James Bowie and his Bowie Knife!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- James Bowie and his famous Bowie Knife, featured in period newspaper. Sign up to the British Newspaper Archive now with my link! tidd.ly/3uHA8xo
Patreon & Extra Videos: / scholagladiatoria
Facebook & Twitter updates, info and fun:
/ historicalfencing
/ scholagladiato1
Schola Gladiatoria HEMA - sword fighting classes in the UK:
www.swordfight...
Matt Easton's website:
www.matt-easto...
Easton Antique Arms:
www.antique-sw...
Sign up to the British Newspaper Archive now with my link! tidd.ly/3uHA8xo
I love your videos! I'm quite a patriot and hand made a Bowie knife, just for the same purpose as a woods man's knife. a chopper and heavy duty cutting tool. I carry a smaller knife as well but it replaced my hatchet and will be passed down to my son 8). Very cool history in not know it was used as a wood craft knife BUT I thought it would definitely fill that spot. finding out that's what it's designed for was very entertaining thank you for such a great video!!
I vote for more period accounts of ANY weapons. Your commentary in addition to the articles is great.
I third this proposal
Too late to second the motion, but I wholeheartedly agree!
@@dick_richards You're a gentleman and a scholar sir.
Yes
Yes! Seems like it would be excellent to rotate through different weapon's period accounts: sword, musket, rifle, pistol, knife, tomahawk.
Prior to the Colt cap and ball revolvers, the Bowie knife was the sidearm of choice in the American frontier. Sportsmen of the pre1850’s must have been better acquainted with stick fighting, knife fighting, fencing, and pugilism in general since single shot muzzleloaders were the standard military arms.
Don’t mind me as I take this to note for the making of a future DND campaign.
Even after the Colts productions the Bowie Knife remained the primary back up weapon to being out of ammo.
@@gungriffen Very true. Prior to the patent revolver, you had one shot (possibly two, if carrying a pair) before having to resort to a knife or 'hawk. Even after the patent revolver, you had five or six, and a lengthy reloading process to recharge the pistol, prior to the advent of the metallic cartridge.
@@bartonbrevis3831 While the Cartridge did change everything I think the Knife remained the back up weapon of choice till we got the first reliable magazine for autoloader.
Being out of ammo is your chance to rush in or be rushed, and a Combat knife of shorts may be the best weapon or maybe even deterrent.
I might go with the tomahawk being the older and preferred sidearm.
There is no single design for a "Bowie" knife. During this period, many were more like a short sword, around 12", some longer, some shorter. They were the product of local smiths and thus varied in design according to the customer and skills of the craftsman. Demand for them encouraged European manufacturers, especially the great steel centers of Sheffield and Solingen for export. The clip point design familiar to us is more from this source. They remained popular for defense even long after reliable revolvers as it was more easily concealed than a bulky pistol. The "coffin" handle was designed to be more easily concealed and Bowies were frequently carried in a shoulder holster. "Doc" Holliday killed a man with one. According to Wyatt Earp, who witnessed the fight, Doc gutted his adversary before the man's pistol had cleared the holster. I think we would all enjoy any other material you can dig up on this legendary weapon.
It's hard not to like the clip point style of bowie. Broad belly and single edged blade geometry mean great chopping through brush or bone, and clipped point both adds curve to slicing belly, and is one the best points for penetration where single edged blades are concerned.
Almost every killing that has been blamed on Doc Holliday are pure BS.
@@jasondelong1683 Well, I read that account some time ago and no longer recall the source or the details of who, what, where and when. The fight occurred over a poker game. Doc's opponent kept trying to look at the deadwood, and the second time Doc called him on the offense, he claimed the pot. His adversary objects, jumps to his feet and starts to draw. According to Earp, who claimed to have witnessed the affair as a city marshall, Doc drew his knife and gutted the fellow before his pistol had cleared the holster. Earp said he had never seen a man with faster reactions. True? Who knows?
@@jackrice2770 This would have taken place in Dodge City then and if it did happen it is not mentioned in any of the surviving papers or court cases from then.
