Tough Example
Hi VVV,
Given the wide spectrum of knives called Bowie, if in Europe there is a custom of calling single edge generally clip point blades with a cross guard that were used in the north American west Cowboy knives, it would be hard to argue against that convention. I have seen Mexican and Philippine clip point blades sold here in the States as Bowies. I have seen English blades made in the late 1800s called Bowies that have a false back edge in lieu of a clip point. I have seen modern custom made knives with Turkish clip points sold as Bowies. As far as I can see the only two features that a Bowie must have is a single edge and a cross guard. That guard can be oval, flat, or serpentine and, as mentioned above, the blade doesn't necessarily have to have a clip point. Hilts can be; round and encompass the tang, coffin shaped or straight scales, subhilt fighters, with or without pommels (of any shape), with bolsters or ferrules behind the guard, etc. Nobody here in the States seems to take exception to this vague categorization so I imagine north American collectors would simply say, "over in Europe they call Bowie knives Cowboy knives". It isn't the same case with the Lapland knife which has a much more tightly defined set of design parameters. So, if there are four groups of Saami people, I'll bet there are only four names for that knife and if the four groups speak the same language, I'd be surprised if there is more than one name for the knife. For my part, stuorra niib offered by Jussi M sounds good.
Sincerely,
RobT
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