Down Under Outback Bowie Fixed Blade 18

This knife has been a bit of a saga on my reviews of it, but I think it was worth properly informing potential buyers and I'm retired so I i have more than enough time. Having now used the knife on jobs that were not too onerous as it is a collectors' knife, has the most beautifully polished blade that I have ever seen, not a blemish on it. I felt that to complete the saga I had to put an update on the system. So I am now more than happy to alter it to a five star rating. It is a beautiful looking knife and feels very nice in the hand, it feels as if it could go through anything, and transmits a feeling of raw power. I have a down under toothpick with the same beautiful style of blade which I also bought from Hennies decades ago, and that one came sharp out of the box, it is now a collectors item. It takes a great deal of skill and time to produce such a mirror polished blade, perfect with not a mark on it. I have seen this done on youtube and it is way beyond me. I tried some tentative sharpening using high end sharpening power tools and gave up for fear of marking that beautiful blade. My guess is that these being produced in or near the Australian continent that some highly skilled Indian factory craftsman has made it. I wonder about the tang and how much of a beating it would take, but who cares, I am never going to use it as a workhorse, and it feels strong enough for what I want. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes the looks, and it really does look the business if you use a bit of brass cleaner to take the inevitable dullness off of the brass pommel. It is a pleasure to hold and own. It will probably go to one of my youngsters when I kick the bucket, Just as I have for instance a huge knife given to me by my late Grandfather who was a captain in the Marines in the first and second world wars, a commando of the top grade. A hugely tough man who no one dared cross, I keep that knife oiled and razor sharp. That will also go to one of the youngsters, I hope that they appreciate it.

Another update on this knife after it being sharpened by an expert and it has has a fair bit of use cutting wood. The weight of the knife is in the huge blade and boy does it cut with alacrity. It has lost none of the very sharp edge put on it by the expert, and I have not had to do anything to keep up the standard. I would highly recommend this beautiful knife that featured in the film crocodile dundee, the classic joke when the yob pulled a flick knife on him and his girlfriend said 'mick he's got a knife'. He replied that's not a knife this is a knife and draws his bowie, which made the switchblade look weedy in comparison, and predictably the yob runs off. The brass needs a polish now and again if you want it to look tip top, but so far that is all and as it is for my collection, that isn't an issue.

An update on my bowie down under. Buy one if you like the look of it, I have taken my knife to an expert in metal working, Jeff Lippman at metal and stone in Montpellier Cheltenham. He has forgotten more than I ever knew, a man of great experience and knowledge, intelligence and good with his hands. He has sharpened my huge bowie to a razor sharp edge from hilt end to tip with no dull points at all for all that distance. So, he has transformed it from a wall hanger to a classy knife and I am very grateful. For those of you who are knife enthusiasts, you will understand the huge difference that this has made. I will never use it and it will also never be a wall hanger. It will be a knife in my collection that will be locked away most of the time, but when I get the need for the thrill of a completely different knife from the norm, I will get it out for a few days and admire it, the appearance workmanship and feel in the hand. I am ex old military and I guess that many of us from those days appreciate these things, those of us from that era in particular, although I was taught by my father to respect knives and firearms from as early an age as my memory goes back. So I now have a knife in my collection that I would covet if it were in someone else's and not mine.

I have now had the blade sharpened by a professional, a guy in Montpellier Cheltenham who has a small shop but a department store of skill and knowledge, he has excellent knives that he has made for himself not for sale which are quirky but logical. He has put a scandi edge on the blade of my knife which is razor sharp. I have spent hours talking with him, he has an American/Canadian accent and huge experience of weapons and defence, I would not cross him even with my background and skills. I thought this might be useful for anyone within reach or prepared to travel. He also makes and sells unique Viking jewellery pieces, to order if you wish. I have since my first review on this knife bought 5 other knives from Hennies which shows how highly I rate them.