So Doc Holiday took a knife to a gun fight and won!? Sounds far fetched to me.
I happen to be descended from the family that made that knife for James Bowie. I am pointing out that James Black did not make that coffin knife for Bowie until Bowie went to the Alamo. I am also pointing out that what James Bowie used in all of his knife fights prior to the Alamo was in fact what is referred to as "the Arkansas Toothpick".
Not sure that is true at all. Whilst the Arkansas Toothpick was certainly a style of knife that was popular at the time there is NO literature that describes Bowie carrying anything other then a large ‘butchers ‘ like blade that he had commissioned. Subsequently referred to as the Bowie knife. Interesting to note though that what we currently perceive as being the original Bowie knife actually pre dates Bowie. In short whilst he may well have carried an Arkansas Toothpick this is mere speculation
@@owb4937 The original Bowie knife, which was verified when returned to Arkansas in 2020, was specifically made for James Bowie by my family just prior to James Bowie went to the Alamo. James Bowie was the person who designed it to best fit his fighting style. The Arkansas Toothpick being used prior to that is documented in Arkansas history.
@@juliawatts1866 "documented in Arkansas history" Ok, so give us a source, I would like to read it.
@@-Zevin- Those documents are in the Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock, Arkansas. I would be happy to contact the state archive for you if you would like.
@@juliawatts1866 That would honestly be fantastic. This has been a topic I have seen debated numerous times online, to have some solid indisputable evidence would be be great. With a direct source we could even update the Wikipedia on Bowie.
That was really entertaining. Yes, more Bowie knife please!
Mentioning that this is basically a podcast episode made me realize how much I would love a long form genuine podcast format for these type of discussions. I would be thrilled to listen to a 1-2 hour long episode like this.
Oh goodness! This was amazing to listen to! Those little details in the text really reveal how incredibly diverse those times were within the area we now consider the US. It's really easy for me to forget how much more physical distance meant back when airplanes were not invented yet!
I have been carrying a Bowie and Tomahawk more often than not for well over 30 years...in many places around the world.
Since mostly staying State side for the last decade or so, I have had them on my side nearly every day.
It is my intention that I will be returned to the earth with one of each on my belt...or in hand. Though which one of each I know not, as I have been collecting them since childhood, and though I have my favorites, I do rotate them on occasion.
U carry a bowie and Hawk all over the world?
@@wadetaylor1299 Strangely, the "free western countries" make up most of the exceptions to carrying them. So no, not all over the world. Most places however, yes. Without issue I might add.
Yes, please. More accounts. As a native Texian, I refer to Bowie Knives as Boo-ie, as opposed to Bow-ie. I'm not really sure if there's a consensus on that and I doubt that modern pronunciations are valid indicators of past pronunciations. I haven't lived there for years and rarely speak to Texans, especially in reference to Bowie knives.
Any Texan today will likely pronounce it Boo-ie.
It's like car-by-ne and car-bee-ne, neither sound even remotely close to the French "carabine", which would be ker-ahh-bin. As long as the person understands you, you pronounced it correctly lol
Wikipedia says boo ee so idk. English is dumb.
It’s a persons name so it’s boo-ee
@@austinatherton6577 Yeah, kind of like David Bowie.
Please do make more videos like this one. This type of frontier history is still popular but rarely written about or spoken of in recent years. It’s very interesting and needs to be remembered.
Really enjoyed it - thanks very much for taking the time to research and relay.
It wasn't until I started smithing and making knives that I appreciated the Bowie - now I'm quite partial.
I was given to understand that there are 3 different pronunciations of Bowie.
I Scotland, the original land, the sound was like a dog, ‘Bow Wow’.
In England the name sounded like the 'Bow' as in bow and arrow.
And when it came to America, it was changed again to sound like ‘Boo’ (as in boo who).
Best answer
Yes please to more accounts, that was fascinating.
