Knife too big ?

[Crewdawg445]

That's exactly how I carried it, however I'm a fart in a hot skillet and never sit unless I'm eating, even then that's a stretch... I do like carrying it while deer hunting. I've found it to be an excellent blade for field dressing. Still is one of my favorites I will say despite a few limitations.

 

[Rick Boylan]

This is just 3 of my bowie knives. These are my biggest knives and yes, I sometimes carry them.

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[Treestalker]

Wow! Three classic fighting bowies with the brass strip on the back! Not what I would call a camp knife, but I forged and carried a classic Bowie( no brass strip, iron 'S' guard, 9" blade) for years when in the woods in SE Texas and it did everything. Many of my friends carried my blades, and used them for everything from camping, hunting and woods living to kitchen duties. A smaller 6" bowie blade is much lighter and handier, and makes more sense, really, unless Squatch shows up. When darkness falls, a longer stronger blade is a comfort in hand. I forged my bowies out of 5650 spring steel, which holds an OK edge, easy to sharpen, and tough as a plate of woodpecker necks. Differentially tempered, they will not fail. George.

 

[Artificer]

I believe the "Big Knife Phenomena" came as a result of the Jim Bowie movies of the 50's/60's and Sketchbook 76. The latter shows a Rifleman chiseling out a knife blade from a wagon spring, grinding it and annealing the tang by burying the blade in the ground with just the tang exposed and building a fire around the tang to anneal it. I can't be sure, but I think that was all speculation on the author's part.

Though larger "fighting knives" were available in the period, most frontiersmen used either scalper or butcher knives that were not as thick or as long as a fighting knife and were imported into the colonies by the many barrels full for both colonists and the NA trade.

Also, though while doubled edged daggers were not unknown for frontiersmen, they were generally thought of as fighting knives by most people. Still, some used daggers for regular knife chores.

Gus

 

[Black Hand]

Short of chopping down a tree or splitting a ribcage/pelvis, a small blade can do the job just as well or better than a large blade in the field. Larger blades (especially thick/heavy blades), though visually impressive, can be awkward to use (even for self-defense)...

 

[crockett]

On that left side carry. I've read a lot of the journals of the mountain men. It seems there were two carry modes. If you had a butcher knife or scalper it was carried in a sheath tucked under the belt diagonally, in the small of the back. It was "wrong side" out- as if it was a left handed sheath swung behind the back and you used your right hand and reached behind for the knife.
The second method was a "cross draw" used with big knives that would be hard to draw if a sheath was on the right, these were worn in the left front.

 

[crockett]

I Like the rakish lines of that middle knife. :grin:

1. The blade edge seems continually curving.
2. The handle is splayed outwards towards the rear- won't slip out of your hand.
3. Stick type tang- all the weight in the blade.
4. Slightly larger guard quillons.

 

[LRB]

The upper two are styled after the Musso Bowie, and the lower is similar to the "Iron Mistress" of Hollywood movie fame. The real Musso knife has a 13 3/4" blade that is just under 3/16" thick and weights 1 lb 12oz. For a knife that large, it is amazingly maneuverable in the hand. Large knives don't have to be clumsy. Below is my common carry knife in the woods, but not in that sheath. The knife has a 9" blade with a tapered tang and a distal tapered blade. Very light weight, easy to handle. Actually works OK for skinning and working a deer.

 

[crockett]

Hey Wick, good to hear from you. This knife I designed, I call it a "Bowie" but it looks more like the rifleman types- longer, 11 1/2" blade only 1 1/2" wide and 1/4" thick on the spine BUT tapered like a triangle from spine to edge so lighter in weight than it looks. I too had a tang that starts out 3/4" wide but full thickness- on the idea 3/4" wide and 1/4" thick has the same amount of steel as 1 1/2" wide triangle 1/4" to edge- if that makes sense. That goes about 2" into a stag stick handle which thereafter I figured the tang and handle are secure so it then turns into a threaded rat tail type tang with a cap on the butt of the stag and a cap nut to hold all in place. According to knife making theory the edge ought to go to the guard without a ricasso that could snag on ribs but I like a ricasso so that was one thing I did that might not be ideal. A lot of original Bowies had a plain oval guard that won't snag on clothes so that's what I used.
But......I made it too pretty and it is 01 and if I stuck a hog all the blood would pit my mirror polish so I just look at it, haven't used it at all. :hmm:
I've got to stop doing that.

 

[smoothshooter]

Almost never sit down, and can't be still?
That must drive people around you nuts most of the time.

I work with a guy like that and it does us!

