HI Bowie history?

Gator97

Gator97

Joined
Apr 10, 2000
Messages
3,794
Hi All,

Does anyone know and remember how did that blade came to being? SPecial order? Forumite design? I tried to search cantina, but no success.
 
IIRC, wasn't Cobalt behind that?

Before my time, but that's the name that came to mind. If you're smart you'll trust my memory less than I do and I don't trust it at all. ;)
 
Very cool, that is my drawing of the AK Bowie when I sent it to Bill. I didn't know that someone had scanned it in and posted it. :)
 
Good find Gator! Missed that in my many hours of searching AK bowie.
In fact, just about everything I have needed to know is there with the search function. Must admit, my interaction on the forum has suffered because of this.
But - even as a chronic lurker, I still appreciate the ambience
in the cantina.
In fact, scanning the archives makes you realize even the irascible old buggers here, have hearts of gold :D
The combined knowledge & the will to share it is awe inspiring!!!
I salute you all.
 
Yeah. Had I of known that Cobalt didn't like clip points the HI AK Bowie would have looked completely different.:(

And then it might've been a knife that I liked well enough to keep around.
After this fiasco with the 17" Foxy Follies and trying to get them right I doubt I ever do another special order, but I learned long ago to never say never.:rolleyes: :p ;)
 
Yvsa said:
After this fiasco with the 17" Foxy Follies and trying to get them right I doubt I ever do another special order, but I learned long ago to never say never.:rolleyes: :p ;)
Click to expand...

If you don't, I might. I've got a couple of ideas. There are some things that HI no longer makes that I want (katar, anyone?) and one or two new things that I'd like to see. (Yes, I still want a kora.)
 
Yvsa said:
Yeah. Had I of known that Cobalt didn't like clip points the HI AK Bowie would have looked completely different.:(

And then it might've been a knife that I liked well enough to keep around.
After this fiasco with the 17" Foxy Follies and trying to get them right I doubt I ever do another special order, but I learned long ago to never say never.:rolleyes: :p ;)
Click to expand...


Yes, Yvsa, your right, I was dissapointed when it came out the way it did instead of the way I designed it on that drawing. Those are even my notes on the drawing. I forgot all about that. But it does not matter. I think you would have liked my design better as well. But no use either of us crying over spilled milk. Your heart was in the right place.
 
Cobalt, You deserve a place in HI history. I'm kidding and completely serious too. I learned about the story behind this several months ago when you posted about it. It was fascinating. Please email Yangdu about the Bowie, as I think she has a couple of questions that you would find interesting.

Thank You.

munk
 
Munk, If I can be of help, I would be more than willing to speak to Yangdu. But I am not sure what questions it is that she would have that I could answer. But like I said, I am more than happy to answer emails. battlemistress@aol.com

As for my place in HI history, I don't think that is an issue. The Bowie and the 18 inch AK were both my ideas, but if I had not requested them, eventually someone else would have, I am sure of that, so I think my part in HI history is minimal at best.
 
Cool :)
So what's the story, Cobalt made the sketch, then Yvsa made wooden proto? All that in 1999?
 
Ok, here is the low down. I emailed Uncle Bill and asked him if the shop (at the time it was just Shop 1) could make me a straight 15 inch AK like a Bowie with a full tang. I wanted the exact same blade profile as the AK but just in a straight handle. Bill liked the idea as did Rusty and several others. Bill asked me to make a drawing of what I envisioned, so I did. I mailed it to him. I also wanted removable handles so I told Bill I would look for the screws to be able to do this I found them ordered a 100 pairs or so and had them shipped directly to Bill. But it appears that they were not right, so they were never used. In any case, I was on the road for business a lot and was not able to keep up with what was going on at the time, but knew it was in capable hands. At some point Bill got Yvsa's input and they decided that a clip would be needed. I missed that part as I was gone. In any case I received mine and it was very nice and about as sturdy as any knife could ever be. It had a clip point and I was dissapointed about that due to my own personal taste. Had it come like I designed I would have kept it. Still a great knife, I just don't care for clip points.

timeline wise I am not sure if this was before or after I asked Bill, if they could make me an 18 inch AK after I nearly almost severed my shin with the 22 inch AK which actually measured out to 23.5 inches. I found that if I took a full force swing with the 22 ncher, if I missed my target, I could not slow it down fast enough to miss my shins, I had to pulll my leg out of the way, In any case, thats another story.
 
So Cobalt if you had a 15" AK straightened out sorta like the Thai knife, the center one, in Howards pic it would have been what you wanted?
I sure wish Bill would've told me that then I could've made the model true to your vision and maybe we would've both been happy.
I know a lot of guys swear by and love the AK Bowie but I never was a real fan even though I did make the model.
CIMG1921.JPG
 
No, that middle one has to much of a recurve. If you look at the drawing it was more of a typical straight blade. Not much recurve and no clip. In fact the only difference between my design and the actual one was the clip otherwise it is exactly the way I had designed it. Back then I probably could have asked Bill to make me another one with no clip, but I did not want to add to any confusion or show any dissapointment after all the work he would go through to make whatever anyone wanted.
 
How, exactly, did the clip point get added to your design, Cobalt?

Oh, another question: You said the 18" AK was your idea. Was there a AK already, but no 18" ??

Thanks,
munk
 
Munk,
there was the 15 inch AK and there was the 22 inch AK which was actually more like 22.5 to 23.5 inches long. The only 18 incher at the time was the sirupati, that I can remember. I had all of those. I determined that the 22 incher was to large for my purposes of swinging at full speed in a downward stroke and possibly missing, so I asked Bill if shop 1 could make me an 18 inch AK, he said no problem. I am not sure if anyone concurrently had the same idea, but no one voiced it before me, not that it matters, anyway. Not to long after that Bill added an 18 inch WWII to the ineup as well, I think.

As for the clip on the Bowie, I am pretty sure Yvsa added that, to his regret it appears now that I see his post on this thread. It seems like after the fact he wished he would not have added the clip to the knife design.
 
Also, I remember Cliff S getting one of those and I think it became one of his prefered chopping tools as he used it to compare to every big blade he tested.
 
Yvsa, after rereading your post, I have to say that the clip is probably what made that knife popular. I am not sure if my design would have been as popular since it did not look like a typical Bowie with a clip. But I know you and I would have liked it more :)
 
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