Hells Bells style stand-in Bowie knife??

[JTmisterknifeguy]

So guys,
It's roughly 15 yrs ago, I'm a teen whos more into blades than anyone in my circle of influence thought should be. I get an older catalog of BQM (brigade quartermaster) or something like it, and lo and behold, along with the cold steel tantos, and SOG seal teams, I see the Bagwell Bowie line by Ontario... I was in love with my true blade crush.
Fast forward, I've grown a bit older and (hopefully) wiser, but I still can't shake that first itch to own/hold a Bagwell Bowie (or a close facsimile) for my own.
I know they been out of production for years (amazingly, I hear they didn't do too well) and are yet painfully difficult to find on the secondary market commanding a value of several hundred dollars.

I've been combing the interwebs looking for a slim/long clip point Bowie that's somewhat more designed for fighting, as opposed to bushcraft, or batoning ironwood.
The only close ones I've found are the Laredo and Natchez, both by Cold Steel.
Are they the only production made fightin' Bowie game in town???
Seems like it.
Please, enlighten me guys!
-JT

 

[Ebbtide]

Ontario Hell's Belles?
They show up here in the classifieds now and then.
In the last 3 months there were two.

Keep your eyes open and be patient.

 

[JTmisterknifeguy]

You kind of make my point brother.
I know they're out there, (especially on the site that sounds like pig Latin when you say it) but they're still quite spendy.
I'm curious as to whether there's anything like them being currently produced by a knife company.
For the price of a second hand hells bells, I could almost have a lower level (No snazzy Damascus or mammoth ivory) custom made Bowie. If I got an original or the real deal made by B. Bagwell himself, I'd also never likely use it for ANYTHING as it'd be a safe queen.

 

[Ebbtide]

From another thread here,
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1355732-First-snakeskin-inlay-sheath
I said "When the OBHB's first came out I believed the steel snobs and didn't grab one right away.
Then to my surprise they were discontinued.
So I was determined to save up for the real deal Bagwell custom...
When I did that I didn't pull the trigger.... too many hobbies... couldn't put all my eggs in one basket...
The hunt turned to the aftermarket and they OBHBs were really pricey.
If one came up at a fair price it was snatched up with record speed.
At the end of the summer I got lucky and clicked on the FS section at the right moment. And... I had the money to spend.

Kinda like fishing... patience counts..."

The price I paid, if (roughly) adjusted for inflation, the same as new.
The knife came with all of the associated items, box, papers, sheath, original wrapping.
Essentially it was NIB or New Old Stock.

IIRC the other went for less than I paid.
The knife was the fortress model and had no box.
A helluva buy though.

A quick google search put the MSRP at the time of production at $299.

Also found this on the same search from 2013

My advice to anyone who wants to get one of these is to hand pick it if at all possible. When hand picked for proper grinds, fit and finish, it will most likely be worth the price you’ll end up paying buying it in person (MSRP is over $300, so buying from Brick & Mortar shops is most likely going to be somewhere around that).
If you are going to buy online/sight un-seen, I would offer this, don’t pay more than $200. I got this one, New In Box, for $185 via the Sale forums on BladeForums.com and am pleased with the purchase and the cost.

Now whether those are good prices to you or not, well, that's up to you.

As for customs, I've got a bunch. But for that kind of money I think you'll have to settle for something more along the lines of guard less single ground 'butcher' type bowie.

Maybe a Western W49 with the Bagwell mods done to it?

$70 here on the forum and a good amount of elbow grease

Or a Western 46-8?

$60 here on the forums and a smaller amount of elbow grease.

Both Westerns were in 'rough' shape. But well worth the effort.