I do a lot of hunting game big small medium and there is a need for multiple styles of edges but if I could pick one it’s the Bowie my main hunting knife that I always carry is my grandpa’s old buck 120 and it’s a Bowie style blade I love it and it’s done everything for me
To people with Disney+ access, I recommend "Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier" (1955). The movie features the Bowie knife, mostly when the characters talk about its fame and reference it while talking about Bowie himself, who has a cool scene in the end, at The Alamo.
[Just ignore this compulsively attached part]:
Originally the footage was aired on TV, in B&W and three weekly parts, so the movie version has been edited to be 1h shorter, but I found it a very cohesive film that never drags. The 1.85:1 widescreen is done by matte. I don't know if they had this in mind while photographing / framing the Academy ratio footage, but I didn't find issues with it, certainly nothing jarring, like halves of heads getting out of frame etc. Beautiful nature shots!
I love story time with Uncle Matt. Love that you appreciate the lens through which such accounts were written
Last Friday was my first Bowie knife lesson. It was awesome. I’ve been reading up a bit about Jim Bowie since so looking forward to this one!
Keating?
Honestly one of my favorite videos of yours in a while Matt, though I always enjoy your content. If you have inclination and time, more videos about the weapons and history of North America would be very welcome!
I grew up right by Galveston and only a couple of hours drive from where the Alamo happened. The stories of Jim Bowie and the Natchez sand bar fight are still well known around there, as well as the Alamo, of course. I'd love more contemporary bowie stuff in the future!
The first time I read anything historical on the Bowie knife was from an early 90's article from a Soldier of Fortune magazine. I remember the article claiming that the knife fighting styles and techniques associated with bowie knives were heavily influenced by Spanish and French fencing of the day(and of course the deadliest, look for our bowie knife fighting vhs tapes in the back pages). I know basically next to nothing about actual weapon martial arts, but this made some sense as places like New Orleans were frequently brought up as centers for knife fighting teachers and schools. Definitely an iconic piece of American history.
I believe this, fencing schools were still very popular in the 19th century in the South. Dueling was considered relevant to American southern gentlemen of the period, with schools training these young men in various forms for swordplay, pistol, and yes the Bowie or knife. Dueling became so prevalent that local magistrates finally had to step in and make it illegal in GA, and soon afterwards most of the South. Considering that dueling was largely made illegal in most of Europe long before, the French and English fencing masters found work were their skills would still be valued, in the American South.
Woohoo, Bowie knife and Texas mentions in one video! Yes, please, more, more, more! 😎
One of your best videos....I like the Ka-Bar USMC knife as a general purpose knife...it's a little too big for skinning animals, but great for hacking bone and cutting the game up. Pistols were fairly unreliable for years, but a knife was always going to work.
Hell yeah! Definitely do another video or 2 about the bowie knife! I love your work Matt! Keep it up!!
Yes please, I love it when you read from the news archives or tell these crazy stories about Duels and battles in such! Long time viewer I love your channel
I've been enjoying these videos.
Yes please, more accounts would be awesome!
I’d vote for more Bowie stories
I can’t believe you’re naming all these places I’ve seen hundreds of times. These are stories I’ve not had the pleasure of hearing. Thank you for sharing some of my own history with me.
Please make more of these ! I’ve also seen this type of knife with a brass strip across the top . Cheers from California !
Case XX 1836 model. Brass guard and Bakelite grip with three brass pins. Also has an etching that appears to be Davy Crockett in his coonskin cap, with the knife.
The idea is that the brass will catch the edge of the enemies knife. Iron mistres is a famous example.
Very interesting read,great find...thankyou for sharing this with us, I'm enjoying your uploads.
Speaking of that time, when guns were subject to misfiring etc....a knife was always ready and always loaded. : -)
Yes, more Bowie pls!
An episode about shepherds axes some day would be cool. Recently I ordered the head of one from a Polish blacksmith.
Valaška?
@@titanscerw Yep. Or Ciupaga in Polish.
