Bowie knife vs Kukri knife - repost

[CWL]

Buy whatever you want. That's what's "American".

If you lean towards the Bowie, great. It'll probably be because you just like it more. No problem with that.

I really doubt that having the ability to stab with a Bowie is the real reason.

 

[Buffalohump]

Ah yes, but the bowie has evolved over time and now encompasses a far broader spectrum of styles and designs. My experience with both designs has been via two Cold Steel interpretations, the Trailmaster and their mini-Kukri (no longer made).

I have used both extensively and found that the thinner steel of their kuk is not ideal for chopping harder wood. It tends to get hung up more and requires a fair bit of twisting back and forth to pull it loose.

The TMs (I have a SK-5 and SM III) are heavier and have a thicker edge profile, which makes for better chopping on wood. However, the thinner profile and lighter weight of the Kuk makes it an excellent tool for clearing overgrown vegetation, which we have plenty of out this way.

If I had the full size version from CS, or a HI kuk, my experience may well be different.

But considering the OP's question, if I were to choose ONE of these, it would still be the bowie (in my case, the Trailmaster).

Each to his own.

You have that quite backwards, IMHO. The bowie knife was designed as a fighting knife with all other uses secondary to that goal. The khukuri on the other hand was designed as primarily a farming instrument with it's goal as a fighting knife secondary.
For eons the khukuri has chopped everything from hardwoods to jungle vegetation, cleared hundreds of thousands of miles of farmland, dug holes, processed game and prepared food for dinner. It has served in civil actions to all out war and has come thru it all with outstanding results and honor.

Yes they are both outstanding designs....But the khukuri stands head and shoulders above the bowie in terms of usefulness and versatility, IMHO.