Bill Siegle
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2000
- Messages
- 6,808
I have always been a fan of Bowie knives in almost any form and the bigger the better 
This past year I was blessed with being at the OKCA show where the legendary Forrest Bowie was on display. The Forrest Bowie for those that don't know is the knife most likely to have been the one Jim Bowie used at the famous Sandbar duel. I was inspired to make a variation of my own and this is what I came up with. I matched the original dimensions as best I could interpreting from pics I took and online references. This is 17in overall with a 12inch blade. I used natural linen micarta for the scales and secured them with flared stainless steel tubes and epoxy. Weight wise it is just shy of 21oz. Now most know how Jim Bowie used his knife to kill an opponent who had shot him and stabbed him with a sword cane, but many do not know how he got the knife. As I understand the story is that Jim's brother, Rezin, owned the knife first and gave it to Jim after he had cut his hand when he killed a wild bull with the knife! Yes Rezin killed a bull with a knife but Jim gets all the fame Anyway, Rezin made/had made himself another design using a full guard and gave the first knife to Jim. Who knows if any of it is true but it is a very cool story and the knives are impressive for sure!!!!!! 
Original Bowie from show.
My version.
This past year I was blessed with being at the OKCA show where the legendary Forrest Bowie was on display. The Forrest Bowie for those that don't know is the knife most likely to have been the one Jim Bowie used at the famous Sandbar duel. I was inspired to make a variation of my own and this is what I came up with. I matched the original dimensions as best I could interpreting from pics I took and online references. This is 17in overall with a 12inch blade. I used natural linen micarta for the scales and secured them with flared stainless steel tubes and epoxy. Weight wise it is just shy of 21oz. Now most know how Jim Bowie used his knife to kill an opponent who had shot him and stabbed him with a sword cane, but many do not know how he got the knife. As I understand the story is that Jim's brother, Rezin, owned the knife first and gave it to Jim after he had cut his hand when he killed a wild bull with the knife! Yes Rezin killed a bull with a knife but Jim gets all the fame Anyway, Rezin made/had made himself another design using a full guard and gave the first knife to Jim. Who knows if any of it is true but it is a very cool story and the knives are impressive for sure!!!!!! Original Bowie from show.
My version.
