7" Bowie

Nathan the Machinist

Nathan the Machinist

KnifeMaker / Machinist / Evil Genius
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Like all Bowie knives, this unapologetically bad knife features a weak thin tip that points back at the user in an unhelpful manner and a handle that is poorly designed as a modern tactical fighter. It looks nothing like what would have been carried to that famous sandbar fight. It's objectively and observably dumb. It's an American classic. An icon. The Tragic Unfortunate Retro Design (TURD™) CPK Bowie Knife

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Made entirely (and badly) by Nathan the Machinist (Mark's skilled hands had no role here), this ill-conceived design abomination of 1/4" thick Delta 3V is sharpened at 20 DPS and is probably illegal where you live because many jurisdictions specifically forbid Bowies and double edge at this length. It offers a rare combination of not-particularly-useful and illegal-to-carry in a very expensive package that screams "why does this exist".

This satin ground travesty can be yours for the ridiculous price of $825 shipped (no sheath). It will be made available for sale on today's 3:00 sale out in the main sale area here: https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/for-sale-fixed-blades.754/
 
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Class is in session kiddos. Notes from Professor Nathan's past lectures!

Nathan the Machinist said:
A Bowie is an anachronism. An ill defined concept of a knife without real engineering or optimization. First of all, what is a bowie? The ABS style bowie looks and feels impressive at a knife show and feels "light and lively" due to a low moment of inertia from distal taper and a stick tang and feels like a "fighter" when you pick it up and wave it around. I'm probably going to ruffle some feathers here, but in my opinion some of these don't really work that great as knives, and I'll tell you why. It isn't relevant in a modern context (it's not very good as a modern fighter) and it isn't useful or historically accurate in a classical context (that ain't a bowie). It isn't a good stabber, and it isn't a good chopper (the point and the balance are wrong) and as a fighter many of them would perform poorly in real combat.

A classic fighter would be more of a stabbing weapon. These don't feel "light and lively". They have a higher moment of inertia from a reinforced point, a pommel and even weighted quillons and were more about straight line stabbing, resisting deflection and defeating various forms of armor or heavy clothing. They weren't light and they weren't lively and didn't strike you as weightless when you picked them up, they had stout points, weighted pommels and were made to kill, not wave around. Often they were a defensive left hand weapon of opportunity while the right hand held something with reach.

A modern fighter also has a reinforced point and is also a secondary weapon. The demands of modern combat dictate something that can pry in addition to stab, and the primary weapon is a firearm. Again they're stout and one of these modern bowies would loose their dainty little point pretty quick. Modern knife fighting principals where no one has a sword (this is the 21st century, no one has a sword) more resembles a fist fight with grappling than fencing. While a modern fighter still needs to work in a fencing grip with the blade held in the hand at an angle to project reach in line with the arm (not 90 degrees to the arm like most of these bowies are designed to be held, what are they stabbing their own face?) modern fighters also need to work in a reverse grip with the edge out and shielding the arm. When an opponent catches or dodges a punch they get the blade. Stabbing with a blade held in this grip (a motion like an ice pick) requires a handle shape and length where the thumb can go over the end of the grip to prevent the hand from sliding over the blade. The placement of any guards, ramps and grip swells need to align with a hand in this position. A modern "bowie" fails miserably here.

Then there is the historical aspect. Even though a bowie knife is not optimized as a fighter compared to an engineered weapon, there is the nostalgic value. Except there isn't, that's false nostalgia, the real actual bowie knife was more of a big kitchen knife.

So, lets see: yes it is a knife and can be used as one, but compared to modern engineered alternatives it's not good at stabbing, chopping, cutting and fighting and the clip point is a hindrance skinning large game and it isn't historically meaningful, but it's pretty good at a snap cut, it looks cool and it feels "light and lively" in the hand at knife shows. I'm sorry, I don't mean to disparage those who make or collect these kinds of knives, but they're not very good in my opinion and there is no way I'm ever going to produce them.
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Nathan the Machinist said:
Hell, I'll clip a blade and call that a Bowie I don't care. I'm just not making an actual Bowie. That's alright nobody else is either...
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Whoever scoops this up can no longer proclaim their CPK collection to be TURDless.

"I have numerous CPKs, not a turd amongst them! Oh wait..."

"I have a mountain of CPKs, every one a gem. Except for this one, this one is a turd."

"My CPK museum has all the wonders that Nathan and crew have wrought - knives, schmoo, bolts scraps, and.... this turd."
 
…..I’m, puking now. I haven’t tried a Friday sale yet but I’m hoping work stays slow today. I’d like to roll the dice for this iconic piece of shit !!! Good luck today all you gambling’ frantic bastards . I hope one of you lands right on a TURD !!!
 
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