Whether you have a love for beautiful knives or you are simply curious about the history of the tool itself, you’ll find that one thing that should pique your interest is the original Bowie knife. Though today the term Bowie knife is used to refer to any large knife with a sheath and a clip point, you will find that the original Bowie knife in fact has a history that goes back more than a hundred and fifty years. There is a great deal of history that surrounds the original Bowie knife, and it is an excellent addition to anyone’s personal collection
The original Bowie knife was designed by Colonel James “Jim” Bowie, a soldier and pioneer who lived in Texas. The father of the original Bowie knife was a man who played an important role in the Texas Revolution, a role that ended with his heroic death at the Battle of the Alamo. Bowie can, in many ways, be considered immortal, given all of the depictions that have been given of him, both in fiction and on the screen. He worked as a land speculator, and was known for his prowess in battle, especially when it came to hand to hand fights with large knives. After he killed the sheriff of Rapides Parish with a knife, he was linked with these knives forever.
You’ll find that the original Bowie knife was not necessarily a single knife. It was in fact, a series of knives that was continuously improved on by Bowie over the course of his life. You might say that the original Bowie knife was made by Jesse Clifft at Bowie’s brother’s behest, and this early prototype in fact looked a great deal like the Spanish hunting knives at the time; it bore a strong resemblance to a large butcher knife. It was nine and a half inches long and it had a straight back with no clip or hand guard. This knife was the one that Bowie carried into fight at Rapides Parish, and more than one account survives of Bowie using this terrifying weapon.
While the knife mentioned above was the one that made Bowie famous, it is worth knowing that another version of the original Bowie knife was thought to be a knife that measured at least six inches in length with a relatively broad blade and a strip of soft metal inlaid into the back of it. Some accounts claim that this feature was meant to catch the knives of opponents, while other people claimed that it was there merely for support and to prevent the blade from shattering. The original Bowie knife might also be thought to have an upper guard that bent forward, a structure known as an S-guard, and this could help turn an opponent’s blade or to protect the owner’s hand.
If you have an interest in the original Bowie knife, make sure that you take a look and see how further incarnations of this historic blade have looked and worked throughout our history!