Bowie knife

Bowie knife
"Bowie knife"
TypeFighting knife
Place of originArkansas, U.S.[1]
Production history
DesignerRezin Bowie
Designed1830
Produced1830–present
Specifications
Length12–18 inches (30–46 cm)
Blade length5–12 inches (13–30 cm)
Blade typeClip-point

A Bowie knife (/ˈbuːi/ BOO-ee)[2][3][4][5][6][a] is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knives created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother James Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight.

Since the first incarnation, the Bowie knife has come to incorporate several recognizable and characteristic design features, although in common usage the term refers to any large sheath knife with a crossguard and a clip point.[10] The knife pattern is still popular with collectors; in addition to various knife manufacturing companies, there are hundreds of custom knifemakers producing Bowie knives with different types of steel and variations in style.

Damascus knife in a very modern Bowie knife design
  1. ^ "Blacksmith Shop". www.historicwashingtonstatepark.com. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  2. ^ Janin, Hunt (2007). Fort Bridger, Wyoming. Jefferson: McFarland & Company. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-7864-2912-7.
  3. ^ a b Evans, John (December 1989). "Bowie (Boo-wee) or Bowie (Bo-wee)? What's in a Name?". Alamo Journal. 69: 6.
  4. ^ a b Davis, William C. (1998). Three Roads to the Alamo: The Lives and Fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis. New York: HarperCollins. p. 35. ISBN 0-06-017334-3.
  5. ^ a b Manns, William (May–June 2004), "The Bowie Knife", American Cowboy, 11 (1): 40–43;
  6. ^ a b c "Bowie knife". Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  7. ^ The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., 2013, entry "Bowie, James" with pronunciation guide "bō´ē" and key "ō toe" and "ē bee."
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, entry "Bowie, James", with pronunciation guide "bō´ē" and key "ō toe" and "ē bee."
  9. ^ Hickey, Walt. "22 Maps That Show How Americans Speak English Totally Differently From One Another". Business Insider. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  10. ^ Todd, Frederick P., American Military Equipage, 1851–1872, Scribners (1980), pp. 180–181: "The American fighting knife of the mid-19th century was par excellence the 'bowie knife'. The term itself defied definition in those days as it does today, but a rough description would be a large sheath knife, usually with a small crossguard and a clipped point, whose story began in the American Southwest about 1830."


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