Why do bowie knives have "short" handles?

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
Messages
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Perhaps it is an optical illusion, I really don't know. However, whenever I see a picture of a bowie, I get the impression that the handle is a bit "short".

Maybe it's because I am visually comparing it to the length of the blade.

Will a slightly longer than normal handle spoil the balance and the design of the bowie?
 
Handle size is a matter of design and handle material availability.

Sambar stag, when available, is normally only 5" long so unless you have access to larger sizes you are limited to the 5" handle...plenty large enough for a decent grip but a larger handle does feel better.

The 5" size limitation comes into play for most handle materials on the cut to size market...buying in bulk and cutting yourself is a pain but it eliminates the size limitations.

I have a couple of large handled bowies on my web site (7" handles) for comparison The Ironman pattern is one of them while the Riverboat has the smaller 5" handle.

As far as balance goes these knives are intended to be slightly blade heavy for chopping.
 
Originally posted by golok

Maybe it's because I am visually comparing it to the length of the blade.
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That would be the main reason. Also, if you are looking at photo's of old historical Bowies, they really did have short handles compared to todays.
Some of those were only 31/2"-4" long. I don't think that people were THAT much smaller than today, so I really don't know the reason for their short handles.:eek: :confused:
 
This is actually something of a pet peeve of mine - when a knife, particularly a large knife, does not have enough handle. I appreciate that different design ideas as well as different hand sizes of makers can contribute to a fair degree of variation, but handle dimension is something I pay far more attention to now than before. I don't have giant mits by any measure, but on a large knife - say a 10" bladed bowie - I'm looking for at least 5" of handle (minimum oal of 15"). I once purchased a very nice bowie through an internet dealer - wonderful fit and finish and first rate fittings - but the moment I held it I knew I wasn't going to be happy - the handle was scarcely 4" long offset by a nearly 10" blade. The knife constantly felt like it wanted to leap out of my hands - not the feeling of control you really want with a big blade.

Cheers,

Roger

PS - Historical reproductions are, of course, in a different category.
 
If you have a short piece of antler or a uncomfortable curve antler.
You can take a bit of time to design a couple of spacers. A couple of stainless spacers behind the guard and one or even a couple spaced well in the antler can give you an extra inch or if cut right take some of the curve out. Looks and feels great when done properly

Naturally you would want to make the tang go past the spacers to give strength. You don't want the handle to snap at the joints.

Long antler is not common in western Australia. An old mentor of mine Lloyd harding has the spacer thing down to perfection.
 
I believe that a 4 1/2 inch long handle is all that is really needed on a Bowie.Yes some originals were short and do look a little out of balance,but when held (if done properly) have the best balance you could want.The only reason I see for a longer handle on a Bowie is for the camp style or possiably a fighting style were the user wants to let the hand slide back to the end of the handle for mor blade heavy cutting.Heck even the old swords with 20 inch and lnger blades only had 41/2 -5 inch handles but no one thinks these look out of place on such a long blade.

Now to me the short (21/2-3 inch bladed)skinners with 4 to 5 inch handles are what look out of proportion to me and definately don't balance well in the hand at all.

I have found that on a average a 4"-41/2" handle is what fits.Why do you think this size is the most common on production knives everywhere.Measure a few hands and you will see what I mean.This is one eason that when ordering a custom you can choose the handle size you want so it fits your taste and needs or hand size,but for a maker to just make a certain size to fit the majority they have to decide on the size they want and then make them accordingly,and if a customer wants the same knife but that handle doesn't fit then it will become that custom order.
Hope this makes sense,also just my thoughts on this subject.
Bruce
 
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