Peoples thoughts on Bowie knives

I’ve got a Randall Bowie. I never, ever use it (though I’m willing to; all my Randalls are users). It’s about the least useful blade shape I own. The deeper the clip point, the less useful it is. The Ka-Bar, IMO, has as deep a false edge as any fighter needs.

The one in the pic strikes me as very “showy,” but not terribly useful.
 
I have a bunch of knives, including a Bowie that I've had since I was a kid. It's beautiful, and pretty useless in my everyday life. It lives on a shelf along with a couple of custom knives that I don't carry.

I have a Kabar in the truck in the bag with the hatchet and the mallet, and that's a more useful heavy blade that I'm not afraid to beat on if necessary. I've got smaller straight blades that are more discreetly carried, and have all the functionality I need, and I've got folders that I carry every day...
 
yea, 9" is just about a machete.
Which makes that awfully pricey for a knife with limited use.
I'll also assume that handle will come loose with a beating.

I've got a 6 1/2 in blade that I don't go for unless batonning.

If you're looking for something that you plan to use a lot, you'd be better off with a ~5" blade that can take a whooping for that price.
 
Might as well buy a machete.

I had a nice bowie that was a gift. I carried it once on a six day trip and it thereafter sat home. It was too nice and too heavy. I needed a tool.

What is the intended use? Point being. I found a 'machete' that would work well for me.

After a fellow instructor came back from the Philippines I started carrying, depending on summer or winter trip, a mini or large Pilipino Bolo. Made from a leaf spring and carabao horn they were awesome. It would skin a rabbit, goat, deer and chop/split wood with ease.

This is not mine.

BoloJEST.jpg


APlus_Eduardo_01.jpg
 
Last edited:
Buy yourself a Condor parang, and don't cut yourself with it when using it.

A Bowie is too big for small stuff and too small for big stuff..... it fits right in perfectly in the "useless" knife category.
 
There are "Decorative" Bowies for show, and there are "Modern" Bowies intended for real-world use.
If you want one to fill a niche as a collector, Decorative is the way to go.
If you want one to "Blaze-Trails" like Jim Bowie needed his for: Get something strong with a good steel like a 1095 or W2 and a FULL TANG!
~Matt
 
Did you coincidentally start this thread because it is Jim Bowie's birthday today?
Like others have said - big, heavy, impractical for most, but very nostalgic.
Here's me with my Coleman's Western Bowie cutting the cake after I graduated from college.
Coleman_western_bowie_college_graduation_cake.JPG
 
The Bowie knife was never intended to be a usefull tool. Read up on the history of it, and also on Jim Bowie. He was a knife fighter, and killed men who were using pistols, with his knife. The Bowie knife is a fighting knife, always has been and was conceived as one.
Sincerely, that looks like made in India mystery steel. I've seen people with beautifully folded chef knives from fleebay who couldn't get an edge on them to save their skinny asses. A good, American made Damascus knife of that size will set you back $600+/-.
 
My two survivalist knives is a helle and Benchmade which I’m still mad about the Benchmade. Even though they “cleared up the misunderstanding”. I just don’t own a Bowie knife it would be for pure nostalgia and would definitely sit on shelf along with dozen other knives I own lol. I always wanted a knife with Damascus steel and saw that one and was intrigued with the collaboration. Most custom type Damascus steel knives cost cha Ching.

D03482CE-5CFA-427D-95D9-E8794BCC8C70.jpeg
63D58EF3-7AD2-4780-AFC2-CFF1CF25615E.jpeg
 
Did you coincidentally start this thread because it is Jim Bowie's birthday today?
Like others have said - big, heavy, impractical for most, but very nostalgic.
Here's me with my Coleman's Western Bowie cutting the cake after I graduated from college.
View attachment 279248


I did not post this intentionally. That’s weird ! It really is his birthday !
 
I’ve got a Randall Bowie. I never, ever use it (though I’m willing to; all my Randalls are users). It’s about the least useful blade shape I own. The deeper the clip point, the less useful it is. The Ka-Bar, IMO, has as deep a false edge as any fighter needs.

The one in the pic strikes me as very “showy,” but not terribly useful.

Checked out the Randall’s I like um a lot now. Definitely considering owning one.
 
Please post picture of the blade dimple in the oak table... [rofl2]

coleman_western_bowie_college_graduation_cake-jpg.279248

BTW, what year did you start College... Doctor?
 
Please post picture of the blade dimple in the oak table... [rofl2]

BTW, what year did you start College... Doctor?

Like KBCraig mentioned, it's not a real Bowie, so the blade isn't long enough to damage the table (I didn't really push that hard).
I started college in 2008.
 
So.

I’ve got a Randall camp bowie, but it’s not set up as a fighter. Here’s a shot of my Buxton fighter (top), a fairly rare Randall using their Bowie blade shape. Note the fact that the “swoop” of the false edge isn’t really all that deep, certainly not as deep as the one in the OP. This strengthens the point, for stabbin’.

Compare that to Bo Randall’s own fighting knife, the model 1, which I’m picturing for comparison. I think the model 1 is a far better design. This one’s been rehandled by James Behring.

054C7F5C-3AB4-47EB-BF61-C5AAADA5DA73.jpeg
 
Back
Top Bottom