Thoughts and impressions if the new Micro/IBBB/Bawanna Bowie Good and bad.

Bawanna

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Perhaps a bit premature except for that gosh darn lucky Ndoghouse who is fondling his while the rest of us wait, but I think a lot of hands will be fondling them tomorrow.

Looking at the in hand pictures Ndog posted I think Bhakta did it perfect, or to coin a phrase from one of my other good friends here, he knocked it out of the park.

I'm anxious and I'm sure Auntie will be too to hear what everyone thinks about them once they are in hand.

My first impression based on pictures alone is I'm gonna need more.

So let this be the repository of thoughts and impressions. I surely don't see any negatives forthcoming but right out of the chute some fine tuning could be called for. Kind of seriously doubt it though.
 
It looks perfect to me. The unique HI Bowies are always very tempting and now the look and size of the IBBB blade (IBBBB?) would actually make me pull the trigger. That says something given that I have never been into Bowies and actually disliked them quite a bit.
Only one thing is preventing me from buying an IBBB. The handle, it is only 4inch and I need 4.5 or 5 with the tang poking out like on the IBBB.
Trust me it's not the first time I wish I would have smaller hands. :eek: Even thought of getting an IBBB and putting a bigger handle on it. Maybe once I get better at wood work :D
Still super happy to see what the Kamis did with Bawannas dream knife. It looks incredible and surely it will bring lots of fun to lots of us :thumbup:
 
Bawanna I feel lucky just to have one! Bhakta did a great job of recreating the feel of its bigger brothers. If I grip the handle like I would any other Khuk and measure across my fingers near the knuckles it is 3 3/8" and a perfect fit for me. I wouldn't add or subtract anything. I cannot see anything at all that I would change for the better. Sorry for the crappy photos. Good ones will follow later when I got light and a real camera. Ill put the earlier photos in your post here so we can have them all together. If you already have an AK Bowie then you will be surprised how much this feels like its Grandpa. Balance point is were the wood ends at ricasso. Spine is a hair over 1/4" at the handle tapering down to just over 1/8" at 1/2" from the tip and distal taper through handle begins at over 1/4 inch down to a hair over 3/16" at the lanyard hole. Stubby and stout little beast! You could tear apart a wooden pallet in no time with this blade. I dont even think Jens could break this blade:eek: Makers marks are same size as normal which is cool. Its shaving sharp right out of the box! Fullers are even and smooth as I have ever seen. I haven't chopped anything with it yet because I want to get some good photos before I scratch it up. To the top of my EDC pile for sure. This ones a keeper!

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Jens: Dude! 4.5" would be about 3/4" past the tang off into space. It might be small for you? I aint messin with you Jens:eek: You dont need an escrima stick just use your finger:thumbup:
 
I always understood that the main forum was Auntie's showroom and anything else is Cantina. Maybe I'm misunderstanding. And being this is a new HI product maybe your right and it should be there. Where ever it will do the most good for Auntie and HI, that's where it should be.

If it goes there please Karda or Steely or any mod please do with as you deem correct.

I split a large box of kindling yesterday with my Mini AK Bowie so it wouldn't feel unloved. It actually worked quite well and being it was cedar it didn't mess it up or even dull it in the slightest. Of course I gave it a polish just to show the love but it didn't really need it. I think it enjoyed it though as much as me.

Strange the relationship a man/woman can have with a inanimate steel and wood tool huh? BUT I think these HI knives are much more than that, they certainly are to me.
 
Excellent idea for a thread:) My wife has been asking what I want for my birthday this month. My head says, "Nothin'. Let's take what we would spend on Valentine's Day (the 14th), what we would spend on your birthday (the 18th), and what we would spend on my birthday (the 24th) and pay down some Christmas credit card bills."

My heart says an IBBB would be the best, though.

As for where threads go, it's not a big deal really. When in doubt, post one up wherever and we'll move it where it belongs. Generally, threads that have to do with HI products (Yangdu's sales, reviews, questions, grievances, etc) are kosher for the main forum. Threads about non-HI products, historic khukuri stuff, and general cracker barrel fat-chewing are put over here.

I'll pop this one over to the main forum so it gets more visibility :)

Can't wait to see how y'all like them. I spent the better part of the weekend packing around a JKM in my back pocket with an R-10 tucked deep in my boot. The IBBB might just be a compromise enough to fill both roles;)
 
Makes perfect sense Steely which is kind of scary in it's own special way. I'm anxiously awaiting the mail here at work. Had to be soon don't it? Tell me it'll be soon?
 
picked mine up and opened in car, already in my pocket fits perfect, handle barely shows, good grip , just big enough for a solid fist , pictures of bowie family soon, but the IBBB is a worthy addition to any collection, really like the spine thickness on these , they are pretty and functional!

should be sooon bawanna!
 
