Devan,

I would recommend checking out the various videos that are available on blade smithing. The ABS has many that will be very helpful. Also, if you can manage it try to attend any hammer-ins that you can. These are great places to learn techniques for all aspects of knife making.

I'm not trying to avoid your specific question but it is a very broad subject which would be hard to cover in any detail in a forum thread.

Gary

Thanks Gary yes i agree it is a broad subject. i have the drawings made by tai goo on how to forge a bowie but i am a little confused by it.

Devan,

These are some of the DVDs I have gotten at different Hammer-Ins that may be of interest to you:

DVD Making a D-Guard Bowie by Harvey Dean

http://www.americanb...s&product_id=71

Jim Baston , MS on Bowie Handles and Guards<BR clear=both>

http://usaknifemaker...and-guards.html

Could not find Jim's on the ABS store.

“Creating an Arkansas Bowie Knife” by Jim Crowell, MS: set of DVDs has four parts:

1. Forging, rough grinding and heat treating an Arkansas Bowie Knife DVD # 1 (145 min)
2. 2. Ricasso & Tang, Blade finishing & Hamon etching an Arkansas Bowie Knife DVD # 2 (148 min)
3. 3. Fabrication and fitting guard & Ferrule to an Arkansas Bowie Knife DVD # 3 (166 min)
4. 4. Fabricating and fitting Desert Ironwood handle; decorative filing ferrule and assembly of an Arkansas bowie Knife DVD #4 (161 min)

   My son in law gave me this set.

   http://crowellknives.com/For_Sale.html

   Each of these DVDs covers in totality the material noted in the title and so is stand alone for that work. (So if one was only interested in handles they might only purchase that DVD.) I also have his blade Grinding and Blade Forging DVDs. They are pretty good as well.

   This is the one I am looking at next to purchase:

   Special Operations Bowie by Charlie Ochs, MS

   http://www.americanb...s&product_id=49

   I have included links to online sources for each of these.

   Crowell's set is the best bang for the bucks, so to say, for me. Hope this helps you.

    

thanks everyone for the replies i keep hearing about the jim Crowell dvds so i am definitely going to purchase these. i am probably going to purchase the first two because i already have MS Joe Keeslars book "handles and gaurds" and it seems to be very in depth on handles and gaurds, silver wire inlay, etc. next week i am going to order the handles to make my chisels for the wire inlay.