Bill Bagwell "Hell's Belle" engraved by Master Engraver the late great Mr. E. C. Prudhomme

[VidaliaMaidenBowie]

In 2017, I posted a thread stating that in the early 70's, the late great Master Engraver Mr. E. C. Pruhomme of Shreveport, Louisiana was doing some incredible engraving on very few knives made by legendary bladesmith Bill Bagwell, more precisely on a knife called "Hell's Belle." Each "Belle's" would have the owner's name carved in the pommel, when ordered, and came in a striking display presentation case. I am pleased to announce that I have finally located the only such "Hell's Belle" specimen that was ever produced,(cost was astronomical back then) and I am happy to be able to share the photos of the engraving by Mr. Prudhomme and share them with anyone on this excellent web site. Back in 2019, while doing research for an up-coming work on Bill Bagwell,(such is available today) he was quick to point-out that he erroneously quoted that 12/15 "Hell's Belle" were produced, during a phone call in 2017, as such number was incorrect. What he meant to say is that at the most about 8 to 10 knives had been engraved by Mr. Prudhomme. Bagwell's catalog # 2 actually depict the engraved "Hell's Belle" seen here, along with a close-up of the engraved guard, escutcheon and pommel, as well as another large Bowie that had been engraved by Mr. Prudhomme (guard only) Bagwell was also offering at that time two unique knives called "The Widow Maker" and "The Streetwalker's Companion" whose model can be seen in catalog # 2 which denotes that the guard on that particular model has been engraved as well by Mr. E.C. Prudhomme . Does anyone out there will have such example of these knives, along with any Bagwell knife catalogs? Many thanks. Dominique

 

[VidaliaMaidenBowie]

I've posted few more pictures depicting the stunning engraving by the late Mr. E. C. Prudhomme.

 

[JJ Roberts]

Thanks for sharing the pictures of Mr. Prudhomme's beautiful engraving. J.J.

 

[VidaliaMaidenBowie]

Thanks for sharing the pictures of Mr. Prudhomme's beautiful engraving. J.J.

Thanks for your nice comments Mr. JJ Roberts. have a wonderful week end Sir. Best regards.

 

[Dani Girl]

That is some lovely engraving

 

[VidaliaMaidenBowie]

Hello Mrs. Dani Girl: Thank you for your nice comments, indeed that is an exceptional engraving, most likley the finest and most beautiful this Master Engraver has ever done on a Bill Bagwell knife. I have identified 8 of all the knives he's ever done and by far this is the most spectacular, as the other were not embellished with such much coverage as find on this knife. Have a wonderful week end and thanks again, I'm glad you enjoyed the fine work by this extremely talented engraver.

 

[VidaliaMaidenBowie]

I just noticed you are in Australia, great to have someone commenting on this web site from so far away!

 

[MoldyJim]

What is going on with the buttcap?
It looks like the center of it is dented or had something polished out.
Did someone remove part of the design or is it just a lighting issue.