Take down Bowie

J

J. Shorter

Joined
May 14, 2002
Messages
117
Anyone willing to share how to make a take down Bowie. How is different in manufacture from a regular Bowie?. What are the particulars?, Seems like the fit would have to be perfect ++ to maintain it's integrity thruogh many take downs and reassemblies. Anyone willing to share how to make a take down Bowie?

Jerry
 
At least 50% of everything I make these days is of this type. 3 things- imaculate precision fits, guide pins, and a finely finished tang area. The tang must taper evenly from guard to threads (I check it with caliper or mic). The glass rifle bedding compound is best, but I have gotten away with expoy. Get everything on the knife precision fit, finish that tang out nice and then grease it (use a marine lube grease, NEVER vaseline), thicker greases work better than real loose ones. Fill the handle with epoxy or compound and then assemble the knife. Since everything should be very close to final finish, you will want to wipe everything down real well and clean up any of the cementing substance that you can find. Now leave it alone until it is completely set. Doubting yourself and messing with it before it has set will only reduce the precision of the handle fit. If all went right, a slight tap with a wood block on the gurd should break the handle free. Then clean up all the grease.

You will also have to come up with all kinds of cleaver ways to fasten the whole thing together (the nut on or in the pommel). On working knives I use a hex socket bolt (allen wrench type) with a special threaded sleeve mounted on the inside, with the head of the bolt recessed into the pommel. On decorative art pices I make special shapes that can be locked onto with a custom made wrench or pins.
 
Thanks Kevin, it doesn't sound too difficult, I haven't built a Bowie yet but I think that I wiil make a take down for my first
Jerry
 
Kevin, how do you clean the grease from the cavity in the handle? Or does it not matter?

Second - what are guide pins?

Thanks,

JD
 
I made a take down bowie but its a full tapered tang. The guards are my design. I think they are unique, I call them bolsterguards. They are identical and have 2 screws that attach them to each side of the ricasso area. The bolsterguards look like bolsters but have a finger guard on each one. The right side finger guard points down and the left side finger guard points up. The handle scales remove also and are held on with 6 screws each. Between each bolsterguard and handle scale is a titanium file-worked spacer that is pinned in place to the scales.

I will have this knife in the Oregon Show on the 16th if you would like to see hows its made.
 
Jerry, this book shows how to make a complete full tang knife that is assembled completely with screws and dowels, so that it can be completely disassembled for cleaning. It always goes back together with the same alignment. You don't need a milling machine to do it if you know how to use a drill press and grind the blade.

http://home.earthlink.net/~donwrobinson/id9.html
 
Joss said:
Kevin, how do you clean the grease from the cavity in the handle? Or does it not matter?

Second - what are guide pins?

Thanks,

JD
Click to expand...

Sorry Joss, I got caught up in other threads and forgot that I posted here. I use small brush similar to a bottle brush with some solvent. I usually don't get it all because why would a little coating on the tang be a bad thing?

Guide pins are small metal pegs I set in the pommel and guard that have corresponding holes in the handle material. I put these in before final hanlde shaping. Then the alignment on reassembly will be as precise as possible. They are also great to make sure the parts go back on the same way they came off (turned upside down or rotated) the pins make it clear that there is only one way to assemble the knife.

All of these techniques are also great for blades with damascus fittings. In which case the aglignment has to be very good because the parts will all have to be completely finished before final assembly.
 
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