Josh Smith’s Custom Knife Sole Authorship Damascus Searles Bowie

This stunning Searles Bowie was made by Mastersmith Josh Smith for the 2009 American Bladesmith Society Knife Exposition. This was the first year that the Expo was being held in San Antonio Texas, the home of the Alamo.

Josh Smith was chosen to build the a special raffle knife for the ABS Expo and he wanted to create something inspired by the historical spirit of the Alamo. The following is an excerpt taken from the following ABS Expo website: American Bladesmith Society Knife Exposition quoting the maker, Mastersmith Josh Smith.

"After considering options I settled on the Daniel Searles Bowie style as a template for my own unique interpretation. A knife in this style would be a first for me and after doing a bit of research I realized I needed to discuss this project with an expert or two. I turned to my friends Harvey Dean and Dr. James Batson for advice and perspective.

Dr. Batson shared relevant literature from his library and offered information acquired during many years of research focused on the life and times of James Bowie, knives of that period and technical elements related to their design and construction.

In my opinion no maker to date has built a more perfect replica of the original Searles than Harvey Dean. Being very generous both with his time and his expertise, two hours on the phone with Harvey resulted in a list of thirty-five measurements and confidence that I was ready to begin the process. His generous help allowed me to impart a degree of authenticity that might not have otherwise been possible.

Everything in life turns out to be more complicated than it seems in the beginning. So naturally, after forging and grinding for about a week I had a blade going that was nice but just not quite what I wanted. I started over, having decided to step up the Damascus to a more difficult level. Another week of forging and I had created a three bar composite Damascus blade that satisfied me.

Over the next couple weeks I was on the phone with Harvey numerous times, asking about very small details that made the Searles unique. I sent one of the sterling silver escutcheon plates to Steve Dunn who expertly engraved it with 20-San Antonio-09, marking this the first raffle knife of the ABS Expo series to be held in San Antonio. The opposite escutcheon is blank, to be used at the future owner's discretion.

When I'd finished building the knife, I felt uncertain as to whether or not I had really captured the Searles' spirit. The knife went with me to the BLADE Show in 2008. There I found Harvey and asked for his honest critique of my work. I was elated to receive Harvey Dean's blessing on a job well done. He took note on how I had put my own spin on the knife but still captured some of those fine details that make the Searles special.

Building this Searles inspired raffle knife to benefit our ABS efforts has been an honor and a wonderful learning experience. I also appreciate the help I received from my friends in building this knife. But most importantly, I hope you find this knife to be interesting, unique and significant. Please help me in supporting the ABS Expo by purchasing raffle tickets. The winning ticket will be drawn for at the 2009 ABS Expo and you do not have to be present to win.

The 8½" blade consists of a three bar composite Damascus blade with a snowflake Damascus core and tight twist edge bars. The guard and spacers are also snowflake Damascus. Along with Damascus he used a mix of stainless steel and sterling silver for spacers. The handle is made of African Blackwood with carved panels similar to the original with sterling silver escutcheon plates and domed pins.

Steve Dunn engraved 20-San Antonio-09 on one side of the knife commemorating the event. The escutcheon plate on the opposite side is blank for the new owners name to be engraved, if desired. The overall length of the Bowie is 13 ½".

Paul Long made a beautiful leather sheath with a crocodile skin inlay for the knife."