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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
Anyone know someone who bought a Windlass Steelcraft Bowie?
- Thread starter tyr_shadowblade
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Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
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Welcome to Bladeforums! 
Cold Steel and Ontario have a lot of good models, but you have to know which ones. If you get good use out of yours, that qualifies!
I don't believe Windlass consistently puts out serious using knives. Most of their products are more for display. You can do better.
Cold Steel and Ontario have a lot of good models, but you have to know which ones. If you get good use out of yours, that qualifies!
I don't believe Windlass consistently puts out serious using knives. Most of their products are more for display. You can do better.
averageguy
BANNED
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Nothing wrong with the vast majority of products from Cold Steel and Ontario.
The bias against them on these forums is unwarranted.
The bias against them on these forums is unwarranted.
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I'd check out a Bark River bowie if I were you... More in the Bagwell style than the cowboy-image style bowie.
At the very least, check this out. Decent quality knife, blade steel is not bad either (420 HC, which is just fine for a big chopper. You don't necessarily want a super-brittle steel for such an application).
Peace.
At the very least, check this out. Decent quality knife, blade steel is not bad either (420 HC, which is just fine for a big chopper. You don't necessarily want a super-brittle steel for such an application).
Peace.
The Windlass bowies are not bad, if your criteria is toughness rather than edge holding, and if you get a good one rather than a junker. The quality control is a definite problem - they are all supposed to be tempered spring steel, but they're made by local workers on a cottage industry system. The ones that aren't crap seem to be something like 5160 or sometimes 1050 or 1070, at around 54 Rockwell.
If you are going to get one, get it from Atlanta Cutlery - I have gotten bad ones, I have sent them back, and they send me another one or a refund without batting an eye.
So I find that they can be OK knives (if you want tough not hard) with crappy quality control and good customer service. Is that worth your money? That's up to you. The main downside is that buying on IS a lottery - you get it, test it, and keep it if it's good and kick it back if it's not.
For a using bowie in that price range I'd look at either Ontario's Spec Plus line (which, again, have some quality issues but a good warantee) or the Beckers.
If you are going to get one, get it from Atlanta Cutlery - I have gotten bad ones, I have sent them back, and they send me another one or a refund without batting an eye.
So I find that they can be OK knives (if you want tough not hard) with crappy quality control and good customer service. Is that worth your money? That's up to you. The main downside is that buying on IS a lottery - you get it, test it, and keep it if it's good and kick it back if it's not.
For a using bowie in that price range I'd look at either Ontario's Spec Plus line (which, again, have some quality issues but a good warantee) or the Beckers.