Bowie demo on local TV

[hillbilly]

I saw a competition amongst knifemakers on a local TV outdoors show tonight.

The show is "Arklahoma Outdoors" on CBS affiliate KFSM 5 in Fort Smith, AR.

Featured the work of a father and son team of local custom knife makers.

In the competition section, knifemakers, or their representatives, did cutting and slashing and stabbng exercises......

1) Chop through a 2X4 and then slash through free-hanging ropes (no weights attached to the ropes).

2) Coke can slice......with one swipe, slice off the top of a sealed soda sitting on a plank, leaving the rest of the can and most of the soda still in the can.

3) Ping-pong ball splitting......just like it sounds. Put ping-pong ball on large plank, and then chop that little sucker into halves with one big bowie swipe.

4) Ping-pong ball stabbing......Just like the splitting, only nailing the ball to the plank with one good thrust with the tip.

Some beautiful bowie knives in impressive action.

Damn, makes me want one!

After all, the bowie and the Arkansas Toothpick were both invented here in Arkansas..............

hillbilly

 

[Flashpoint]

Was that all done with the same knife?

 

[hillbilly]

All with one knife? Yes.

It was a several day event of the "Arkansas Knifemakers Association" or something like that. The first two days were the actual manufacture of blades.....showed the process all the way through, including one man doing a couple of damascus blades.

These are custom, handmade pieces worth about $300 to $500 each.

A man was doing the 2X4 chopping.....all the way through the board, then with the same knife in hand, he turned, took two steps, and began hacking through free-swinging, unweighted ropes.

A woman took up the same black handled bowie knife then did the Coke can slice, the ping-pong ball chop, and the ping-pong ball stab.

The blade on the bowie used had to be at least 14 inches long.

Here's a page with one of the makers featured.

http://www.rakerknives.com/rusty_polk.htm

 

[hso]

Custom makers will produce knives for cutting competitions. They work very hard at making a piece that will cut free hanging 1 inch manila bundles, hack through 2X4s, and cleanly cut soda cans without tipping the bottom over. Often the maker will turn the knife over to different individuals who have better skill at different cutting tasks. It's very impressive to see a knife cut a loose bundle of 7 ropes, hack through 3 2X4s, pop a soda can in half and then go back and cut a 5 rope bundle.

 

[hillbilly]

And here, silly me thought I was saving pennies and nickles for a Smith 625 with a trigger job and a 5 inch barrel.

Ha!

Now I want one of those cutting competition bowies!

Dang!

hillbilly