How bout that thick tang Gehazi! Its almost as thick as Grandpa AKB!
picked mine up and opened in car, already in my pocket fits perfect, handle barely shows, good grip , just big enough for a solid fist , pictures of bowie family soon, but the IBBB is a worthy addition to any collection, really like the spine thickness on these , they are pretty and functional!

should be sooon bawanna!
 
Great post and pix,
Right now he is super busy with pending order items and as soon as he gets done with old order then will put him to make few more Mini Micro Bowie with a 4.5 inch handle length for forumites.
 
Well ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, THE EAGLE HAS LANDED!
My breath is officially taken completely away. If I had stood over Bhakta and watched him make these I wouldn't change a thing. Wish I could stand over him and watch him make one. It's absolutely without question PERFECT. An incredibly handy size, beautiful to look at, and gonna be useful as heck. It fits my hand like it was custom made for me. Just right!
I'm not sure it's allowed to say it but these things make my britches stick out in front.

Only issue if one can call it an issue is Auntie sent me 2 and as another member predicted she sent me one horn handle and one wood. One for me and I wanted one for a gift for another long time member here. Well I'm sorry to say the gift ain't gonna happen. I'm keeping them both for myself. I'm such a selfish, greedy IBBB guy I guess. I will try to order another one for the gift out of the next batch whenever that may be if it ain't already sold out. I hope there is a next batch.

Also of minimal note there wasn't quite enough postage, short about a buck and a nickel, not a big deal but if you get one pay it, it's worth it and then some. I remember one year I sent out all our Christmas letters and forgot to put a stamp on any of them, everybody had to pay on their end. Awkward.

Auntie your truly the best for sending me these beauties, for getting them out of my head and into reality something we can hold in our hands. Bhakta really did a grand slam on these.

For those of you still waiting, I feel your pain. They are really worth every second of the wait.

If you didn't order one yet, don't wait to get in line. These puppies are gonna go like hot cakes.
 
Aw man! I forgot about that. How long does that usually take? I could meet ya on my side of the border for a show and tell, might make the waiting even worse though. Trust me when I say your gonna love em. No doubt whatsoever.
 
Well there ya go Jens!
Congrats Bawanna! I will have to agree with you. It is perfect right out of the box. No postage problem for me so maybe two of them put you over the weight limit? We will wait for a review from the master. Dont forget to put it in the sheath tonight before you stuff it under your pillow :thumbup:
Great post and pix,
Right now he is super busy with pending order items and as soon as he gets done with old order then will put him to make few more Mini Micro Bowie with a 4.5 inch handle length for forumites.
 
Aw man! I forgot about that. How long does that usually take? I could meet ya on my side of the border for a show and tell, might make the waiting even worse though. Trust me when I say your gonna love em. No doubt whatsoever.

Dude you are not helping :D

I'm like a kid 2 weeks before Christmas.
The faster I've seen was 2 days but was from a large business "next day" type FedEx and the goods were inoffensive.

My experience with HI deliveries are between 8 and 14 days.
(Not counting the store order from Nepal, which took longer)
 
Great post and pix,
Right now he is super busy with pending order items and as soon as he gets done with old order then will put him to make few more Mini Micro Bowie with a 4.5 inch handle length for forumites.

4.5 No way Aunty. That's so cool of you.
Thanks a million!!!!
It's a good day today :D
 
Well the box wasn't triangular, but it will have to do.

My IBBB came in today and it is absolutely stunning! Bhakta did excellent work on this one. Everything is nice and even.

I couldn't make up my mind between a wood or horn handle, so I let Auntie surprise me. I got a horn handle and couldn't be happier!

It fits in my hand just perfect, but I can see where someone with big mitts might have a problem.
 
Mine's here and it's great. Just long enough handle for my hand, nice and chunky. Opening it felt like Christmas, and my wife was occasionally glancing over to see what it was. (By the way, she's not very supportive of me spending time at BladeForums, to say the least, so that's where she's coming from.)

Her reaction:
"Let me hold that."
(So far so good, she asked to see it instead of me foisting it upon her.)
"That blade is so thick."
(This was said in a complementary kind of way.)
"Let me hold that again."
(I hand the knife back in disbelief, as she hefts it and checks the balance.)
"That's a pretty good small knife.
(Yes! She actually approves! Unbelievable!)

Let's look again at her last statement:
"That's a pretty good small knife."
In addition to approving, she now thinks that an 8" knife is "small".

My spouse-training program is successful! I'll be accepting pre-orders for my upcoming book and DVD set.
 
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