Should I get a Hibben or Ruana Bowie

J

jsherwin

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Jan 7, 2014
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Hi,
I'm relatively new to knife collecting and looking into getting a large bowie and was wondering what everyones impression of these two different knives are. They are both well known makers and I'm pretty sure alot of you are very familiar with them.

The Ruana is listed as:
33 B-Classic Bowie
Blade:14”
Blade Material: High carbon steel that is hammer forged, 3/8” stock, with parry strip.
Handle: 5 3⁄4”; brass guard, elk antler with brass rivet and recessed brass butt cap.
Comes with a Standard Bowie Sheath.
Price: $1,680

The Gil Hibben bowie:
Alamo Bowie.
Blade:13 3/4" by 1/4" thick.
Blade Material: Mirror polished 440C stainless steel
Handle: brass guard, brass blade catcher, and a Macassar Ebony handle. The guard is stamped with the lone star of Texas and Jim Bowie's initials.19 3/4 inches in overall length including it's 13 3/4 inch long by 1/4 inch thick blade.
Comes with antique brown handcrafted leather sheath topped with a star medallion.
Price: $1,550.00

I'm just really curious to see which blade you like better, even though "like" can mean different things to different people. Maybe some thoughts about the collectability of these knives, overall impressions of the makers, knife construction quality. Would you definitley prefer one over the other?

Anyway, any thoughts or comments would be of great interest. If you had any suggestions about other large bowie makers that would be great too.
Thanks.
 
In this type of knife, I'd go for Ruana's forged bowie without hesitation.

Hibben's is too much of a fantasy piece, made by stock removal (nothing wrong with that, but this kind of knife just asks to be forged) from 440C.

Since you're asking for other makers, I'll recommend Daniel Winkler. He forges beautiful blades, and I love the style of his knives.

bowietooled_bg.jpg


If you like something more refined looking, then Don Hanson's work might appeal to you.

Best-fixed-chicago-9-06.jpg
 
I already have the Hibben so now I would go for Ruana:)
I personally prefer stock removal ( Hibben)for this reason:
The steel is well taken care of in the factory and the properties are evenly spread through the knife unlike forging which is kind of gamble to me. There is generally nothing wrong with forging the knife but in this modern days when we can precisely control properties going in to the steel I think its unnecessary step with no benefits for the final product .

Quote from Carter Town
High carbon steel is generally harder and will hold an edge longer but it will rust if not maintained. Stainless steel has traditionally been a little softer but pretty much maintenance-free. Modern alloys are changing everything and new stainless steels are every bit as good as traditional carbon steels. If you are buying a collector piece for investment or an art knife, it really doesn't matter since the knife will probably never be used anyway.

Forged vs. Stock Removal: There is a never-ending debate about which is best. In my opinion, after doing a lot of research, it really doesn't matter. One is as good as the other if properly done. For clarification, hand forging means the knifemaker heats a steel billet and hammers out a blade on an anvil or using a trip hammer. A "stock remover" buys steel that has been forged in a factory and cut into bars which the knifemaker then cuts and grinds into a blade. Some people simply prefer a hand forged blade as an example of the knifemaker's skill in forging. Even the grinding process itself varies among knifemakers. Some use jigs to perfectly align the blade to the grinding wheel or grinding belt to insure perfectly straight and even grind lines. Others like Gil Hibben and myself grind freehand using no guides or jigs. As far as grinding, there is a variety of styles for grinding a blade as well as a variety of ways to bevel an edge. There are hollow grinds, flat grinds, convex grinds and chisel grinds. Each has it's own attributes and users often have their own preferences depending upon the knifes intended use.

So at the end I would say this: Get the one you like more and if u collector get the one u think will appreciate more in the future .
 
I don't have one of their bowies but bought a 26 for my heavy hunting knife You wont be sorry to order a ruana They r heavy duty for sure plus great steel made one at a time Jake
 
Thanks alot for everyones responses regarding the Hibben and Ruana bowies, and hand forging versus stock removal. Don Hanson and Daniel Winkler knives are looking fantastic as well. Thanks for your perspectives, this gives me some things to think about.
 
I like the Ruana design better, particularly the guard. In addition, Ruana will probably hold its worth, not sure about the Hibben. You don't say if its a wall hanger or a user. If you are going to use it, then I'd say make sure you can hold it before you buy it or return it. Feel in the hand is a big variable with any knife but particularly big bowies.
 
That's easy:
If you want looks: for the price you can find pieces much nicer than either.
If you want function: they are way overpriced both.
If you want name: go with Hibben.

:)
 
Poez said:
That's easy:
If you want looks: for the price you can find pieces much nicer than either.
If you want function: they are way overpriced both.
If you want name: go with Hibben.

:)
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Hey maybe he likes the simple look I sure do ;)

Let's face it those are huge knives. There is not much u can do with either one :-) for long time. The Hibben is heavy blade and I can't see my self work with that knife for more than 10 swings :D unless of course you are bigger and stronger guy than me :D (6'3" 200 pounds I use to hit gym a lot)
The Ruana has similar specs so I'm guessing similar weight .
I Like the look of Hibben much better plus I think it will hold it's value much better but that's just me.

