tell me if i am wrong on this one gents

D

dans92647

Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
4
i always thought that since james bowie was always involved in very mean knife fights,that he talked about this supposedly best knife fighter in those days that sported a knife called the arkansas toothpick and it was the size of a small sword and sharpened on both sides like a dagger and both he and jim had their left arms tied together and a ring on the floor of a tavern was drawn and the only rule was not to slash the tied-up arms.this story came from a 19th century history book.let me know if i am wrong or not on this deminsion of the arkansas toothpick.also,james was involved in another fight near the present day site of galveston,texas and before it became a settlement.both men were to sit on a huge log and have there breeches nailed down and on a count,both started flailing away at each other.dan
 
It was a huge alligator they had there breeches nailed to before they began flailing away.Just try to get a general consensus on where he was born and you'll get an argument. :DWelcome to BladeForums. :)
 
Welcome to Bladeforums. I assure you that I don't know if there is any controversy over these things, but on bladeforums, if there isn't, there will be... :D
 
Welcome to Bladeforums! You will find all kinds of stories about Jim Bowie in books; doesn't mean they're true....

In the 19th century the terms Bowie knife and Arkansas toothpick were used interchangeably to describe any large fighting knife. Nowadays knife collectors use Bowie knife to mean a large clip point and Arkansas toothpick to mean a large dagger (double-edged, symmetrical).
 
The life and times of Jim Bowie are utterly suffused with embellishment and outright fiction. There is consensus that he died defending the Alamo. There is consensus that he had a knife. There is consensus on little else.

Welcome to the forums!

Roger
 
He had bullet and knife wounds probably healed,maybe not and he was a Colonel in the militia.
 
If you want to find out the most updated and accurate information on Bowie, talk to Dr. Jim Batson. He has spent lots of time and traveled accross the country to research his life, that's going to be the best way to find out the "facts" as best we know them to date....I think I prefer these stories over the facts... :D nailed to an alligator, I like that!!! :D
 
Let's all sing:

"JIm Bowie, Jim Bowie,
He was a fighter and mighty adventuring man.
Jim Bowie, Jim Bowie,
Battled for right with a powerful hand."

Ain't TV wonderful?!

I thought the "Original Bowie Knife" was made in Germany -- many, many times. :D


but i could be wrong i don't know for sure does anyone really know for sure? :p
 
Did I ever tell you about the time Bowie took me out to go get a drink with him? We go off looking for a bar and we can't find one. Finally Bowie takes me to a vacant lot and says, 'Here we are.' We sat there for a year and a half and sure enough someone constructs a bar around us. The day they opened we ordered a shot, drank it, and then burned the place to the ground. Bowie yelled over the roar of the flames, 'Always leave things the way you found em!
 
I thought that there was also a consensus that he had one famous knife fight that was fairly well documented. Whether he had more than one remains the question. I thought it was also mostly agreed upon that his knife did not resemble what is known these days as a "Bowie knife".
 
You guys made my day :thumbup:

I'm still laughing ... :D

Joe.

Ps. Good job Jim's not here .. he'd be upset with all these wild rumours ;)
 
HoB said:
I thought that there was also a consensus that he had one famous knife fight that was fairly well documented. Whether he had more than one remains the question. I thought it was also mostly agreed upon that his knife did not resemble what is known these days as a "Bowie knife".
Click to expand...

You are quite right. Accounts of the fight at the Vidalia Sandbar were themselves sensationalized with the re-telling, but certainly he fought and killed a combatant with a knife. My comment above was meant to be somewhat tongue in cheek - certainly a great many facts are known about Jim Bowie - but many of the more colourful accounts of his knife brandishment are pure fantasy.

Roger
 
More good reading:
Norm Flayderman's "The Bowie Knife"
Tons of history, newspaper clippings, quotes, etc.
Haven't read the whole thing...
I keep getting lost in the pictures!

If it was only a mail order catalog :D
 
HoB said:
I thought that there was also a consensus that he had one famous knife fight that was fairly well documented. Whether he had more than one remains the question. I thought it was also mostly agreed upon that his knife did not resemble what is known these days as a "Bowie knife".
Click to expand...

It all depends. LOTS of newer Bowie designs are different amongst themselves. However, there were several written accounts of Bowie's knife having a clip point and being like a large butchers knife. Many of the makers at the time started calling their knives Bowie knives regardless of the clip or not.

WYK
 
Thomas Linton said:
Let's all sing:

"JIm Bowie, Jim Bowie,
He was a fighter and mighty adventuring man.
Jim Bowie, Jim Bowie,
Battled for right with a powerful hand."

Ain't TV wonderful?!

:p
Click to expand...


My God, I thought I was the only one here old enough to remember the TV show. Can't recall the actors name though, it was Scott something. :confused:
 
jackknife said:
My God, I thought I was the only one here old enough to remember the TV show. Can't recall the actors name though, it was Scott something. :confused:
Click to expand...


Hell of a memory you have for a series the better part of fifty years ago.

Scott Forbes.
 
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