A typical bowie knife, with its hallmark large blade and unique shape. This knife became popular because of its utility as a weapon and as a tool for camping, fishing and hunting.

Bowie knife specifically refers to a style of knife designed by Colonel James "Jim" Bowie and originally created by James Black, though is commonly used to refer to any large sheath knife with a clip point. friends photo - rights granted File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... friends photo - rights granted File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Car camping is camping in a tent, but nearby the car for easier access and for supply storage. ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. ... “Hunter” redirects here. ... James Bowie James Bowie (probably April 10, 1796 - March 6, 1836), aka Jim Bowie, was a nineteenth century pioneer and soldier who took a prominent part in the Texas Revolution and was killed at the Battle of the Alamo. ... a 7th grader who excells in guitar, basketball, and is a devout Christian. ... A knife is a sharp-edged (single or double edged) instrument consisting of a thin blade used for cutting and fitted with a handle. ...

Description

The historical Bowie was not a single design, but was a series of knives improved several times by Jim Bowie over the years.

The version most commonly known as the historical Bowie knife was rather large and of massive construction, as knives go, usually having a blade of at least six inches (15cm) in length, some reaching 12 inches (30cm) or more, with a relatively broad blade that was an inch and a half to two inches wide (4 to 5 cm) and made of steel usually between 3/16" and 1/4" thick (from 4.8 to 6.4 millimeters). The back of the blade often had a strip of soft metal (normally brass or copper) inlaid intended to catch an opponent's blade, and also often had an upper guard that bent forward at an angle, also intended to catch an opponent's blade. The back edge of the curved clip point, also called the "false edge," was often sharpened in order to allow someone trained in European techniques of saber fencing to execute the maneuver called the "back cut" or "back slash." A brass quillon was attached to protect the hand, usually cast in a mold. It is likely that the blade shape was derived from the Spanish navaja clasp knives carried in Spain and the Spanish colonies in the Americas. A blade is the flat part of a tool or weapon that normally has a cutting edge and/or pointed end typically made of a metal, most recently, steel intentionally used to cut, stab, slice, throw, thrust, or strike an animate or inainimate object. ... The steel cable of a colliery winding tower. ... A sabre fencer. ... Hilt of Szczerbiec silver damascened rapier guard, between 1580 and 1600. ...

miniaturized bowie knife (hunting knife).

The shape and style of blade was chosen so that the Bowie knife could serve usefully as a camp and hunting tool as well as a weapon. Many knives and daggers existed that could serve well as weapons, and many knives existed that could serve well as tools for hunters and trappers, but the Bowie knife was designed to do both jobs well, and is still popular with hunters and sportsmen even in the present day. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 448 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Authors own picture. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 448 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Authors own picture. ... Bold text This article is about the weapon. ...

The curved portion of the edge, toward the point, is for removing the skin from a carcass, and the straight portion of the edge, toward the guard, is for chores involving cutting slices, similar in concept to the traditional Finnish hunting knife, the "puukko" (though the typical early 19th Century Bowie knife was far larger and heavier than the typical puukko). The blade is generally long enough and heavy enough that the knife can be used as a hatchet or machete, but not so heavy or long as to be cumbersome. Most such knives intended for hunting are only sharpened on one edge, to reduce the danger of cutting oneself while butchering and skinning the carcass. Carcass of a chicken after cooking Carcass may refer to: A carcass (or carcase) is a term for a dead body, typically that of an animal. ... Look up Puukko in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Skinning commonly refers to the act of skin removal, from the verb to skin. ...

A knife with sawteeth machined into the back side of the blade.

Since the 1960s, Bowie knives with sawteeth machined into the back side of the blade appeared inspired by the Air Force survival knife NSN: 7340-00-098-4327. The sawteeth were intended to cut through the Plexiglas® canopy of a downed aircraft. During the Vietnam war the US Army issued them to helicopter crews for the same purpose. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 464 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Authors own picture. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 464 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Authors own picture. ... Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or poly (methyl 2-methylpropenoate) is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate. ...

History

The Sandbar Fight

The first knife Bowie became famous with was allegedly designed by Jim Bowie's brother Rezin in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, and smithed by blacksmith Jesse Cleft out of an old file. Period court documents indicate that Rezin Bowie and Cleft were well acquainted with one another. Rezin's granddaughter claimed in an 1885 letter to Louisiana State University that she personally witnessed Cleft make the knife for her grandfather. Avoyelles (French: Paroisse des Avoyelles) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. ... Rezin Pleasant Bowie (8 September 1793, Tennessee, United States - 17 January 1841, New Orleans) was an American inventor, he designed the Bowie knife. ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College at Baton Rouge, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public, coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System. ...

This knife became famous as the knife used by Bowie at the Sandbar Fight, which was the famous 1827 duel between Bowie and several men, including a Major Norris Wright of Alexandria, Louisiana. The fight took place on a sandbar in the Mississippi River across from Natchez, Mississippi. In this battle Bowie was stabbed, shot, and beaten half to death but managed to win the fight. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Year 1827 (MDCCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... A duel is a formalized type of combat. ... Alexandria is a city in Louisiana and the parish seat of Rapides Parish. ... In geography, a bar is a linear shoaling landform feature within a body of water. ... For the river in Canada, see Mississippi River (Ontario). ... Melrose, an antebellum home in Natchez, Mississippi. ...

