Newbie.... In search of first Bowie and better understanding of Blades.

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slyfox

Joined
Mar 22, 2010
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Hello fellow knife lovers. I am excited to have found this site, but a bit overwhelmed at all the information here! Looking forward to reading the Archives.

I'll try to keep this short and sweet:

1) Looking for my first Bowie Knife. I was considering the CS Laredo Bowie, but have read some negative remarks about CS. I am not familiar with many knife manufacturers, aside from the usual...KABAR, SOG, CASE, BUCK, Cold Steel and the like. I tend to prefer traditional knives with leather sheaths as opposed to the Tactical Knives (though I like some Tacti-cools!). Any recommendations on a traditional Bowie knife that is in the $150 range (should I be looking to pay more for a decent Bowie?).

2) Stainless vs. Carbon for small knives. I know that carbon is preferred for swords, but is Stainless OK for knives? I'm sure this has been covered somewhere in the archives, so if anyone can provide a link I would appreciate it!

3) I do not have many knives, but I want to change that! I would like to get educated and be able to buy some good quality blades....... With that said, here is what I have:

1- Case Ridge back
1- Buck 110
1- Buck Pathfinder

Any of these truly worth keeping? Replace them with what?

I look forward to learning from each and everyone of you!

Thanks!

SlyFoX
 
1) Not sure what you intend to do with the Bowie. If it's primarily for lookin' at or fondling, I suspect the Cold Steel would be just fine. Atlanta Cutlery and other dealers sell historic recreations of varying authenticity - make interesting display pieces. For a better quality user knife, Case and Bark River have some that might be suitable.

2) Stainless vs Carbon... I prefer a nice carbon steel blade, one that will patina with age and take a nice edge without too much work. That's of secondary importance though to the knive's design; with most knives you don't get a choice, it's either offered in stainless or in carbon.

3) I'm not familiar with that particular Case knife model, but the two Buck knives you own are excellent.

Welcome to BladeForums!
 
I'd go with cold steels Trailmaster, but it just depends on your uses for the knife. But the one i mentioned for the money your talking is one of the best. :thumbup:
 
WELCOME. I brought a linder Kentucky Bowie a few years back and am very pleased with it , stag handle scales ,440c stainless blade which was very sharp, and good sheath. Well worth looking at linders site and other soligen, German made blades. FARON
 
1. I'd look into Bark River or Blackjack. very high quality bowies, not that pricey. maybe a touch more than you're looking to spend but they arent that bad.

2. bowies can get pretty long, stainless is great for a folder, but for something that long imo a non stainless steel is better. like say, A2 :D

3. no comment, decide for yourself if you want to keep them.
 
Look for a BlackJack Shinning Mountain Bowie, big bad and beautiful. I just picked one up and holy moly is that thing a BOWIE. keepem sharp
 
I have a CS Laredo. It's indestructable.
The flak that Cold Steel takes is largely due to their aggressive, lizard-brained marketing techniques. There are few who dispute that they make good knives.

I would actually take the Laredo over the other options. Those are good knives, but few can make a big, badass bowie like Cold Steel can.
 
welcome slyfox you are in the right place to learn just about anything about knives. our members stretch over the world & use knives in every environment. when you add up the experience between these guys you are talking about hundreds of thousands of years of use in the real world. before spending your money it's agood idea to spend a lot of time reading this forum & asking questions. i've never seen a querie go unanswered.have fun
 
Find an old Edgemark, I found one for around a hundred on e-bay. Hold out for the big one, it has an eight inch blade and is drop dead gorgeous!
 
Welcome to Blade Forums, Slyfox. I recently purchased a SOG Trident 2.0, a wonderful 6" bowie made from stainless steel with a micarta handle. I use this knife almost daily to cut up chickens. It keeps a good edge and is nicely balanced, a real working knife! I paid around $100 for it. There are others more expensive on my want list; next up is a Bark River bowie.
 
Scrapyard has a killer deal on one right now
http://shop.scrapyardknives.com/cat...082D229FE506B043E93.qscstrfrnt02?categoryId=4

They have very good warranty, the handle is comfortable and if I didn't just buy a Bussy, I'd be all over that. Matter of fact, if they that going for a while I'll probably buy one. The thing about those knives once they stop the production run, good luck finding one new. Talk to people in the scrapyard subforum, they'd be happy to tell you more about the blade, I heard nothing but good things about it.

You shouldn't be looking more for a descent one. That is not saying there are some great ones that are far more expensive. There are a lot of descent stuff out there and most of them will do just fine if not better.

If you have money to spend and want something functional with added bonus of a piece of mind check out the Busse BWM. That would be my personal favorite at the moment. It is still available from the company store, and not only you get great steel, you also get one of the best warranties in the business, and knowledge that your knives will not drop in price, so if you don't like your knife for any reason you can turn around and sell it, often times for a lot more then the original price. The huge downside of the Bussy knives is that they are addictive, and its a very expensive addiction to support. My knife collection is gradually getting thiner and thiner so I can get better Busse's. If you are interested go into Bussy sub-forum, but be warned it gets a little but crazy and how should I say it, emotional.
 
I would say the CS Trail Master or Laredo Bowie would be great choices for you. :)
 
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