Confederate D Guard Bowie -- myArmoury.com

Paul Mullins · Posted: Wed 21 Jan, 2015 8:00 am Post subject: Confederate D Guard Bowie

I have wanted one of these for some time now. Originals are tough to find and well beyond my budget of willingness to pay. Most of the commercially available models are jazzed up with CSA markings or they are poor quality. Plus, I wanted something unique and was closer to extant originals. So, I decided to make my own from a 100+ year old saw blade that was once owned by my father. It is approximately 3.5 mm thick, so not as thick as the one I copied but it is close.

I found an original here that listed all of the measurements, so it is almost exact to the original.

http://www.collegehillarsenal.com/shop/product.php?productid=1053

I am a little off on the shape of the finial on the cross but I can live with that, since these were all handmade originally. I also used a piece of native cherry for the grip panels, it is what I had on hand. It also appears there is a ricasso in the photo but this is simply a trick of the lighting.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Wed 21 Jan, 2015 8:08 am Post subject:

I love that! It looks just right to me, and the blade construction is exactly how many men made their blades. One of the Foxfire books describes and shows how this was still done in Appalachia as late as the 1970s. I believe that's how my gg grandfather's knife was made. See my post/photos at the bottom of this page: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...p;start=60

I've long wanted to make a D-guard bowie or similar CSA fighting knife.

Ken Speed · Posted: Wed 21 Jan, 2015 9:06 am Post subject:

You did a very nice job. There was a confederate Bowie in a small new England town library that i saw once. the knife was huge, close to 24" long as well as I could tell. It was much like your replica in many ways. some time later I was talking to a Civil war reenactor and he said the swords the officers carried were mostly used to signal their troops and he said the big bowie knifes were used by foragers searching for food much more than as weapons.

M. Livermore · Posted: Wed 21 Jan, 2015 9:32 am Post subject:

That looks great. The lines all look right, especially for some Virginia pieces I have seen, and the transition to a round cap at the end of the guard looks spot on. Are the pins brass? Iron might be more appropriate, but that is small nitpicking on my part. I really like it.

Paul Mullins · Posted: Wed 21 Jan, 2015 9:54 am Post subject:

Thank you, gentlemen!

Mr. Livermore,

The pins are brass, just like on the original I copied.

M. Livermore · Posted: Wed 21 Jan, 2015 1:15 pm Post subject:

So they are. I just looked on a bigger screen than my phone. That makes the original an interesting example. Thanks for pointing it out.

J. Nicolaysen · Posted: Wed 21 Jan, 2015 5:37 pm Post subject:

Well done, it is a great looking knife.