Jim Bowie's older brother John claimed that the knife at the Sandbar Fight was not Cleft's knife, but a knife specifically made for Bowie by a blacksmith named Snowden.

James Black's Bowie Knife

The most famous version of the Bowie knife was designed by Jim Bowie and presented to Arkansas blacksmith James Black in the form of a carved wooden model in December of 1830. Black produced the knife ordered by Bowie, and at the same time created another based on Bowie's original design but with a sharpened edge on the curved top edge of the blade. Black offered Bowie his choice and Bowie chose the modified version. Knives like that one, with a blade shaped like that of the Bowie knife, but with half or more of the back edge sharpened, are today called "Sheffield Bowie" knives, because this blade shape became so popular that cutlery factories in Sheffield, England were mass-producing such knives for export to the U.S. by 1850, usually with a handle made from either hardwood, stag horn, or bone, and sometimes with a guard and other fittings of sterling silver. Official language(s) English Capital Little Rock Largest city Little Rock Largest metro area Little Rock Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 29th  - Total 53,179 sq mi (137,002 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 261 miles (420 km)  - % water 2. ... A blacksmith A blacksmith at work A blacksmith at work A blacksmiths fire Hot metal work from a blacksmith A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from iron or steel by forging the metal; i. ... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 (MDCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is God Save the Queen. See also Proposed English National Anthems. ...

Bowie returned, with his knife, to Texas and was involved in a knife fight with three men who had been hired to kill him. Bowie killed the three would-be assassins with his new knife and the fame of the knife was established. Legend holds that one man was almost decapitated, the second was disemboweled, and the third had his skull split open. Bowie died at the Battle of the Alamo five years later and both he and his knife became immensely famous. The fate of the original Bowie knife is unknown; however, a knife bearing the engraving "Bowie No. 1" has been acquired by the Historic Arkansas Museum from a Texas collector and has been attributed to Black through scientific analysis. Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Combatants Republic of Mexico Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas Commanders Antonio López de Santa Anna Pérez de Lebrón William Travis† Jim Bowie† Davy Crockett† Strength 6,000 in attack (1,800 in assault-see below) 183 to 250 Casualties 370 to 600 total 70 to 200... The Historic Arkansas Museum, affectionately known as the HAM, is a state history museum in downtown Little Rock in the U.S. state of Arkansas. ...

Black soon did a booming business making and selling these knives out of his shop in Washington, Arkansas. Black continued to refine his technique and improve the quality of the knife as he went. In 1839, Black was nearly blinded by an attacker and was no longer able to continue in his trade. Washington is a city located in Hempstead County, Arkansas. ... 1839 (MDCCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Black's knives were known to be exceedingly tough, yet flexible, and his technique has not been duplicated. Black kept his technique secret and did all of his work behind a leather curtain. Many claim that Black rediscovered the secret to producing true Damascus steel.^{[citation needed]} Damascus steel is a steel used in Middle Eastern swordmaking from about 1100 to 1700 AD. Damascus swords were of legendary sharpness and strength, and were apocryphally claimed to be able to cut through more ordinary European swords and even rock. ...

In 1870 at the age of 70, Black attempted to pass on his secret to the son of the family that had cared for him in his old age, Daniel Webster Jones. But Black had been retired for many years and found that he himself had forgotten the secret. Jones would later become Governor of Arkansas. 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Daniel Webster Jones (15 December 1839 -- 25 December 1918) was a Democratic governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas. ...

The birthplace of the Bowie knife is now part of the Old Washington Historic State Park which has over 40 restored historical buildings and other facilities including Black's shop. The park is known as "The Colonial Williamsburg of Arkansas". The American Bladesmithing Society has also established a college at the site to teach new apprentices, journeyman, and masters in the art of bladesmithing. Old Washington Historic State Park is a state park located in the southwestern part of the State of Arkansas. ...

Variations and collecting

Over the years many knives have been called Bowie knives and the term has almost become a generic term for any large sheath knife. During the early days of the American Civil War Confederate soldiers carried immense knives called D-Guard Bowie knives. Many of these knives could have qualified as short swords and were often made at home from old saw or scythe blades. Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem (none official) God Save the South (unofficial) The Bonnie Blue Flag (unofficial) Dixie (unofficial) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Religion... Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Look up Sword in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Variations have become popular with collectors, possibly due to the appearance of such a knife in the first Rambo film with Sylvester Stallone. Knives with the sawtooth feature are still being made and sold, often called "survival knives," and incorporating a hollow handle that can theoretically be used to carry assorted survival gear. Despite many variations, it is quipped that for a knife to be considered a Bowie knife, it must be long enough to use as a sword, sharp enough to use as a razor, wide enough to use as a paddle, and heavy enough to use as a hatchet.^{[citation needed]} Rambo is a saga of popular action films starring Sylvester Stallone, based on the characters created by David Morrell in his novel First Blood. ... Sylvester Stallone (born Michael Enzio Sylvester Stallone on July 6, 1946) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. ... Survival knives are intended for survival purposes when lost in a wilderness environment. ...

