Forgotten Bowie

Ever have one of those cash in the laundry surprises?  This was mine.  I was cleaning some things out of my safe and I found a big Damascus Bowie blade, completely finished, and a guard partly shaped.  I had it wrapped up with my original drawing and notes, but for whatever reason I had to set it aside and I completely forgot about it!  It was there for three, maybe four years, and I felt that whatever benefits it had acquired from slowly aging in the dark, had done the job and this beauty needed some sun.

The only new thing added to the package was a piece of California Buckeye I recently acquired that was just stunning.  The blade is O-1 and 15N20 in a random ladder pattern with a wonderfully burled-wood texture with a long clip. The guard is the same material.  This guard may have actually been the first instance of a "thorned" guard I ever made.  When I found it, it was only partially shaped but it had the beginnings of the thorned shape, and along with the drawing stored with the blade, I believe this was the earliest example of that guard style.

The tooled, high-ride sheath has a V-Notch belt loop for strong-side carry on the right or crossdraw on the left.

The blade is 10.5" with an overall of 16", giving it a stout but all-business feel in the hand.