Searles Bowie

[rebsr52339]

Your right Kid. I should have said Searles "style" knife.        I'm getting too old I guess.   

[rebsr52339]

Ok, here is the photo I "promised" you. It shows the Searles/Fowler Bowie at the Alamo. I am including it here to show the hilt and the pains taking effort it took of installing tiny silver pins in each of the diamonds in the checkering pattern on the hilt panels. The other photo is a shot of the Alamo taken in 1860. The photos are from the 1971, 1st edition, of the Antique Arms Annual, sponsored by the Texas Gun Collectors Assoc. This is a remarkable book, full of color photos. There is also an article in there by Bill Williamson on the Wostenholm  knife factory with a boatload of Wostenholm knives. I'll try and answer any questions you got.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Anyone else notice the remarkable similarity between the Searles Bowie and a Belduque?  To my eye, the only specific difference is the presence of a guard on the Searles.

[rebsr52339]

Sir Charles, I think if one can "rationalize" it, Searles was a maker in Baton Rouge La. That would put him pretty close in the mix of French/ Spanish influence as far as knife making goes. The knives of this style would remind one of a "French" carving knife of today. This knife and ones similar to them have a certain Ambiance about them. A good feeling to hold one.

[The Elderly Kid]

I was in San Antonio a couple of months ago and naturally visited the Alamo a couple of times (only a block or two from my hotel, a good thing since it was 104 degrees outside). I am pleased to report that the Fowler Searles is now in a side room in a case and you can walk right up to it and lean over the glass for a close look. Most edifying. Also, in the gift shop, there is a sizable display of Bowie and other knives, bot vintage and replica. It's good to see these weapons getting the attention they have long deserved.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

To the Room,

I am fortunate enough to own two Belduqes; One a 'Large' (approx. 5 1/2" Blade) By Crazy Crow and one by Josh Dabney (approx.10 3/8" blade).

Both are modern knives, but both pay homage to the Searles Bowie, and to echo Charles St John, I think Mr Bowie told Mr Searles to start off with a Belduques and customize it to his specifications ...

www.crazycrow.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=4926-012-002&Store_Code=CCTP&search=Belduque&offset=&filter_cat=&PowerSearch_Begin_Only=&sort=&range_low=&range_high=

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Hi,

Come to think of it, I have often regretted the fact that I no longer sail, cause the Crazy Crow Belduque with it's sheath (that it sits deeply inside of) would make a great belt knife and would not get caught in lines (I think) ...

Just a hunch ...

TTFN,

[Grizzly Adams]

Here is one I just finished up a while back using a DGW blade.

[The Elderly Kid]

That's pretty, 'Griz. What did you use for the handle?

[The Elderly Kid]

I've just acquired an Imperial Searles through Kult of Athena. I've had a DGW Searles for a number of years, so I can now do a side-by-side comparison. I bought the DGW as blade only, so that is all I will compare. The two blades are quite similar, but not identical. First, the Imperial gives a larger and more massive impression. It is 9 3/4" long, compared to the DGW's 9 1/4" length. The imperial is broader at 1 3/4" to the DGW's 1 3/8". However, the Imperial is noticeably thinner, 3/16" at the hilt compared to the DGW's 1/4" and it has far more distal taper, tapering almost evenly from hilt to point, where the DGW is all but untapered until the last 2" from the point. The result is that the Imperial, despite its larger appearance, is very light and lively in the hand. The DGW has an almost mirror-polish and it has a 1 1/2" silver plate set into its spine just in front of the hilt, apparently for engraving purposes. The Imperial's finish is close to matte though I suspect it would buff up nicely. It has no inset silver plate.

Overall, I would rate the Imperial as an elegant fighter: a gentleman's weapon for town and formal occasions. The DGW is a tool for hard use in the field and a fine weapon in a pinch. I would pick the Imperial for a Creole ball in New Orleans, the DGW for the woods or a flatboat voyage down the Mississippi. Both would do for a brawl in a dive in Natchez-Under-the-Hill.

The Imperial comes with a sheath patterned on the Fowler Searles, made of wood covered with thin black leather, with metal throat and chape, though I think the Imperial's is stainless steel rather than silver. Like the Fowler it has a belt stud on the throat, though rounded rather than flat, and it has a ring on the back of the throat. The ring on the Fowler's sheath is set at right angles to the axis of the sheath, but on the Imperial's it is parallel to the sheath.

As usual with most Fowler Searles repros, the guard, while short, is much thicker than on the original, about 3/8" where the original's can be no more than 1/32". The handle is of black wood and has the diamond crosshatching, but without any silver pins.
It has silver-colored escutcheon plates on both sides. I don't know if the original does since I've only seen it from one side.

Overall, I am very pleased with the Imperial Searles, because I've always wanted a full-dress Fowler Bowie and this is probably the best affordable repro out there. Custom knives can be had, but you'd have to pay custom prices.

[The Elderly Kid]

I'm just posting this because I got tired of seeing "deleted" as the title of the most recent posting here. We need to get this thread working again.

[Black River Smith]

Sorry about that posting but after ~1200 views and not a single comment, I thought it was time to remove it.

People had suggestions 5 years ago when I started this project as a Price knife with his egg shaped handle.  But not a single suggestion for the different handle shape.

I figured it out myself by making a wheel ground steel pattern that I filed around.  After that, the post was mute.

Again sorry.  Thanks for totally removing the post, I was sick of seeing it also.

[St. George]

You're welcome.

Sometimes - as you've seen - folks see that a guy seems to have a handle on what he's doing, so they refrain from commenting.

That, or they'll send a PM - and a 'lot' of suggestions are passed on via PMs - eliminating frivolity and unworkable 'solutions'.

Perhaps everyone thought that business was being conducted quietly - perhaps they felt that Life had expanded to fill available time, as it so often does - it managed to do so quite efficiently to me, causing a bit of OCONUS travel.

At any rate, new posts on new work are always welcome.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Sarge]

Many thanks for this thread, lets keep it going. Ten Bears and rebsr do you have any measurements on the originals you posted pictures?