A German made Bowie that I've always desired, but had never bit on... Until now...

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

Joined
Aug 4, 2013
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I placed an order in today for a vintage Bowie knife made in Solingen, Germany that was imported and sold/marketed under the 'Romo' brand name. It's a unique blade style that I have seen being sold under quite a few other brands besides the 'Romo' over the years. Some of these brands were, Carl Schlieper, Linder, Edge Brand, Kronenkrebs, Anton Wingen/Othello, Explorer, etcetera.
I'm not sure if they were all simply various makers of what was basically the same knife, or maybe that one maker actually produced them under contract for all the other firms and brands 🤔
I have seen them go under different model numbers and different designated model names... Rhino Bowie, African Hunter Bowie, Bowie, and other such names.
I don't know it's exact vintage, maybe 1950'ish to 1970'ish? 🤔

The blade style always called out to me... It just looked so darned cool!
It Sometimes being called a Rhino knife makes sense, since it's blade shape does remind me of a Rhinoceros' horned head 😅
The blade length was listed as being 8 1/4", made of carbon steel, nickel silver guard, aluminum pommel, and a stag handle.

Anyhow, I finally decided to just bite the bullet and purchase one online. The major reason I bit this time, is that it's condition seems to be nicer than others I've seen offered in the past. I'm big on overall condition, and if the photos of this knife are totally legit, it does seem pretty minty🤞
The pictures of the stag was another thing that caused my decision to click the "buy button" for it, my noticing that it was not as bland/generic as many stag handles can be. It seems to have some real character, a little bit of that "pop corn" appearance going on with it 👍
It may be a week or so before I get possession of it, but I'm able to share some pics of it here that were part of the vendor's description of it.
If you have any pertinent information that you can add about these knives, I will greatly appreciate it.
👍😊👍

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When I order a new acquisition for my collection, I tend to get excited in the anticipation of my receiving it... And this one's definitely one that I can't wait to have in my hands 😃
 
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The only real information I was able to find about the 'Romo' brand, was right here on Bladeforums 👍

It may not be much, but it's more information than what I had...

"ROMO was a trademark of a New York City cutlery importer named Rosenbaum & Mogal, founded in 1917. Isaac Rosenbaum and Mitchell Mogal went their separate ways in 1924, and Mogal got the ROMO trademark (Rosenbaum then began to use IROSKEEN)."

"ROMO was a trademark used by cutlery importers Rosenbaum & Mogal in Nyc, that started after WWI. Using the the first 2 letters of both their surnames to form the brand name."

I am guessing that Anton Wingen of 'Othello' brand fame, was the main source for these knives, the blades likely being made from drop forged steel.
The Wingen/Othello firm offered a similar knife under their own brand, but they were also known for making knives under contract for other firms/brands.
 
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That's an interesting looking knife. Have you got or considered getting a classic Puma 'White Hunter' for your collection? I'm looking at them, might get an 'Automesser' (same knife as the White Hunter, but wooden handles instead of stag).
 
I have looked at them, for sure. I've never pulled the trigger on one, but maybe someday. The nicer condition old/vintage specimens are priced quite high, for sure 😱
They are not too rare at all, they can be found in just about any vintage pretty easily... But, again, the nicer ones are quite pricey.
 
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Since I was a kid, I was always mystified by the curving saber clip on some bowies. Does it really help in combat situations, I mean is it good for a stabbing-hooking attack? Will it allow easy penetration? Whenever I see one, I start seeing a big, hulking desperado with a sinister mustache and a smile to match, slowly forcing the tip into one's torso.
 
hank_rearden said:
Since I was a kid, I was always mystified by the curving saber clip on some bowies. Does it really help in combat situations, I mean is it good for a stabbing-hooking attack? Will it allow easy penetration? Whenever I see one, I start seeing a big, hulking desperado with a sinister mustache and a smile to match, slowly forcing the tip into one's torso.
Click to expand...

Well, the definition of a 'Bowie Knife' is pretty inclusive of a lot of different blade shapes, handle shapes, and features.
Although many Bowie Knives have been marketed as weapons, many have also been marketed as general purpose hunter's companion knives.
The Bowie style that I have ordered is definitely one of the general hunter's companion types. Not only have some of the brands incorporated the title of 'African Hunter Bowie' for this style of blade/knife, but even the sheath, that will come with this knife, gives a hint that it's target is for it to be a general purpose outdoorsman/hunting companion knife. What is that hint on the knife's sheath?... A Deer's head is embossed onto it...

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Another great score! I have looked at that style knife many times mostly with the Anton Wingen/Othello name but I haven't seen one that nice since they were were still new and being produced. Great catch. That will be fun to clean up and polish with wax.

Those Solingen knives were what I mostly saw back in the 60's and 70's when my ideas and likes were forming and though I couldn't afford them then Ebay made them easy to get and still fairly affordable up to just a few years ago. I still go out of my way to look at the big 8 inch carbon steel bowies . There are several models I have seen with a bunch of different maker or importer stamps but which look identical.
 
At first I said "Yikes!"

I love bowies, but I am Not a fan of clip points........


But honestly, the more I look at your knife, the more I like it.
Cool score.
Lots of character, and charm!!!
 
The Mastiff said:
Another great score! I have looked at that style knife many times mostly with the Anton Wingen/Othello name but I haven't seen one that nice since they were were still new and being produced. Great catch. That will be fun to clean up and polish with wax.

Those Solingen knives were what I mostly saw back in the 60's and 70's when my ideas and likes were forming and though I couldn't afford them then Ebay made them easy to get and still fairly affordable up to just a few years ago. I still go out of my way to look at the big 8 inch carbon steel bowies . There are several models I have seen with a bunch of different maker or importer stamps but which look identical.
Click to expand...

Thanks! 😊
This pattern of Bowie blade that were made in Solingen Germany, do surely pop up with all sorts of brands stamped onto their blades.
They all seem to be made from the same sourced blade forging.
I know Anton Wingen/Othello was known for incorporating the drop forging method for producing knife blades, and they did get contracted quite a bit by other brands to make their knives. My money would be on them being the source for this blade pattern.
It was during the early to mid 1990's that Anton Wingen/Othello went DoDo Bird, with the brand then being sold off to a firm that now has it's products made in Asia.
I don't believe this blade style lends itself very well to being made by using stamped out blades, since it would then require quite a bit of milling to get it shaped the way they are.
So, when Anton Wingen/Othello went defunct, so too pretty much did this knife pattern.
Of course an Asian firm could pick up the old forging dies, or maybe make new ones, but any new attempt to put such a knife onto the market, would almost certainly not be a knife that carries the made in 'Solingen Germany' marking.

And, yes... I can't wait to get it in hand and do whatever is required to clean it up and give it a careful Renaissance Wax treatment. It should make for a cool addition to my collection 😊
 
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ADBrown said:
That’s a great looking blade! Love the shape and the stag handle!
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Thank you! 😊

Yup, the blade shape was always my big reason for liking this pattern Bowie knife. The really nice looking stag was the icing on the cake 👍

I played musical chairs with some of the items within my collection today, and made some room for it in this display case...

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Congrats!
I almost bought one of those at an antique shop in Plymouth MA a decade ago.
Sadly they wanted waaaay too much for it.
That is an excellent piece of stag!

Originally Bowie knives were weapons and weapons only. Back in the days of muzzle loading firearms.
Then the name became popular and was tacked onto whatever knife the seller wanted. So a whole metamorphosis took place.

For the person asking about the clip point, searches for "back cut" "Bill Bagwell" & "James A Keating" should yield some interesting reading.
Bagwell has a youtube video explaining the clip point & back cut as well.
 
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