I feel that I should put a PS on my last review, I am merely pointing out for the benefit of other knife enthusiasts and not rubbishing the knife or Hennies. Clearly looking at other reviews many people have received knives that were sharp, and unless they have given the knife an extreme hammering have not had issues with the partial tang. Also I have been buying knives from Hennies for several decades and the knives that I have received have almost entirely been up to standard. I think that they should have a returns system with at least a label system, as my wife has to spend ages each time I send one back, and is losing patience with me. She just doesn't understand men and knives, and for those of us who have used them in our employment particularly in the forces one has a special relationship with them. I have to save up for my knives, lately I have bought several, but | may not now for a while due to financial constraints . I recommend Hennies to whoever I can and have particular respect for Richard who has been incredibly helpful over the years , friendly and very clued up on knives and the world in general in my humble opinion. So buy your knives from Hennies where you will get a first class service with lightening speed delivery, and a friendly and knowledgeable service.

Given the comments below I think that I have a duty to knife enthusiasts put my experience of this knife in writing. The knife itself is beautiful, with a highly polished blade which has no marks on it, the leather handle is well made and the brass parts go dull if not polished but it is a simple matter to bring them back to gleaming brass with a cloth and a bit of brasso. However the fact is that the knife was so dull when I received it was so dull that I could draw it across my hand using the full length of the blade with just an indentation left on my hand. Also I remember reading a review by a purchaser who had probably over used it, but it had come apart due to the tang not being a full one. This is a common problem with knives that one can't see the full tang on either following the line from the blade or the tang showing at the handle such as the Kbar, one only has to look at the blanks sold on the Hennies site to see how this works. As long as you are aware of it that is fine, if the tang is a full one the Hennie review of the knife will indicate a full tang if it is full and nothing if it is only a partial tang.

An update on my last review, I have contacted Hennies about sending the knife back to them to at least improve the blade to a stage at which it could at least cut paper. They had no suggestions other than do it yourself. So, I have found a guy who makes swords and daggers for re enactment clubs who would be easily capable of tackling what for me is a difficult task. There is a lesson to be learned, always check your knife over when you receive it, I have had problems with them in the past and Hennies to their credit have always given me a refund. Why they don't check them over themselves prior to sending them out I don't understand, probably a lack of time. I now have a cold steel knife which has just arrived and as the sheath and knife are supplied in separate containers, the knife won't enter the sheath more than an inch or so, again I don't understand why they didn't check it before sending it to me, I am returning it at my own expense by UPS for a refund which Richard has assured me will no problem, shame as it was a nice Knife, which has in the last couple of days become out of stock. I still rate Hennies very highly, I have dealt with them now for decades and in fact most of the knives in my collection are from them, and it is a collection that gives me a lot of pleasure so I hope that they keep going in these financially difficult times. Thanks and a merry Christmas to the team and Richard in particular who has been very helpful over the last 20 or more years.

Bought this a couple of days ago, did not disappoint, a beautiful knife the closest thing to the dundee knife going. Don't think about getting it just get it, it won't let you down, sharp as s**t out the box, heinnie are brilliant

Hennies are the best mail order company that I have ever dealt with, their service is friendly and informative, I can not speak highly enough about them. The down under bowie is a collectors knife so it appeals to me just as a beautiful object in appearance. However when I received it a couple of years ago the blade was totally dull, I could draw it across my hand leaving only an indentation, it would not cut, and as it has a highly polished blade I have been reluctant to try to sharpen it myself. It is locked up a lot of the time, but it is like owning a classic rifle without a firing pin. I also remember reading a review by someone who had over stressed it by chopping far too hard for the design of no full tang. I am exploring sending it back to Hennies at my own expense, and asking them to sharpen the blade as I don't think that I have enough skill to do it myself without marking the beautiful highly polished blade. So bear this in mind if you purchase one which I would highly recommend, and if it turns up with a dull blade then send it back immediately which is what I should have done in thinking in retrospect. I am sure given the very high quality of service by Hennies that they will sort this out for me and incidentally I have a down under toothpick which I also bought from them and it was razor sharp out of the box. Normally I would sharpen the blade myself, but with this one being so beautiful I don't trust my skill level enough to attempt it.