My “Quigley Down Under” Knife

Church & Son

Church & Son

Well-Known Member
Back in 1990 Tom Selleck done the movie set in 1860 Australia. One of my favorites…
His knife seemed a little to commercial to me for such a unique character but I did love
the sheath made with a beaded moccasin toe stitched to it……

Here’s his..
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I have had 4 “Cherokee Bowie” bare blades that I got in a trade last year and had
yet to use any when I decided one of them would be perfect for my version..
13″ overall, 8 1/2″ sharp x 1 3/4″ deep with a slight roach belly they are fast
becoming one of my favorite blade styles…This one has a horn handle that came from somewhere,
can’t remember but it is rock hard and has some slight jigging on it…
I poured the bolster and buttcap from pewter/fishing weight/tin concoction and
aged the iron ’cause.. shiny ain’t me….

I put a lot of thought in the sheath…American Cowboy friendly with the Indians so
I made a simple belt sheath such as would have come with his Bowie, then added a rawhide stitched
welted belt loop thing long enough for a 3″ gun belt…
Then wrapped the sheath with some painted rawhide for durability and beaded
a moccasin toe shaped cuff …No pattern just beading with what was laying around…
Whole thing finished with dirt, grease and varnish….

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I remember that movie...good one. had that girl with the big.......eyebrows.
Neat one. Magnum P.I. would be proud. Do a Higgins knife next....
 
KT, thanks a bunch...
Franklin, thanks and you can...
Brother G, thanks and good to hear ya still kickin'...and I remember those rather abundant eyebrows......
 
Randy,
I enjoy the knife & sheath you made but there are a couple of thing's I would like to add since I have seen that movie a good dozen times.

Quigley, left for Australia through the port of San Fransisco I believe and that was a modern big city by then with many local makers and production knives from Germany, England and the east coast of the USA available at many locations.

When boarding a ship to the out back of Australia from the USA in 1860 any man worth his salt would get maybe, several new knives?

The other thing I would just like to mention is that I see many "period" makers over do the amount of patina/pitting & wear since this is what they see of the examples that remain of these knives today, but wasn't what they most likely looked like over a 150 years ago.
Also the knives associated with the native Americans & settlers were trade knives and generally of a bit lower quality. They arrived mostly from England in a small barrels without handles or edges as a shippable & trade able item. this is from everything I have read about this.

We are talking about a movie, still my thought's on this is that a man with a rifle of that quality and the knowledge an skill to use it would have a newer and cleaner looking knife on his side.

My intention here is not to insult your knife or skills or cause a big debate over what "Quigley" would have had? Just some food for thought about the time & period and what people make today as representative knives of that time..

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Thank ya Roy...I mean Brother Wade.....

Laurence, thanks and you are correct on the trade knife stuff....I've been studying the period a long time...My thoughts on this one was more like having an old friend by your side..Quigley was a very unique dude and several new knives just wouldn't make it but an older well used but not too abused one that you know is dependable,full of memories, that is the one I'd take on the journey of a lifetime......
And his sheath was added to here and there over a period of time..A saddlemaker somewhere fixed this,the rawhide came from a deer killed somewhere,the moccasin from a trading post somewhere, couldn't throw it away so it became part of the uniqueness that set it apart from the store-bought ones..
And as far as the whole patina "it did not look that way" deal, I hate shiny and new..To each there own, and apparently I'm not by my self , a lot of people send me a lot of money to make them....
 
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I love that movie, but it's been years since I've watched it. I need to sit down with a refreshing beverage and check it out again.

Awesome work on the knife and sheath, Randy.
 
Great knife, i bought this one from you some time ago, cool that i found you suddenly on this forum, like a couple of more people;)
Cheer Igor
 
cool I love watching that movie even as im a little younger than most who have since it but hell of a good movie. and great looking knife.
 
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