waiting until I could go down to a friend's forge where he has a foot powered water grindstone, you know, the old fashioned kind for sharpening scythes and such. It would make the task ever so much easier. There is a fellow somewhere on BladeForums who got one and sharpened it with a hollow grind and he is VERY happy with it. Try the "Search" mode on "Musso Bowie" and read the threads in General Knife Discussion. I think that should get it.
 
does anyone know who makes good sheaths? i just want a simple (with no designs or anything) brown leather sheath for my iron mistress bowie. I like the sheath it comes with but mine scratches the blade sometimes when i put it in and out, it doesnt seem to fit in it correctly.
 
jimbowie said:
does anyone know who makes good sheaths?
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Check out my thread in the SOG forum where I ask people for recommendations on sheathmakers. I'm going to get a combination sheath for my 7" bladed SOG Seal 2000 with the 4.75" SOG Seal Pup. A couple sheatmakers chimed in.
 
Nice Iron Mistress bowie! I don't have a bowie yet. I was thinking about HI offerings on bowies, and I've been thinking of Ontario Bagwell Hell's Belles.
 
jimbowie said:
does anyone know who makes good sheaths?
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JB, when the search function comes back online here at BFC you can do a search on sheath makers. There are several here on BFC. Kenny Rowe comes to mind off the top of my head along with Wildmahn, our very own Heber. Heber has improved greatly since he started and is making some really decent sheaths for I think not an arm and a leg and a left testicle.;) :thumbup: :D
Then of course there's Terry Sisco although I'm not sure if he's still working the knife end of his small home business.
 
Kenny Rowe made the sheath for my elephant ivory Alley Cat, purchased thru Beck's Cutlery. Fantastic work.

N.
 
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