Bowie Knives: Benefits and Features of a Quality Knife

Model: C927 See details Market price: $60.00 Our price: $48.00 save 20%

The stories and anecdotes regarding the Bowie knife are innumerable, and these knives or variations thereof, are widely found in movies, fiction and collections.  Historically, the first Bowie knife is associated with Colonel James 'Jim' Bowie of Alamo fame. In fact, there were several designs and modifications of a basic knife created by Jim Bowie over the years.  More than one story exists regarding who actually created the knife.  Rezin Bowie, brother of Jim Bowie, claims to have designed the knife for Jim Bowie and had it smithed by Jesse Cleft, a blacksmith from Avoyelles Parrish, Louisiana. John Bowie, another brother of Jim claims that the famous Sandbar Fight Bowie knife was created by a blacksmith named Snowden.

A third version, the most famous, was a carved wooden model designed by Jim Bowie and consigned to James Black, an Arkansas blacksmith in 1830.  Black produced the original design and, at the same time, a modified design that sharpened the curved top edge of the blade.  Bowie selected the modified version. Because the modified version, which had half or more of the top edge sharpened, was mass produced in Sheffield, England for export to the U.S., they were known as Sheffield Bowie knives.

Over the years, the term Bowie knife has become a generic terms for a large sheath knife.  Oversize versions were carried in American Civil War and serrated top edge knives were issued to military types in Vietnam.  These knives were intended to be able to cut through a Plexiglas shield of a downed aircraft during wartime. A hollowed out handle can carry other survival tools.

There is no question that the Bowie knife is a remarkable all-around knife for anyone interested in the outdoors. The large, wide blade serves as both a weapon and as a camp and hunting tool. The curved and sharpened tip of the knife is ideal for skinning a carcass, while the portion of the edge that is straight can cut, slice or perform other similar chores related to camp or outdoor life.  Because the blades are large and heavy - six inches to twelve inches long or more with a width of two inches - the Bowie knife can serve as a small hatchet or machete when needed.  This means that the outdoorsman does not have to carry several tools while hiking or camping in the wilderness.

As a weapon knife, hopefully there is less need for some of the features found, but the original users made such things as a strip of softer metal such as brass or copper along the back of the steel blade to catch the opponent's knife blade.  The upper guard on the knife was bent forward in order to catch and deflect the blade of the opponent. The cast brass quillon also was designed to catch the blade of the opponent and protect the hand of the Bowie user.  The sharpened clip point could be used in the fighting style known as the back slash.

The original knives known as Bowie knives produced by Black featured a blade of extremely hard yet flexible steel.  Some have claimed that he rediscovered the secret for Damascus steel, but his technique has never been shared or duplicated.  The complex process of forging and annealing may today have been reproduced through microscopic study of preserved specimens of Damascus blades, but it is by no means certain.

The blades that carry the name Bowie today are of high carbon steel and hold an edge very well.  Pattern welding is sometimes used to imitate the look of the high quality steel knives known as Damascus blades.

Today, the utilitarian tool of the 1800s can be found with wood, bone, leather or gold inlaid handles, in lengths ranging from miniature to near short sword size. Handles have finger holds and brass plated guards and pommels.  Prices range from economical to enormous, but often reflect the decorations and the accouterments more than the knife itself. Nevertheless, the choice of a Bowie knife is an acquisition that requires a great deal of review and study for the true aficionado or collector. Weight, balance, appearance and size are all features that should be reviewed and ranked before making the final selection of the right Bowie knife.

~Ben Anton, 2008
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