Complete history of Bowie knife

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Seriousbladeno1

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Sep 11, 2014
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I would like to dedicate this thread to most famous knife of all times to "The Bowie Knife "

I would like to try with your (Bladeforums members) help, to make this thread as most comprehensive guide to all Bowie knives from its very beginning to today's modern times, with plenty of informations, facts,black and white and also colourful photographs,links,real & fictional stories,myths etc.I appreciate every addition to this and hope,once this thread will be most helpful to every single fan,user and collector of Bowie knives.

Thank you my friends
 
I heard that the original was forged from steel that had a chunk of meteor melted in with it.
 
Seriousbladeno1 said:
I would like to dedicate this thread to most famous knife of all times to "The Bowie Knife "

I would like to try with your (Bladeforums members) help, to make this thread as most comprehensive guide to all Bowie knives from its very beginning to today's modern times, with plenty of informations, facts,black and white and also colourful photographs,links,real & fictional stories,myths etc.I appreciate every addition to this and hope,once this thread will be most helpful to every single fan,user and collector of Bowie knives.

Thank you my friends
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Have You read Norm Flayderman's "The Bowie Knife" ?

1242299014-The-Bowie-Knife-004.jpg


I think it has all about what You ask for.


Regards
Mikael
 
Norm Flayderman's "The Bowie Knife" has all that anyone would want to know. Buy it!
Rich
 
There is a lot of ambiguity surrounding the subject. For starters, the term 'Bowie' really refers to a number of blade designs rather than a single historical knife. Speaking of the actual history, it has been been shaped to a great extent by legend and myth rather than reliable historical sources so its hard to separate fact from legend. There really isn't any record-keeping on the subject. There are just general references that hint at the development of a specific type of blade. The design is attributed to the histrorical figure Jim Bowie, but he never designed a knife. Nor did he carry a single knife with him. He carried a number of different blade designs to be used specifically as fighting knives but there is not one single example that you can say represents the historical Bowie knife, because there really isn't one. There are many different blade designs scattered all over the place. There is also debate as to whether he ever actually engaged in any knife fight in his career or had to use his knife for anything other than what most people use them for--as a tool. It is hard to separate myth from fact.

Historical Bowie knives are really the subject of American folklore. It is probable that such knife styles weren't any more legendary or revolutionary than any other knife of the day. They just captured the imagination of the public because of the events at the Alamo. The notion of Jim Bowie going down fighting to the last with knife in hand.
 
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BubbaGump said:
Speaking of the actual history, it has been been shaped to a great extent by legend and myth rather than reliable historical sources so its hard to separate fact from legend. There really isn't any record-keeping on the subject. There are just general references that hint at the development of a specific type of blade.
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No. There is quite a well documented history of the Bowies' knives, including documentation for several candidates for the Sandbar Knife.

The idea that there is not documentation is part of the myth.
 
marcinek said:
No. There is quite a well documented history of the Bowies' knives, including documentation for several candidates for the Sandbar Knife.

The idea that there is not documentation is part of the myth.
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Where is the documentation? I am not referring to a book or novel. I am referring to historical documentation in archives that are accepted by the academic community. There really is nothing of any substance. Just vague references.

Also, the Sandbar altercation was not a knife fight. It was a gun fight, a duel. Bowie was shot and knocked senseless and ended up stabbing his foe with a knife described as a butchers knife in the popular historical accounts gleaned from the press. There is no mention of a specific type of design of the knife that would conclusively indicate it was anything other than what people of the day thought of as the typical butchers knife. No big deal was made of the fact that he stabbed a foe in self defense. All that came later, when the legend and folklore grew.
 
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Seriousbladeno1 said:
I would like to dedicate this thread to most famous knife of all times to "The Bowie Knife "
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Inaccurate right off the bat. Kitchen style knives are far more important and "famous". They are in every single house in the United States and throughout the world.
 
BubbaGump said:
Where is the documentation? I am not referring to a book or novel. I am referring to historical documentation in archives that are accepted by the academic community. There really is nothing of any substance. Just vague references.
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Here's a place for you to start.

http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/adp/history/bios/bowie/knife_like_bowies.html

BubbaGump said:
Also, the Sandbar altercation was not a knife fight. It was a gun fight, a duel. Bowie was knocked senseless and ended up stabbing his foe with a knife described as a butchers knife in the popular historical accounts gleaned from the press. There is no mention of a specific type of design of the knife that would conclusively indicate it was anything other than what people of the day thought of as the typical butchers knife. No big deal was made of the fact that he stabbed a foe in self defense. All that came later, when the legend and folklore grew.
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Who said anything to the contrary?
 
craytab said:
Inaccurate right off the bat. Kitchen style knives are far more important and "famous". They are in every single house in the United States and throughout the world.
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Kitchen knives lack glamour. Hard to turn a steak or chefs knife into legends.
 
craytab said:
Inaccurate right off the bat. Kitchen style knives are far more important and "famous". They are in every single house in the United States and throughout the world.
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Early Bowieknives from Schively or Searles, look pretty much like a Chef's kitchen knife!



Regards
Mikael
 
Jim Bowies original knife is real, but there's dispute about the original design he created and used fight his cane sword wielding foes during the sandbar duel.
 
DeadboxHero said:
Jim Bowies original knife is real, but there's dispute about the original design he created and used fight his cane sword wielding foes during the sandbar duel.
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Some dispute, but not as much as people believe.

Did anybody read Levine's chapter on the subject? You all should. He's really quite knowledgeable.
 
marcinek said:
Here's a place for you to start.

http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/adp/history/bios/bowie/knife_like_bowies.html



Who said anything to the contrary?
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Most of these types of accounts that appeared in the press and publications of the day are not considered reliable historical sources because the source of the information cannot be trusted. It is not that the information contained in such accounts can be stated to be outright false. It simply cannot be trusted enough to declare as fact. Embellishment is very common. Those making the claim of ownership of designs have a vested interest in self-promotion. There really is no historical source that any historian would accept at face value without questioning motives and intent. Again, this does not mean all of the information is false. It just means one needs to proceed with extreme caution. The stories progressively take on the air of legend and folklore as time goes one.

The Bowie knife is really a progression of designs. It cannot be attributed to any specific example.
 
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