@@corneliussulla9963 cool, čupaga is also in Gorol language as it is here in song form:
ua-cam.com/video/nctlpVeKTkw/v-deo.html
Gorol is spoken in Podhale and parts of todays Czech rep., Slovakia and Poland
I found your comment interesting so I looked them up. Ended up buying one.
@@titanscerw I know bracie, Im Polish. But from the North. I thought it would be a nice tool for forrest walks, so I ordered the head and want to make a handle from Yew wood by myself.
Bowie knives were popular during the Australian gold rush in Victoria (1850-53) and were introduced by the influx of Californian gold miners who traveled to Australia following the 1849 gold rush.
I have read that pistols were unreliable and needed to be reloaded daily because some of the black powder tended to absorb moisture. There are accounts of mass firing of guns at dusk each day, this also let your neighbours know you were armed.
The knives were considered every day apparel and are seen in many photos of the era.
In the New Zealand Wars Gustavus von Tempsky had his men equipped with Bowie knives. People got very attached to them.
Great knives, I have one from Svord.
Wonderful video Mr. Easton! Looking forward to more.
This was tremendous fun. More please!
Born and raised in Texas. The original Bowie knife (according to what I've read) had meteorite forged into the steel. Also, we say in Texas, "ya ain't gotta reload a knife". Which would be better than a single shot round ball handgun. A good Bowie knife would also be the perfect "jack of all" edge tool/weapon. I actually carry a Spyderco Street Bowie every day, even though it's only a 5" blade. And it serves more as a kitchen knife than anything, except maybe a box opener. lol
This was a treat! It would be awesome if you did a similar video about Canadian and American knives during the colonial period, and the Early Republic. The cutlers of Sheffield played a huge role during this period as well! For example: the knives that Lewis and Clark took on their expedition into the Louisiana Purchase in 1803-1806. Or, the knives carried by the members of Alexander McKenzie's expedition into Canada, etc., etc.
Jim bowie is a legend here in Mississippi, I live about two hours away from the area where the sandbar fight took place, so much history here, thanks for this video Matt, your awesome brother
A little tidbit for you, at that time, (really most of the 1800's) certain places in the United States did not allow firearms. Places like State Assemblies, Travers and the like but they also didn't allow knives under four inches in length (usually measured by laying the knife across the palm of ones hand). The reason was if a knife was that small, it was far too easy to conceal and therefore harder to find someone if they committed murder versus with a large knife. Some places in the US, those laws have never been taken off the books but I've not heard of anyone arrested for that.
Love these videos! Lee’s shock troops from Louisiana were said to fire a few volleys, drop their rifles, and charge union soldiers with Bowie knives and hatchets. It’s still kind of a novelty weapon down here.
Thank you, Matt Eastern, for your wonderfully informative videos.
Yes. I would love for you to do more videos about the history of the Bowie knife.
I particularly admire the large Sheffield Bowie knife you held up the most in this video and am curious about how long the blade is as it seems to be at least ten inches long. How long is it?
Thank you.
September 16th, 1827 - On a sandbar above Natchez, Mississippi near what is the town of Vidalia, Louisiana, a dual between Dr. Thomas Maddox and Samuel Wells erupted into a brawl involving the observers as well.
The most historically accurate account of this fight is in Mr. Bowie with a Knife- A history of the Sandbar Fight by J.R. Edmondson. In summary, Bowie, after almost being knocked to his knees by a thrown pistol, shot through a lung, shot in the thigh, then stabbed in the breast and hand, drew a foot long butcher knife...Killed one of his attackers, and drove the rest from the field.
From: Paradoxes of a Deadly Myth By: Dwight C. McLemore, Yorktown, Virginia.
Your a good narrator, I’m enjoying listening.
"It was so meaty and so big, I thought I'd give you the whole thing" Matt Easton, april 2022
I own a Cold Steel frontier Bowie, it doesn’t even have to be sharp to be a formidable weapon 😊 it is my modern day Dussak!
It's kind of funny. I'm Dakota from South Dakota and no one I know in real life actually uses the phrase Native American when talking with each other. We all just use Indian.
