As a judge Mark, I do not see a problem with that. I realize that some of the old bowies had ricassos taller than the handle and vice versa. I would say that would matter if you are going for an antique bowie award. For judging we would prefer to see the matching dimensions. As long as your fit and finish is good, which yours is, I see no issues with altering the style to fit modern standards.

Brion

As a judge here are my 2 cents. As I see it, we have several millennia of blade evolution to learn from and the idea is to move forward, not back, if we can improve the forged blade it should be part of our mission. Antique bowies are a touchy subject since they are objects of such veneration particularly among members of the ABS. But in many years of studying fantastic blades going back much farther than the 19th century, I have learned to avoid the trap of believing that just because something is very old that its design is beyond question. Human beings have always been human beings and I have seen absolute masterpieces of blade design that I will spend the rest of my life trying to equal, but I have also seen some very old pieces of junk with designs features that are worthy of being forgotten. And it is worth noting that the best-preserved artifacts are often of the latter group because the good ones got carried and used and not hung on a wall.

Ask any judge where you should look for inspiration for your test knives and they will tell you to study the work of the really good makers today, and I think we would all agree that there are smiths working today whose work you should avoid emulating if you want a stamp; I don’t see why that should change based on the century the example came from. I have lost awards because I thought it was more important to stick to the original design of a piece I replicated, and the judges only understood modern fit and finish rather than the real artifact and its function. I didn’t care, the historical aspect and function meant more than another plaque on my table. But if I had been going for a JS or MS stamp I would totally change my approach and mindset. Do I want to have a stamp or do I want to make a historic replica? I may only be able to have one, and the goal is to get a stamp, so I will save the historic replica for the antique blade judging.

I may abandon the whole idea anyway. If I can't make it look right, I won't do it. Judging or otherwise. But I get what you're saying. I enjoy the coffin handles and dog bones but the antique ones don't appeal as much to me. Same with my thoughts on dimensional changes to the English and Huber style. Either way I go, I'll keep the advice in mind. Thank you for your responses gentlemen.