My Frontier Bowie

B

BubbaGump

Joined
Oct 30, 2015
Messages
322
I purchased the Frontier Bowie last. Week. I already own the Trail master and Naschez models. I paid $108 on Amazon.

I got the Frontier Bowie primarily for aesthetics. I am into cowboy action shooting and thought it would make a nice semi-period piece. In general, I have had good luck with Cold Steel. The only lemon I ever received was their Napolean Sword(their swords are nowhere near up to the same standards as their knives IMO).

I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of overall blade finish based on the description and the photos I have seen. I also head the QC could be hit or miss. I am pretty happy with my sample. Fit and finish are excellant. No loose parts. Very well done blade finish in gunmetal blue. I was actually expecting something of a more antique finish on the blade. It is relatively high gloss. I can live with that but was hoping for more of a rustic antique type finish.

Sharpness out of the box was moderate. My other two Bowie's came pretty sharp for my standards. The Frontier needed some work to get it sharp enough to cut throughout the entire blade length. The tip felt unsharpened entirely.

I do not plan on using this as a heavy duty field knife and it will be mainly a rig and showpiece for my cowboy action setup.

The Leather sheath is of good quality. The frog attachment is very sturdy and nicely done as well.

The wood handle grip is of high quality and fit and finish to the tang are excellent and flush. I only detect a very slight gap in the fit to the tang on the front. Unlike the sword, you would have to really inspect it to notice any gap. I really like the rustic look that the wood adds to the overall aesthetics of the knife.

Considering what I paid and the quality of the product I received, I would give it a 9 out of 10 in the aesthetics department. I have not used the knife in the field so cannot provide any input on how it handled. This is going to be a showpiece.

Here are some photos I took with my cell phone. The knife blends well with the blued finish on my revolver and 1873 Cimarron.

Also...the only real negative thing I have to say is probably trivial but when I opened the packaging for the knife, it wreaked. I know the grease the they ship in has an odor to it but this one smelled like something crawled up inside the package and died. It was that bad. It still smells kind of funky inside the sheath but I have aired it out and cleaned it up a bit.

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Congrats on your new acquisition ☺
Did your knife come with any paperwork in the box? Thanks in advance ☺
 
Thank you. I only asked because my first Frontier Bowie came with a British Proof Test Certificate and a Cold Steel hang tag, but my second one came with nothing (except, of course, my receipt from the dealer).
 
I didn't have anything else in the box, unless I overlooked it.

I got that certificate when I purchased one of their swords though. But I think that's just good marketing IMO. I don't think it means anything but that's just my two cents. Regardless of what the certificate says, in my case with the sword, I don't see how it could be British Proof if the pommel and hand guard falls apart from just swinging the blade after taking it out of the box. My Napoleon Saber fell apart immediately, without even using it.
 
The British Proof Test is done to the blade... Whacking it on a wood stump on each of it's four sides, and a flex testing. When I watched a video of it being done, it was done prior to the handle or guards being attached. Basically it was only a blade testing. As for the certificate being valid for a much shorter Frontier Bowie?... I don't know, but the certificate gave a date, which helped in determining when abouts the item was made. With Cold Steel having said that the Frontier was changed to 1085 from 1055 steel, the date may have helped in determining which steel a specimen likely was made from. That is why I asked you about the paperwork, since my first came with papers, while the second did not. The first was dated on the paper as Jan of 2014... Making it a definite 1055 time frame knife. The second... I am not sure.
 
Wow, these look sweet! I hadn't seen them before. Looks like a full tang construction as well, yes? Thanks for the great pictures. :thumbup:
 
What do you think of the blade geometry? Obviously it's a very wide blade, but that huge fuller takes up more than half of it, so that the edge grind must be rather steep. I wonder how it compares to a full flat grind on a Natchez Bowie or a grind with a smaller flat like the Windlass 1880 Bowie.
 
