Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Justin · 13th February 2006, 02:10 PM

Bowies are indeed what I would call an American Ethnic knife ,however at the same time they were being carried there were all kinds of dirks and folding knives that were also in use,including my favorite and the most definate American knife of all the 'push dagger'.I think we tend to avoid these things here because many of them were mass produced both here and in Europe but that didnt keep them from being extremely popular weapons and tools among civilians and military.

Jim bowie supposedly had somewhere around 14 different knives that he carried ,he loved knives and I would be willing to bet that he owned many more than the 14,hard to tell what any of them looked like .There were bowies for hunting and fighting as previously mentioned but as I understand it size was the difference. I have two Sheffield made bowies one is probably M-L 19th cent the other L 19th-E 20th at about 10 inches long overall they were supposed to be for hunting.

He didnt hesitate to use them either ,Ive read about several duels he was in using his knives.He wasnt a good person to challenge since he usually liked to make up odd and risky terms.There was one incident where he and another gentleman sat face to face straddling a log,their seconds nailed their pants down to the log and when the signal was given they went at each other with their knives,needless to say he won.In another ordeal he ended up being shot several times,cut and had a sword cane blade snap off while still stuck in his chest,and lived.-'Gentleman Swords and Pistols' a very good book for anyone interested in dueling in the old South.

The knife in question above does look a little different from the Indian carving sets but that brass clasp is something that I have seen on them before ,it may be similar to a gunong but I think it is from India.

13th February 2006, 02:10 PM	#14
Justin Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 175	Bowies are indeed what I would call an American Ethnic knife ,however at the same time they were being carried there were all kinds of dirks and folding knives that were also in use,including my favorite and the most definate American knife of all the 'push dagger'.I think we tend to avoid these things here because many of them were mass produced both here and in Europe but that didnt keep them from being extremely popular weapons and tools among civilians and military. Jim bowie supposedly had somewhere around 14 different knives that he carried ,he loved knives and I would be willing to bet that he owned many more than the 14,hard to tell what any of them looked like .There were bowies for hunting and fighting as previously mentioned but as I understand it size was the difference. I have two Sheffield made bowies one is probably M-L 19th cent the other L 19th-E 20th at about 10 inches long overall they were supposed to be for hunting. He didnt hesitate to use them either ,Ive read about several duels he was in using his knives.He wasnt a good person to challenge since he usually liked to make up odd and risky terms.There was one incident where he and another gentleman sat face to face straddling a log,their seconds nailed their pants down to the log and when the signal was given they went at each other with their knives,needless to say he won.In another ordeal he ended up being shot several times,cut and had a sword cane blade snap off while still stuck in his chest,and lived.-'Gentleman Swords and Pistols' a very good book for anyone interested in dueling in the old South. The knife in question above does look a little different from the Indian carving sets but that brass clasp is something that I have seen on them before ,it may be similar to a gunong but I think it is from India.