Codger_64
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The pattern name "Bowie" has many meanings. From the surviving examples of the works of Washington Post, Arkansas blacksmith James Black, Baton Rouge, Louisiana maker Daniel Searles, and on to modern movie props, the name "Bowie" has become synonomus with a large fighting knife. Since the fame of James Bowie's fight on the Natchez sandbar and his later fight to the death at the Alamo in 1836, nearly every manufacturer and custom maker has produced their own rendition of what a decendant of that famous knife should look like.
Schrade was no exception. They made several patterns marked "Bowie", from the H15 to the later "Buffalo Bill" commemorative, and likely quite a few in between. Cutlers in Sheffield England were not immune. American Western lore was quite popular there, and their knives were good sellers here. The same goes for Solligen, Germany. A brief search on Ebay will turn up over a thousand listings for a "Bowie Knife". Most are hunting knives. A few are
"Rambo" type knives. Some are mastrpieces of art and some are imported pakiwood junk. But everyone has a different idea of what comprises a bowie pattern.
One early description from 1838 says: "The first Bowie knife was made by myself....the length of the blade was 9 1/4", it's width 1 1/2", single edged and blade not curved."-Rezin P. Bowie, brother of James Bowie. He comissioned several knives for presentation from Searles and one of those in on display in the Alamo Museum in San Antonio. It has a very slightly dropped point. and a rounded wooden grip with flat silver guard, and round silver pommel. Overall, it is 15 1/2" long and weighs in at 1lb., 2 ounces, plus the silver mounted sheath.
My thoughts are that a genuine Bowie knife would be of the pattern made for him by a fellow from Hackensack, N.J. Whaaaa? James Black ran away from home in Hackensack to Philadelphia when he was a young boy. There, he apprenticed to a silversmith for thirteen years. At the ripe old age of eighteen, he took off for the western territories, setteling in the soon to be state capitol of Arkansas, Washington Post, only twelve miles at the time from Mexico. It was there that he established his blacksmith shop, mostly doing the "fine work" of building and repairing guns and knives.
As fate would have it, his shop was located on the Chihuahua trail across the way from the tavern where later Crockett, Bowie, and Travis made plans for their taking of the Mexican territory shortly to be known as the Soviergn Republic Of Texas. Bowie had just returned from a trip to the western part of that territory where he and his cohorts had been set upon by some tribe of indians. In some way his faithful butcher knife, perhaps made by Rezin, had let him down, and he spent the long ride back whittling a new knife pattern from wood. Arriving in Washington Post, he comissioned James Black to make him a new one by that pattern, then continued on East to settle some business matters. When he passed back through on his return to the Mexican Tejas territory four months later, James presented him with not one, but two knives. One made directly from the pattern Bowie had given him, and one with his own improvements. The improved version had some silver embellishments, a coffin shaped handle, and a sharpened spine on the front half of the blade. Bowie chose the latter, paid the fee, and rode off into the territory where within a few days, he was attacked by three men hired to kill
him. All three were dispached with James Black's knife, and a legend of James Black and the Bowie knife grew. Five years later Bowie and his knife wrote their last chapter in history.
James Black presented one of those knives to a young man who would one day be governor of Arkansas, Danial Webster Jones. He then presented that knife to the State Of Arkansas and it resides in a museum in Little Rock. Several more have been located, four that I have seen which museum staff agree were the works of James Black. Black wood scales, silver banded hilt, silver pins, and a long silver inlay on both sides, no guard, silver bolster, and yes, sharpend slight drop point blade of about 9 1/2", 14 1/8" overall. A man's
knife.
Codger
Schrade was no exception. They made several patterns marked "Bowie", from the H15 to the later "Buffalo Bill" commemorative, and likely quite a few in between. Cutlers in Sheffield England were not immune. American Western lore was quite popular there, and their knives were good sellers here. The same goes for Solligen, Germany. A brief search on Ebay will turn up over a thousand listings for a "Bowie Knife". Most are hunting knives. A few are
"Rambo" type knives. Some are mastrpieces of art and some are imported pakiwood junk. But everyone has a different idea of what comprises a bowie pattern.
One early description from 1838 says: "The first Bowie knife was made by myself....the length of the blade was 9 1/4", it's width 1 1/2", single edged and blade not curved."-Rezin P. Bowie, brother of James Bowie. He comissioned several knives for presentation from Searles and one of those in on display in the Alamo Museum in San Antonio. It has a very slightly dropped point. and a rounded wooden grip with flat silver guard, and round silver pommel. Overall, it is 15 1/2" long and weighs in at 1lb., 2 ounces, plus the silver mounted sheath.
My thoughts are that a genuine Bowie knife would be of the pattern made for him by a fellow from Hackensack, N.J. Whaaaa? James Black ran away from home in Hackensack to Philadelphia when he was a young boy. There, he apprenticed to a silversmith for thirteen years. At the ripe old age of eighteen, he took off for the western territories, setteling in the soon to be state capitol of Arkansas, Washington Post, only twelve miles at the time from Mexico. It was there that he established his blacksmith shop, mostly doing the "fine work" of building and repairing guns and knives.
As fate would have it, his shop was located on the Chihuahua trail across the way from the tavern where later Crockett, Bowie, and Travis made plans for their taking of the Mexican territory shortly to be known as the Soviergn Republic Of Texas. Bowie had just returned from a trip to the western part of that territory where he and his cohorts had been set upon by some tribe of indians. In some way his faithful butcher knife, perhaps made by Rezin, had let him down, and he spent the long ride back whittling a new knife pattern from wood. Arriving in Washington Post, he comissioned James Black to make him a new one by that pattern, then continued on East to settle some business matters. When he passed back through on his return to the Mexican Tejas territory four months later, James presented him with not one, but two knives. One made directly from the pattern Bowie had given him, and one with his own improvements. The improved version had some silver embellishments, a coffin shaped handle, and a sharpened spine on the front half of the blade. Bowie chose the latter, paid the fee, and rode off into the territory where within a few days, he was attacked by three men hired to kill
him. All three were dispached with James Black's knife, and a legend of James Black and the Bowie knife grew. Five years later Bowie and his knife wrote their last chapter in history.
James Black presented one of those knives to a young man who would one day be governor of Arkansas, Danial Webster Jones. He then presented that knife to the State Of Arkansas and it resides in a museum in Little Rock. Several more have been located, four that I have seen which museum staff agree were the works of James Black. Black wood scales, silver banded hilt, silver pins, and a long silver inlay on both sides, no guard, silver bolster, and yes, sharpend slight drop point blade of about 9 1/2", 14 1/8" overall. A man's
knife.
Codger
