Been scarfing up a few as of late. What a surprise when I picked up a CS Laredo in SK5 and I won an auction for a 440 bowie that as near as I can tell is identical to the Laredo. Believe it or not it is a BUD K bowie made in China in 440 steel. This I did not know or probably wouldn't have bid on it. But this is where things get a wee bit murky.
I am tellin ya if you laid these knives side by side and couldn't see the company name you couldn't tell the difference between the two. Save for a couple of build differences. The BUD K is about an inch longer than the Laredo with identical hardware and the other difference you can see is that the Laredo is a stick tang and the BUD K is a full tang. Matter of fact the guards are identical along with the hand material. The sheath on the BUD K leaves much to be desired where as the CS sheath is very well made. Both would cleanly shave hair off the arm and the top clip on the BUD K knife is a bit sharper. Grind lines on both are superb with a full flat grind and perfect plunge grinds at the ricasso. I can not believe how identical they both look to each other save for the sheaths and the BUD K being about an inch longer. Both are 5/16" thick at the spine too and both are full thickness out to the clip. Anyways just surprised at the quality of the cheap ass bowie as compared to the Laredo. Probably from the same factory looking at them.
Both knives balance the same too, that is about an inch out in front of the guard. The BUD knife is heavier feeling though.
Anyways just thought I would post this for someone looking for a cheap using knife, but that to me appears to be very well made. Proof will be when I beat the snot out of the BUD knife this week when camping in Penn. Now I will say this, neither knife beats out the Ontario Bagwell Fortress I have for handling. Quality of build on all 3 is very well done but the Fortress just feels much faster in the hand. Even I can detect the difference in handling qualities between them. For what its worth. keepem sharp and I'll try and get pics up
I am tellin ya if you laid these knives side by side and couldn't see the company name you couldn't tell the difference between the two. Save for a couple of build differences. The BUD K is about an inch longer than the Laredo with identical hardware and the other difference you can see is that the Laredo is a stick tang and the BUD K is a full tang. Matter of fact the guards are identical along with the hand material. The sheath on the BUD K leaves much to be desired where as the CS sheath is very well made. Both would cleanly shave hair off the arm and the top clip on the BUD K knife is a bit sharper. Grind lines on both are superb with a full flat grind and perfect plunge grinds at the ricasso. I can not believe how identical they both look to each other save for the sheaths and the BUD K being about an inch longer. Both are 5/16" thick at the spine too and both are full thickness out to the clip. Anyways just surprised at the quality of the cheap ass bowie as compared to the Laredo. Probably from the same factory looking at them.
Both knives balance the same too, that is about an inch out in front of the guard. The BUD knife is heavier feeling though.
Anyways just thought I would post this for someone looking for a cheap using knife, but that to me appears to be very well made. Proof will be when I beat the snot out of the BUD knife this week when camping in Penn. Now I will say this, neither knife beats out the Ontario Bagwell Fortress I have for handling. Quality of build on all 3 is very well done but the Fortress just feels much faster in the hand. Even I can detect the difference in handling qualities between them. For what its worth. keepem sharp and I'll try and get pics up