Any Cal,
The "letter" from Davy Crockett was supposedly smuggled out of the Alamo before its fall...rather a doubtful situation! As to Rezin's statement, maybe you are correct. His "cashing in" on the popularity was in the portion of the statement that HE himself had made it, when other accounts state otherwise. One Jesse Clifft, a local blacksmith is sometime cited as possible the original maker. That the first knife was made as a hunting knife is verified however. Hunting wild cattle in the Louisiana brush and swamplands was something the Bowie brothers did for a long time. Having a hefty "bush knife" was a handy item to carry...much as it is today.
That knife, a plain affair, was made for use in the woods, not as a weapon. It's use in 1827 near Natchez-Under-the-Hill as a weapon was very much a last resort thing, when James Bowie had already been wounded several times and was under attack while on the ground. It's carriage by the younger Mr. Bowie had been precipitated by the misfire of his pocket pistol shortly before the whole "Sandbar" affair. Jim Bowie himself owned several different knives...and may not have even been carrying a "Bowie knife" at the Alamo, although there are Mexican accounts that he was. They were so popular by the time of Bowie's death at the Alamo, that they were commonplace in the South and Southwest. As with any instrument, the various and sundry makers forged and ground whatever they thought a "Bowie knife" should look like...whether they had ever seen one or not! Much like some folks do today.
Still, a well-made Bowie is a well-balanced item that is pretty handy in the field.
Ron
The "letter" from Davy Crockett was supposedly smuggled out of the Alamo before its fall...rather a doubtful situation! As to Rezin's statement, maybe you are correct. His "cashing in" on the popularity was in the portion of the statement that HE himself had made it, when other accounts state otherwise. One Jesse Clifft, a local blacksmith is sometime cited as possible the original maker. That the first knife was made as a hunting knife is verified however. Hunting wild cattle in the Louisiana brush and swamplands was something the Bowie brothers did for a long time. Having a hefty "bush knife" was a handy item to carry...much as it is today.
That knife, a plain affair, was made for use in the woods, not as a weapon. It's use in 1827 near Natchez-Under-the-Hill as a weapon was very much a last resort thing, when James Bowie had already been wounded several times and was under attack while on the ground. It's carriage by the younger Mr. Bowie had been precipitated by the misfire of his pocket pistol shortly before the whole "Sandbar" affair. Jim Bowie himself owned several different knives...and may not have even been carrying a "Bowie knife" at the Alamo, although there are Mexican accounts that he was. They were so popular by the time of Bowie's death at the Alamo, that they were commonplace in the South and Southwest. As with any instrument, the various and sundry makers forged and ground whatever they thought a "Bowie knife" should look like...whether they had ever seen one or not! Much like some folks do today.
Still, a well-made Bowie is a well-balanced item that is pretty handy in the field.
Ron
(This is said as a joke, Baldtaco, my friend!
I once had Mike Quade (Arrowhead Forge) out of Dakota make me a knife according to the description that Rezin Bowie gave of his "original" knife (9" straight-backed, simple wooden handle on mine). I found it to be an excellent camp knife and all-around great chopper! I wound up selling it to a friend, and have regretted it ever since!
