I ordered a discontinued CASE Bowie that I had no idea even existed, (Case Rio Grande Camp Knife)...

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

Joined
Aug 4, 2013
Messages
3,989
While perusing all sorts of knife wares online, I ran across a fixed blade model that Case use to make that had somehow never come across my radar screen.
The model is the Case 'Rio Grande Camp Knife', and it was based on a 1800's historical spear point Bowie knife.
Anyhow, the picture here is not of the knife I have coming, but it is the exact same model.
I guess they made a few variations, (different handle materials, and with/without blade etchings).
I don't believe they made all too many of them overall, but really can't find much online about them.
In any "Case", any further information you folks can share here with me about them, will be greatly appreciated 👍😊👍

My incoming specimen was listed as being in near mint condition with sheath, but with no original box.

The pictures did seem to show it having a tapered tang, and if it does have that feature, it's a nice touch that I like to see on a full tang Bowie knife 😊

download~2.jpg
 
Last edited:
Looks like a kephart (not a bowie) to me.

The kephart is not my favorite blade shape which typically comes in shorter lengths with a blunter tip, which makes it look like a butter knife to me.

This blade is longer than others and has a more defined tip than other kepharts that I've seen and I like it better.

I'd prefer a different handle but it's still very nice! Congrats! 🥳
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys, I thought it looked very unique for a Case 😊

In today's view, a Bowie is almost always thought of as having a clip point blade. But, in the actual era during the 1800's when Bowie knives were most popular and carried, a big knife of almost any blade shape, including spear point blades, would be called a "Bowie knife"...

"In the mid-19th century, when the popularity of the knife was at its peak, the term was applied to a wide range of blades."

Here is the most "infamous" specimen of a 'Rio Grande Camp Knife'...

Screenshot_20220824-152014_(1).png

CONTENTdm

hdl.huntington.org hdl.huntington.org
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
Legendary_Jarl said:
Not a big fan of bowies and I'm a bit confused because I thought bowie was synonymous with clip point. That knife looks very nice though!
Click to expand...

Here is how the Bowie is described on AG Russell' website...

BOWIE
There are various styles of knives considered by many to be “Bowie knives”. The most common and accepted is one with a large (8-14") Clip point blade with a Double Swedge, sometimes sharpened and sometimes a False Edge. It is believed that James Black made a knife of this type for James Bowie. Legends of Bowie’s exploits with his knife grew, popularizing the term "Bowie Knife". The second most common Bowie blade style is the Spearpoint. A good example is the Rio Grand Camp Knife.
 
I've continued my searching online to try and find more information about these Case Rio Grande Camp Knives, but have thus far turned up very little on them.
That said, I did find an online vendor that was selling some Case blades and guards that were used to produce this model. Their pictures of the blade does show them to have a tapered tang 👍

s-l1600 (5).jpgs-l1600 (3).jpg

Here's a Wostenholm IXL Bowie that I own having a tapered tang...

20211124-163858-1_(1).jpg20211124-185233-1.jpg

And here is my Boker Arbolito 'El Gigante' that also has a tapered tang...

20210730-103653-HDR-1-1.jpg20210730-103848-1.jpg

Tapered tangs are more commonly found on quality Custom made fixed blade knives, but pretty rare on modern factory production knives.
 
Last edited:
The Case version doesn't have a tapered tang in the tradition meaning, the width of the handle does narrow some, Bowie Style Hunter style. These were mainly in Stag or Buffalo Horn, supposedly limited to #1000 of each. Case #1011, announced in Blade magazine Aug 1990.

At the time, there was sort of a Rio Grande craze with custom makers offering them, and Blackjack also introducing the Moran/Warner version a few months earlier. Dixie Gun Works also offered a nice Japanese version - https://picclick.com/RIO-GRANDE-CAMP-KNIFE-by-DIXIE-GUN-WORKS-323146205844.html .

Case also had lots of blanks left, so you'll see lunchbox specials or customized versions of these sometimes. I've been tempted to but a blank and have it done up in pearl or Tortoise shell celluloid.

Edit - I guess it does have a mild taper, it's been a while since I held one.
 
tltt said:
The Case version doesn't have a tapered tang in the tradition meaning, the width of the handle does narrow some, Bowie Style Hunter style. These were mainly in Stag or Buffalo Horn, supposedly limited to #1000 of each. Case #1011, announced in Blade magazine Aug 1990.

At the time, there was sort of a Rio Grande craze with custom makers offering them, and Blackjack also introducing the Moran/Warner version a few months earlier. Dixie Gun Works also offered a nice Japanese version - https://picclick.com/RIO-GRANDE-CAMP-KNIFE-by-DIXIE-GUN-WORKS-323146205844.html .

Case also had lots of blanks left, so you'll see lunchbox specials or customized versions of these sometimes. I've been tempted to but a blank and have it done up in pearl or Tortoise shell celluloid.

Edit - I guess it does have a mild taper, it's been a while since I held one.
Click to expand...

I downloaded the following picture from the sale of my incoming Case knife, and, yes, it actually does show it to have a tapered tang...

s-l400~2_(1).jpg
 
Last edited:
"This is a very fine copy of the William Jackson Bowies from the mid 19th century, made infamous as the knives carried by Booth and his cohorts in the Lincoln assassination. These were made by Case in the US and date from the 1980s to early 1990s and are long out of production."

Found this which I think is already mentioned in one of the links you shared...
 
Legendary_Jarl said:
"This is a very fine copy of the William Jackson Bowies from the mid 19th century, made infamous as the knives carried by Booth and his cohorts in the Lincoln assassination. These were made by Case in the US and date from the 1980s to early 1990s and are long out of production."

Found this which I think is already mentioned in one of the links you shared...
Click to expand...

If you don't mind, please share that link you found the above info on here 👍
 
Last edited:
That Case is a beauty!
You have good taste sir!

The slight taper on the tang helps with getting the guard on :)



Some more bowie related reading....
bowieknifefightsfighters.blogspot.com

Jim Bowie's Sandbar Fight

The topic of "document dumps" has been much in the news lately, so I thought I'd dump a large document from my own files. This is an article...
bowieknifefightsfighters.blogspot.com bowieknifefightsfighters.blogspot.com

truewestmagazine.com

Fighting Blades of the Frontier

“They say my bowie knife is keen to sliver into halves The carcass of my enemy, as butchers slay their calves.” These two bloodthirsty lines satirized
truewestmagazine.com truewestmagazine.com

www.nytimes.com

PEDRO, THE SKILLED CUTLER; ONE OF THE ROMANCES OF LIFE IN NEW-ORLEANS YEARS AGO. His Little Shop in Royal Street, Where He Made Moat Wonderful Bowie Knives, Daggers, and Surgical In- struments -- His Life Surrounded by Mystery, Which Was Finally Solv

Romance Recalled
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top