Also holding the Hibben in your hands = priceless. It always makes me smile :-)

or
Take your money and make yourself knife in Hibben shop like me only like $995 and pick steel u want, It will make you appreciate the knife even more.
QgYObBQ.jpg



jobasha11 said:
I think you may have your prices wrong.
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? No he has it right u got it wrong ;)
 
jobasha11 said:
When i see the name Hibben, I think 50$ budk. I probably should have researched a bit before commenting. I apologize.
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This kind of got me to thinking about something. Since Gil Hibben has some of his designs being produced by United Cutlery, I looked on United's website and found a "Gil Hibben Old West Bowie" going for much much cheaper (almost 10 times cheaper). It looks almost identical (just looking at the pictures) to an original Hibben. Here's a picture of the two side-by-side: the one from Gil Hibbens site and the one from United Cutlery site:



In anyones eyes, does this take away at all from the value of the orginal Hibben knife? I mean, the orignal Hibben has not changed, it's just as it was before, but does peoples "perception" of Hibben change because a lot replicas are being produced? On the other hand, if your knives are so popular that people are making replicas of them, I guess maybe that is a good thing and just reinforces that you have great knives because people want them even if they are replicas. Not sure how I feel about this.
 
No. Gil's knives hold their value. For some models, i believe the popularity of the production version incresed the value of the custom. That united knife doesn't have that sweet hibben grind.
 
SENGVIN said:
I don't know much about Ruanas but I like this one a lot.
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Ruana is just a great American brand thats been around a long time. Classic. Historically significant. I believe Rudy Ruana started making knives in the late 1930s. Think "Randall," but a little less known.
 
SENGVIN said:
Hey maybe he likes the simple look I sure do ;)

Let's face it those are huge knives. There is not much u can do with either one :-) for long time. The Hibben is heavy blade and I can't see my self work with that knife for more than 10 swings :D unless of course you are bigger and stronger guy than me :D (6'3" 200 pounds I use to hit gym a lot)
The Ruana has similar specs so I'm guessing similar weight .
I Like the look of Hibben much better plus I think it will hold it's value much better but that's just me.

Also holding the Hibben in your hands = priceless. It always makes me smile :-)

or
Take your money and make yourself knife in Hibben shop like me only like $995 and pick steel u want, It will make you appreciate the knife even more.
QgYObBQ.jpg




? No he has it right u got it wrong ;)
Click to expand...

How many custom Hibbens do you have? :D Could you post a picture of the front of this knife as well? Don't think I've seen it before. Looks similar to the one you've posted with the logo you've got in your avatar in the handle, but no sawback and a different handle.
 
jsherwin said:
I mean, the orignal Hibben has not changed, it's just as it was before, but does peoples "perception" of Hibben change because a lot replicas are being produced? On the other hand, if your knives are so popular that people are making replicas of them, I guess maybe that is a good thing and just reinforces that you have great knives because people want them even if they are replicas. Not sure how I feel about this.
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Also there is a lot of people (even here) that don't know the difference between UC vs G.Hibben custom. I think the idea behind all this was to get amazing Gil's customs to general public. But it got out of hand and with ever retailer who is selling GH replica and referring them as Gil Hibben originals people automatically associate Hibben knives with Chines/ Taiwan junk :D There is many others knife makers that are doing the same thing but they don't let the mass produce company call their knives with their names. But than again they are not that famous either :D So who knows what is the best way to do it ...
 
jac_solar said:
How many custom Hibbens do you have? :D Could you post a picture of the front of this knife as well? Don't think I've seen it before. Looks similar to the one you've posted with the logo you've got in your avatar in the handle, but no sawback and a different handle.
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This one is mine :D I made it in Gil's shop ( He helped me a little( Ok maybe a lot)) When I design it I took blade & Guard from Rambo III rescue And the handle from my favorite Treeman knife :D and i put it all together but that is secret:)

Also I'm not sure I have picture of it from the front Also I'm putting new edge on it and because it is cpm D2 I had to order Diamond Lansky set because it took me like 2 1/2h to sharpen only like 1/2" of the blade on regular Lansky :D

Check this one out there is most of my Hibben knives :-)
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1145400-Please-check-my-new-website-)-Knife-Circle
 
SENGVIN said:
This one is mine :D I made it in Gil's shop ( He helped me a little( Ok maybe a lot)) When I design it I took blade & Guard from Rambo III rescue And the handle from my favorite Treeman knife :D and i put it all together but that is secret:)

Also I'm not sure I have picture of it from the front Also I'm putting new edge on it and because it is cpm D2 I had to order Diamond Lansky set because it took me like 2 1/2h to sharpen only like 1/2" of the blade on regular Lansky :D

Check this one out there is most of my Hibben knives :-)
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1145400-Please-check-my-new-website-)-Knife-Circle
Click to expand...

That's awesome. Nice site too! :D
 
jobasha11 said:
When i see the name Hibben, I think 50$ budk. I probably should have researched a bit before commenting. I apologize.
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This is the problem I have with Hibben's stuff though. I don't want to spend 1k plus on a blade that your average Joe is going to associate with the garbage in a BudK catalog.

That said, he does make some incredible stuff. Seeing his blades as a kid is probably the reason I'm still knife obsessed today... that bastard.
 
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