 

[SgtErv]

I carry a trade knife diagonally on my left side tucked into my belt. It's got a 51/2" blade, 9 1/2" overall. (Jeff White I think? Townsend sells them. With a little work they are awesome knives - very sharp to begin with) Perfect size and razor sharp. It's big and sharp enough to do anything but I can sit, squat, etc without the sheath bothering me. The 9 1/2" looks intimidating enough , too lol

 

[satx78247]

A historical note: ROBERT S. POTTER (1799-1842), attorney at law, late secretary of the Texas Navy, signer of the TX Declaration of Independence, President of The Caddo Republic at Karnack & soldier at The Battle of San Jacinto routinely carried/used a bone-handled BIG "Bowie's knife" that was reportedly made in 1833 by the noted blacksmith/gunsmith Noah Smithwick at Gonzales Texas, until his untimely death.

According to the court records of what is now Travis County, Potter used his (about one-foot long bladed) Bowie's knife to slit a man named A. J. Willis, who "made a pass at" & "immorally fondled the bosom of - - - " his wife, Mrs. Harriet Anne (nee Ames) Potter, from his groin to his throat, literally on the steps of the Texas Capitol building.
(Potter's trial for Unlawful Wounding ended in a hung jury; he was never retried, as he was "murdered by persons unknown" on 02MAR1842. - As a result of that bloody incident, the Republic of Texas Congress passed The Potter Act in 1843 that made it a "serious crime" to "- - - - cut a person in their human body in such manner as to cause grievous bodily injury or death".)

Addenda: Willis survived his wound but never "fully recovered his health" & died in 1846.

Potter's Bowie's knife is now in the private "Early Texas collection" of a physician in Smith County, TX.

yours, satx

 

[Rick Boylan]

The middle knife is a Gil Hibon made bowie. If I remember correctly it's called the Texas or Alamo bowie. He uses the same knife with a ivory styled handle and calls it the Expendibles bowie (used in the movie The Expendibles). I bought it off of eBay.

 

[crockett]

Well I like it a lot, there are little nuances such as the handle being at a slight angle that ought to put more edge in a slash and at the same time more arc in an upswing. Really nice design IMHO, of course others may not agree.

 

[LRB]

I don't see much, if any, grip angle on that one, but that was a feature on the Musso Bowie and isn't hard to notice.

 

[crockett]

Well, some of my feelings are based on looks alone but it seems that an edge that is just slightly curved rather than absolutely straight ought to slice/slash better but in reality maybe only the belly area does the damage. Part of this might be that I find it easier to sharpen a continuously curved edge rather than one perfectly straight. When I say "curved" underline the little, just slightly. The other thing I see on some knives is sort of an ever increasing width towards the rear, there is a tip and belly but then from belly to hilt the width keeps increasing just a little. The other thought I had is if there is some correlation between the angle of the handle and the curve of the tip so if someone made an up cut type stabbing motion if the two angles resulted in the best position of the tip hitting the opponent- if that makes sense.
Some one told me that in a Bowie type as much weight as possible ought to be in the blade ( or forward on the blade) but I never quite figured out how to do that. My only thought was a tapered/stick tang reduced overall weight.

 

[LRB]

I think weight distribution would be a personal preference. A heavy blade is not so easy to maneuver, and is best at chopping, whereas a lighter blade more balanced toward the grip, but yet retaining some forward weight, allows more control, and Bowie knife fighting was geared more towards cut and slash, rather than brute force chop attacks. I ain't doing either. I would choose to shoot or run. I've seen what happens when two determined men go at each other with butcher knives. It ain't purty, and no one leaves uncut. The aftermath of what I saw resulted in one, the winner, leaving by ambulance, and the loser left in a helicopter.

 

[larryp]

Personally I think a 6" blade is about perfect. A 7" is getting a little too long for use inside the chest cavity of a deer. My favorite knife is the now discontinued Silver Stag Damascus bowie. The 6" blade doesn't dig in when sitting on a log or the seat of a vehicle and it balances nicely.
The handle has since taken on a nice yellow color.

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[tenngun]

I carry a trade knife diagonally on my left side tucked into my belt. It's got a 51/2" blade, 9 1/2" overall. (Jeff White I think? Townsend sells them. With a little work they are awesome knives - very sharp to begin with) Perfect size and razor sharp. It's big and sharp enough to do anything but I can sit, squat, etc without the sheath bothering me. The 9 1/2" looks intimidating enough , too lol

I started out with a big knife in a fancy shear in my belt. About 25 years ago saw a boy with a 'squaw' sheath on. A sheath that wrapped the blade but had a couple of wangs to tie to a belt. Made my first one after I saw that and never went back. You can stuff it in a belt and secure if needed, or let it hang loose. Squat by a fire, or sit on stool or a horse back, it's never in the way.
Would it work with a pig sticker? I don't know, all my blades are 5/6 inches or so. Most of the time I have two on, one on a belt one on my shooting bag stap.
Call me 'girly man' if you want, it's awful handy. And a shooting bag is naught but a purse any way :haha:

 

[nhmoose]

Uhh? To big for what??? should be the question.