What should a Bowie Knife be in 2026?

Shawn, do you want to see any images of work, or only descriptions. I only have two, so it's not really my area of expertise by any measure.

Personally, I like a "smallish" Bowie with a clip. (Something with in the area of a five inch blade.) But I also have one full size forged version as well.
 
Blues said:
Shawn, do you want to see any images of work, or only descriptions. I only have two, so it's not really my area of expertise by any measure.

Personally, I like a "smallish" Bowie with a clip. (Something with in the area of a five inch blade.) But I also have one full size forged version as well.
Click to expand...
Both work.

Yeah I just wanted to see where bladeforums is at as a consensus of opinions.

I've been geeking out pretty hard on Bowie knives and using the search feature to read discussions from the past.

I thought it would be neat to see where things are at today with people's opinions.
 
This is mine for 2026. It has returned from heat treatment and just needs finishing.
8670 for toughness and just the right amount of corrosion resistance (none).
Long clip, recurve, Spanish notch. Blade will be etched slightly dark. Light colored Amboyna burl, and blackened steel, subhilt handle construction.
PXL_20250928_190436670~2.jpg
 
Richard338 said:
This is mine for 2026. It has returned from heat treatment and just needs finishing.
8670 for toughness and just the right amount of corrosion resistance (none).
Long clip, recurve, Spanish notch. Blade will be etched slightly dark. Light colored Amboyna burl, and blackened steel, subhilt handle construction.
View attachment 3165489
Click to expand...
That's badass, nice curves, more of a martial arts focus?
 
I think a Bowie "should" look like this:

1000026749.jpg

But I've seen lots of fantastic Bowie knives with notable variations. Tony Mont, Nick Wheeler, Ben Seward, Jerry Fisk, and Bill Bagwell come to mind for makers known for their Bowie knives, although there are many others doing great work. I'd be tickled pink to own a knife from any of them.

The W49 is also pretty hard to beat.

1000017098.jpg
I was surprised to find how relatively thin the bladestock is on the W49. You'd think a Bowie that big would be chunky, but it's quite the opposite. It's still tough and the broad blade chops and slices very well.

I also really like Cold Steel's Bowies. The Recon Scout is handy, but the Trail Master is my most used Bowie to date. I tend to gravitate to larger Bowies: if I'm going to carry a Bowie I'd might as well make it count.

1000015980.jpg

1000004033.jpg

As for steel types, something tough that holds a good edge for a long time. I've been happy with O1, 52100, Carbon V (1076-B, I think?), and 3V so far so something of that ilk would work. I'll bet AEB-L would do great.

A classic coffin handle and sharpened swedge is a winning combination.

1000002229.jpg
 
Last edited:
oldmanwilly said:
I think a Bowie "should" look like this:

View attachment 3165474

But I've seen lots of fantastic Bowie knives with notable variations. Tony Mont, Nick Wheeler, Ben Seward, Jerry Fisk, and Bill Bagwell come to mind for makers known for their Bowie knives, although there are many others doing great work. I'd be tickled pink to own a knife from any of them.

The W49 is also pretty hard to beat.

View attachment 3165490
I was surprised to find how relatively thin the bladestock is on the W49. You'd think a Bowie that big would be chunky, but it's quite the opposite. It's still tough and the broad blade chops and slices very well.

I also really like Cold Steel's Bowies. The Recon Scout is handy, but the Trail Master is my most used Bowie to date. I tend to gravitate to larger Bowies: if I'm going to carry a Bowie I'd might as well make it count.

View attachment 3165492

View attachment 3165495

As for steel types, something tough that holds a good edge for a long time. I've been happy with O1, 52100, Carbon V (1070B, I think?), and 3V so far so something of that ilk would work. I'll bet AEB-L would do great.

A classic coffin handle and sharpened swedge is a winning combination.

View attachment 3165496
Click to expand...
Yeah that's a good point. You don't see too many of these in AEB-L.

Yeah, those are some amazing makers I agree.

Thanks for sharing that image of the Edwin Forest Bowie. I didn't realize it had a badass tapered tang.
 
This thread certainly contains a multitude of Bowies and it's just nice to drift on down through and view them too ;)

Richard338

Thread 'John White MS Memorial Best Bowie Archive'

John White MS was a maker of superb Bowies and was an active member of Blade Forums and a friend to many.
For several years now, there has been an annual Best Bowie competition held in his honor.
Searching for "John White Best Bowie" will locate several of those threads, but some of the images have since been lost.
This thread will archive the finalists for the competitions held since 2019, and will serve as a place to admire those great pieces.
I will try to keep the competition going and keep updating this thread with the finalists for each year.
First a quick recap of the rules followed...
  • Like

as well as this great thread too

i4Marc

Thread 'Bowies, Choppers, Camp Knives, Fighters and other Large Fixed Blades!'

This thread is for posting Bowies, choppers, camp knives, fighters and other large fixed blade knives that would qualify for the John White MS Memorial BEST BOWIE Thread.

The knives can be unveiled elsewhere but must be made in the current year. Images can be of your work or someone else's. Please credit the maker with any images posted.


Examples can be found here:

John White MS Memorial Best Bowie Archive

John White MS was a maker of superb Bowies and was an active member of Blade Forums and a friend to many. For several years now, there has been an annual Best Bowie competition held in his honor. Searching for "John White Best Bowie" will locate several of those threads, but some of the images...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
  • Like

G2
 
Last edited:
eveled said:
The Bowie knife is lost to history, calling anything a Bowie is reducing history to a marketing tool.

It isn’t a tribute, it’s closer to stolen valor, maybe even cultural appropriation depending on who is doing it.
Click to expand...


Yes, there is no photographic evidence of what the original bowie knife was beyond the description written about it. Yet, it grew into a cultural phenomena bigger than even the event that it originated from.

There's a lot of things in history that are like that.

So, what would you consider to be the essence of what that was supposed to be but in 2026?
 
Gary W. Graley said:
This thread certainly contains a multitude of Bowies and it's just nice to drift on down through and view them too ;)

Richard338

Thread 'John White MS Memorial Best Bowie Archive'

John White MS was a maker of superb Bowies and was an active member of Blade Forums and a friend to many.
For several years now, there has been an annual Best Bowie competition held in his honor.
Searching for "John White Best Bowie" will locate several of those threads, but some of the images have since been lost.
This thread will archive the finalists for the competitions held since 2019, and will serve as a place to admire those great pieces.
I will try to keep the competition going and keep updating this thread with the finalists for each year.
First a quick recap of the rules followed...
  • Like

as well as this great thread too

i4Marc

Thread 'Bowies, Choppers, Camp Knives, Fighters and other Large Fixed Blades!'

This thread is for posting Bowies, choppers, camp knives, fighters and other large fixed blade knives that would qualify for the John White MS Memorial BEST BOWIE Thread.

The knives can be unveiled elsewhere but must be made in the current year. Images can be of your work or someone else's. Please credit the maker with any images posted.


Examples can be found here:

John White MS Memorial Best Bowie Archive

John White MS was a maker of superb Bowies and was an active member of Blade Forums and a friend to many. For several years now, there has been an annual Best Bowie competition held in his honor. Searching for "John White Best Bowie" will locate several of those threads, but some of the images...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
  • Like

G2
Click to expand...
Incredible
 
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