W49 Review

[LONE WOLF]

As most of you know, I am the owner of a Western Bowie. I got to try it out today. here are some observations on the knife and its performance.

+ Affordable, only 45 bucks

+ Good guard that realy does stop your hand from going onto the blade, even on hard stabs to pine.

+ Birds beak Pomell which prevents the knife from flying out of your hand.

+ Very very strong construction. after chopping and stabbing pine with it there was no loosening of the guard or handle, no cracking og the handle, or movement of either handle, guard or rivets, and no point damage.

- The full tang construction does not reduce shock, and your hand and arm will hurt like hell after a few full power swings.

- This is more of a personal thing, I cant stand sharpening large knives, and while I can get it paper slicing sharp from heel to tip with no burr, it still varies a few degrees in its edge geometry.

[Mr.LaBella]

i think sharpening can be a real pain in the ass!

slightly short, this here review..but OK. well take it.

pics of said bowie chopping anything next.

ask Mike for some hints on how to achieve a convex edge.

I cant sharpen for poo, but Mike Stewart can!
:bow:

[LONE WOLF]

I just chopped through a 1 1/2 inch Lanthus(sp) branch in one stroke, no ripping of the bark. I dont have a digital, but I will be keeping the branch as a reminder of not only the knife, but of my sharpening.

Edit-----It was a katopa, not a lanthus branch

[swiftfoot]

me hate sharpening. i know a old man who sharpen knives for me. he is very good at it.

[LONE WOLF]

I gave it another field test. Expect a full report within 3 hours. I must now clean and dry the knife, clean my Sharpmaker stones, take a shower. When I come back upstairs I will start my report on it while I am resharpening. This knife is incredible. Its done stuff I have only seen done in Blade Magazine.

[LONE WOLF]

Well, this has been an exiting morning. As you have read earlier in this thread, I chopped and sheared through quite a lot of branches yesterday. When returning inside, I re sharpened my knife to a sharper edge than I have ever had on this knife before. No part of the blade was left dull. From tip to heel the blade was razor sharp, with a mirror polished edge set at exactly a 40 degree included angle. Fast forward to this morning. I was bored and had nothing to do, so I got an idea. I would try to cut water filled soda cans in half, leaving the lower half still on it’s platform. So I took a bucket and put it upside down on top of a steel trashcan. Then I placed the water filled can on top of the bucket. And sheared it in half, leaving the lower half remaining on top. I was stunned. Well to make a long story a little less long, after a lot of soda cans, bottles, and branches the knife was thoroughly dull. Yet there was no breakage of the tip, chipping of the edge, or loosening/cracking of the handle/rivets/guard . After a good sharpening, Big Jim should be none the worse for wear.

[bart-1]

Sounds fun LW! Sounds like your next door neighbors don't even need a TV!!