Thanks for posting good quality pics of this knife! Most of the pics of it on the Interwebz are very low quality.
And your Winchester makes me want to get a 73 to go along with my 94 and two 92s! Too bad the 1873s are so expensive. Might pick up one of those new Umarex Colt SAA airguns to relatively cheaply satiate my lust for a new cowboy gun,lol.
 
jazub said:
Wow, these look sweet! I hadn't seen them before. Looks like a full tang construction as well, yes? Thanks for the great pictures. :thumbup:
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Hi. I guess technically it would be considered a partial full tang in the sense that although the tang extends all the way to the end of the handle, it does not cover the entire width. I was pleasantly surprised with the overall quality and aesthetics though. In terms of just looks, I like it better than the Trail master and Naschez Bowie from Cold Steel that I also have. That is entirely subjective, however.
 
jeffright said:
What do you think of the blade geometry? Obviously it's a very wide blade, but that huge fuller takes up more than half of it, so that the edge grind must be rather steep. I wonder how it compares to a full flat grind on a Natchez Bowie or a grind with a smaller flat like the Windlass 1880 Bowie.
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Hi. I have the Natchez Bowie as well as the Trail Master. Yes, the primary bevel grind is a lot steeper. It's a Saber Grind I guess. The flat bevel starts right below the fuller. I don't plan on doing much work with the knife and only cut up some cardboard with it so I can't comment on how it will handle rough use. The Trail Master is built like a tank and I have done heavy work with it on wood. This knife will be mainly to accompany my western gear for cowboy action stuff.

The knife came with somewhat of a funky secondary bevel. It was sharp towards the handle but the area near the tip was almost dull. The tip, however, came pinpoint sharp. I used a wet stone to even things out and now the blade is very sharp the entire length. .
 
tholiver said:
Thanks for posting good quality pics of this knife! Most of the pics of it on the Interwebz are very low quality.
And your Winchester makes me want to get a 73 to go along with my 94 and two 92s! Too bad the 1873s are so expensive. Might pick up one of those new Umarex Colt SAA airguns to relatively cheaply satiate my lust for a new cowboy gun,lol.
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Hi. I got the Cimarron at a local gun dealer when they had a 20% off all firearms sale. They are worth the price IMO if you can land one on sale. At first I couldn't justify it but when they had the sale, I jumped. I have a Rossi M92 in 357/38 and think it's a bit more fun to shoot just because it's lighter and the action will take a lot more abuse. But for aesthetics and nostalgia, the reproductions are hard to beat. You feel like your transported back in time into an old western.
 
BubbaGump said:
Hi. Thanks. I think people would be pleasantly surprised with the Frontier Bowie if they are into a more rustic style.
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I'd like it a lot more if it didn't have that finish. I know it's nitpicky, but the whole idea of this knife, right down to the name, is that it's an old west style Bowie, then they give it that finish which makes it look anything but "frontier".
 
It does have traces of the old school bowie... But the title name also says 1917... And there is where it carries traces of the 1917 Cutlass (with a blued blade).
 
DShiflet said:
I'd like it a lot more if it didn't have that finish. I know it's nitpicky, but the whole idea of this knife, right down to the name, is that it's an old west style Bowie, then they give it that finish which makes it look anything but "frontier".
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I was expecting a more rustic finish on the blade. But the blued finish is quite well done. I like it. I think the handle and hand guard are more true to the originals and give it a frontier vibe.
 
Ain't it funny how we all carry such different tastes. DShiflet does not care too much for the polished blued finish on this model, where as I find it to be one of it's best features. I have read folks say that they don't care for this model's big deep fuller; where as I totally love it. Same with the handle being a sticking point for some... but I totally liking it. It's that whole "Different strokes for different folks" thing, which is totally cool in my book ☺Truth is, there have been very few items that I've acquired in my life that I've been totally okay with their entire design. But, the Cold Steel 1917 Frontier Bowie is one of those few things that I'd change nothing in it's formulation. I like it's attempt at being different, and think the attempt totally worked... She sure is a neat and unique Bowie knife ☺
 
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Most bowies in mass production today stick to the same script, with a few variations. The frontier definitely stands out. Whether it stands out in a good or bad way is obviously subjective.
 
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