The Bowie knife is sometimes confused with the "Arkansas toothpick," possibly due to the interchangeable use of the names "Arkansas toothpick," "Bowie knife," and "Arkansas knife" in the antebellum period^[1]. The Arkansas toothpick is essentially a heavy dagger with a straight 15-25 inch blade. While balanced and weighted for throwing, the toothpick can also be used for thrusting and slashing. James Black is also credited with inventing the "Arkansas Toothpick" but no firm evidence exists for this claim. The Arkansas Toothpick is essentially a heavy dagger with a pointed, straight 12-20 inch blade. ...

The KA-BAR Knife of WWII fame is essentially based around the bowie design. USMC KA-BAR knife, standard model The KA-BAR is a 7-inch fighting and utility knife first used by the US Marines in World War II, and carried into battle by generations of Marines since that conflict. ...

A Bowie knife also appears on the shoulder sleeve insignia of the U.S. 39th Infantry Brigade, headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Shoulder sleeve patch of the United States Army 39 Infantry Brigade (Separate), aka. ... Location in Pulaski County, Arkansas Coordinates: , Country State County Pulaski Founded 1821 Incorporated 1831 Government  - Mayor Mark Stodola Area  - City  116. ...

In fiction

• Quincey Morris used one to kill Dracula in the book of the same name and in some of the movie versions.
• In Back to the Future Part III Seamus McFly tells Marty that his brother Martin McFly was stabbed by a bowie knife.
• Crocodile Dundee always carries around a big knife. The most famous line from the first movie is spoken when Dundee is approached by a mugger carrying a switchblade. When Sue fearfully asks Mick to comply due to the fact the mugger is armed with a knife, Mick remarks, "That's not a knife" and continues "Thats a knife," producing a very large bowie knife.
• The artist David Bowie, (aka David Robert Jones), adapted his name from Jim Bowie and his Bowie knife in order to avoid possible confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees. ^[2]
• The villain from horror movie Wolf Creek uses a bowie knife to torture his victims.
• In Happy Tree Friends, the character Flippy uses a bowie knife during his murders.
• Bowie knife is the weapon of choice of Gene, main antagonist in the PSP game Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.
• In Harry Harrison's book "Deathworld 3", the protagonist is using "an unusual knife that he had forged and tempered himself, after an ancient design called the "bowie.""
• The bodyguard Brock Samson from the television show The Venture Bros. carries a Bowie knife with a saw filed onto the rear side of the blade.
• In the movie, Scream, the Bowie knife is the weapon of choice for the horror character, Ghostface.
• In the Anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, the main character's mecha EVA 01 utilises a proportionally sized knife called a Prog Knife, stylised after a Bowie Knife.
• The Bowie knife is the mélee weapon of the popular video game, Counter-Strike.

Quincey Morris is a is a fictional character in Bram Stokers novel Dracula. ... For other uses, see Dracula (disambiguation). ... Back to the Future Part III is a science fiction western comedy film starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd that opened on May 25, 1990. ... Crocodile Dundee is a 1986 Australian comedy film set in the Australian Outback in the area around Walkabout Creek and in New York City. ... A switchblade (also known as automatic knife, switch, or in British English flick knife), is a type of knife with a folding blade that springs out of the grip when a button or lever on the grip is pressed. ... David Bowie (IPA: []) (born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger and audio engineer. ... James Bowie James Bowie (probably April 10, 1796 - March 6, 1836), aka Jim Bowie, was a nineteenth century pioneer and soldier who took a prominent part in the Texas Revolution and was killed at the Battle of the Alamo. ... Davy Jones, 1967 Davy Jones, an actor and singer, was born David Thomas Jones on December 30, 1945 in Manchester, England. ... The Monkees were a pop-rock quartet created and based in Los Angeles in 1965 for an NBC American television series of the same name. ... Wolf Creek may refer to several places in the United States: Wolf Creek, Oregon, a town in Oregon Wolf Creek (Minnesota), a tributary of the Cedar River (Iowa) in Mower County, Minnesota Wolf Creek (McCone County, Montana), a tributary of the Redwater River in McCone County, Montana Wolf Creek (Roosevelt... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The PlayStation Portable , officially abbreviated as PSP) is a handheld game console released and currently manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. ... At the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, August 2005 Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey, March 12, 1925 in Stamford, Connecticut) is an American science fiction author who has lived in many parts of the world including Mexico, England, Denmark and Italy. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Venture Bros. ... Scream is a 1996 horror film, directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. ... Ghostface is the name of a fictional character and the main antagonist in the Scream trilogy. ... Original run October 4, 1995 – March 27, 1996 No. ... Unit 01 runs through Tokyo-3; the buildings in the background give a frame of reference for the size of the Eva. ... Counter-Strike (CS) is a popular team-based mod of Valves first-person shooter (FPS) Half-Life. ...

Notes