Bowie knives

[442nd Dinochrome]

Bullspit's top picture looks just like my "Rifleman's Long Knife". The knife was forged for me
by a fine blacksmith in Mountain View in exchange for a Percussion Kentucky Pistol.
I've never heard it referred to as a Bowie Knife; the basic design is age-old.

[SeekHer]

As a sign of respect they started calling the big horking blades "Bowie Knives" after the battle at the Alamo not before...So then what is a Bowie knife?

Well the Bowie knife was nothing fancy, no special attributes, no advanced designs just a plain old clip point--common butcher knife of the time, and was never patterned after or derived from a sword, sorry! Unless, of course they had a Napoleonic blade sitting around, broken that they used for all or part of the metal.

Story goes that Rezin was even supposed to have used part of a meteor to make it—so did hundreds of other makers as they were/are very rich in iron…But Rezin didn’t make it!

Yes, it is a style of knife, a designation so to speak but there is NO idea of what the original looked like, they know that Rezin didn’t make it for him, they don't know if a piece of a meteorite was put into it, they don't know how long or wide or thick or heavy it was, they don't know if it was brass backed (probably was as that was the style), they don't know if it a clip point, they don't know if it was a large bladed Sheffield made knife--THEY DON'T KNOW...call it speculation, call it myth...So then what is a Bowie knife?

Is it a clip point blade, a butcher knife blade, a Wostenholm pattern, a Michael Price pattern, a Daniel Searles pattern, a Samuel Bell pattern, a Henry Schively pattern, a Jonathan Crookes pattern, a Cephas Ham pattern or a California (San Francisco) pattern etc. as the Bowie Bros had numerous knives made for them that they sold and ALL are called Bowie Knives.

That's like a number of maker's supplying a 3 blade folding pocket knife like a Stockman's knife to Wal-Mart in different sizes and configurations and it then becoming a "Wal-Mart Knife"!

NO ONE knows what the knife that Jim used at the Sandbar Fight looked like, exactly (vague in the print media of the time) but they do know it wasn’t the same knife that he had with him at the Alamo...The knife they have on display there, from the Mexican officer, is "attributed" to him but no one can say if it actually was his as that style of horking big knife was quite popular as a fighting knife during that time period.

There is a nice photo of the different styles side by each in the WCKA - Western Canada Knife Assoc newsletter by Saskatchewan maker Garth Hindmarch...

So then what is a Bowie knife? I collect them and I don't know...maker says it's a Bowie then it's a Bowie, I guess!

[SeekHer]

Welocme to the Bowie Knife Collectors...

Antique Bowie Knife Association


Randall


David Anders


S.W. Bladecraft


Ron Frazier


Darryl Driskill


Peter Bromley


Bob Jolly


John White


Steve Voohis

[308Mike]

DROOL!!!! I'll TAKE ALL OF THEM!!! Unfortunately, my finances don't allow such extravaganzas, at least not until I get another decent paying job.

The Bob Jolly looks like a Ka-Bar knock-off (unless the Ka-Bar is a knock-off from a Bob-Jolly!).

Excellent information, which should probably all go into the Wiki (if anyone is so inclined).

Thanks, SeekHer!!

[Denis]

There are some pictures of European Bowie-style knives in this thread (but they're not as nice as SeekHer's ones...).

[SeekHer]

There are some pictures of European Bowie-style knives in this thread (but they're not as nice as SeekHer's ones...).

I had forgotten about those buys you [strike]got[/strike] stole and the local merchant of big boy toys has a copy of that Hubertus Original Bowie, C.1965 for sale for $125 in just a slight bit better condition then yours...Cleaned up yours would be a 4.5 and this one is maybe a 5.5 or 5.75 tops.

The Bowie knife, in all it's various manifestations, was called a Bowie knife not because the brothers and later just Rezin, designed them but sold them...I submitted them to show all the various types of what are called Bowie knives.

I have the pinned Anders, the Bromley with out the handle insert, a very much less fancy version of the California pattern by Frazier--wood handle not mother of pearl and silver and got the S.W. Bladecraft almost three years ago from the family minus the escutcheon (insert) plate and 3/4 inch shorter and the rest are from Rehoboth, dealer extraordinaire--warning, extreme drool factor, bibs recommended!

[ZeroGravitas]

Bark River K&T has a decent bowie in their line now - classic design IMO. I've looked at a couple and they're pretty decent. Certainly better fit and finish than the similarly priced Cold Steel Laredo, and with lots of variations in handle material.
Bark River promo:

[Aglifter]

Admittedly, I haven't looked much, but so far, my favorite has been a gerber BMF - although I'd prefer an 8" blade - I realize it was just a mass produced thing, but it has been used to disembowel 12'/behead 9' tiger sharks, chop kindling, etc, etc w.o. any problems - aside from dulling v. quickly on shark skin, but thats just physics.

[Denis]

Here's a nice old Bowie at auction in the UK.

Holts_bowie.jpg

Estimate UK£80-120

[naldox]

Welocme to the Bowie Knife Collectors...

Antique Bowie Knife Association


Randall


David Anders


S.W. Bladecraft


Ron Frazier


Darryl Driskill


Peter Bromley


Bob Jolly


John White


Steve Voohis

Wow, I like them a lot I like the David Anders very much want to have that soon.
here's mine,

a bowie with brass knuckle,
Isn't it cool?