Although you’ll find yourself progressively more attacked if you keep using the term Indian. The NCAA forced my college to change their team name from Indian to something else a few years ago…not by appealing to anyone’s beliefs but by threatening to take their money away. Everyone I know in the Midwest still calls them Indians.
It’s not funny, and doesn’t make it correct.
Not just my opinion.
Yes, please!
I always love the period accounts, but I'm also perfectly fine with more audio based video's, because I often listen while doing kitchen stuff. ^_^
More accounts of the time !!!!! These are amazing
We all love Bowie knives on here Matt! More of the same please... I look forward to your videos, many thanks !
i enjoy the historical accounts. its also interesting to note that in Canada you can basically legally open carry any knife that is a tool (not a weapon, not designed to be used on people). there are a few restrictions for weapons or automatically opening knives. but firearms are zero tolerance. since pepper spray for people is illegal, since it is designed for people, where i live, there is a lot of bear spray that gangs and criminals use since you can easily acquire it as it isn't designed for humans. laws can be weird
You can find such strange weapon laws everywhere: In the country i am from, thanks to a bankrobber at the end of the 80's, pump action shotguns are a prohibited item, and can only be bought by law enforcement and military entities.
Those that were in private ownership when the law came into effect, had to be registered, and can't be sold. So if the person want's to get rid of it, the authorites will collect it. If the person dies, same thing. But and here is the strange part: it is legal to own a semiautomatic shotgun. (but like for anything else semiauto, you need a license). And pump action rifles aren't prhibited either.
@@nirfz may i ask which country? that is a fascinating factoid
@@beepboop204 🇦🇹 austria
Yes, from San Antonio, Texas. More Bowie knife goodness, please.
My first knife was a crappy Chinese Bowie, but it's what got me started. I still love the various Bowie designs quite a lot. It's a relatively useful tool, and (often) a fearsome thrusting weapon as well.
Hmm, so the two pronounciation debate is a little interesting. Name comes from the Gaelic name Buidh, h is not a sound but a modifier, so the d is something else entirely, Gaelic is fun. According to a survey it is pronounced as you prefer to say it, Bow-ie, in most of the United States, in fact only portion of Texas pronounces it the other way. And he was not from Texas, he just died there. Nor was he from Scotland, his family moved around quite a bit actually. But there is no evidence how he actually pronounced it. Many immigrants change the pronunciation, if not spelling, of their names, sometimes different family members will pronounce the same name differently. So yeah, there really isn't an argument for one there being just the one way. Even the Gaelic way involves some sound that we don't really use in English (apparently say boo while putting your tongue inbetween your tongue, which I can't even do). So yeah, names and words change under all kinds of circumstances.
I'd like to hear about how people actually used these types of weapons... I'm sure there are some detailed accounts. Then I'd love to see a mock up of those kinds of uses of a gelatin dummy or the like :)
Maybe one to do with Tod - make the weapon, read how it was used and then test it in that manner, then discuss!
Good video! As I understand it, when duels were fought with Bowies, the opponents tied their wrists with a scarf or a cloth & fought "in close" with the knife in the other hand...all of the knives discussed in comments can be used as GP knives...however, imho, a knife like a FS & a Bowie should be considered "fighting knives"....a fk should not be used as a pry bar or to eat with...that is why soldiers carried 2 blades...& the GP blade was not used as a pry unless it was an emergency...I have a Western bowie from the '70's...they were used in the 'Nam, mostly by U.S. Special Forces....
I read that book that was pictured in the thumbnail. At the beginning of the book it said that James Bowie and his family mostly used knives and lassos because firearms and ammunition was expensive. I love Bowie knives too. Another great knife was the Arkansas Toothpick. Your videos are awesome.
Knives don't run out of ammunition, besides firearms were all muzzle loaders.
Yes please.
You should do a vid on the main competitor to the bowie in the American west the Green River knife.
Don't know about the past but both of my sons carried Bowie knives in Afghanistan and we're from Kentucky.
Good choice, I knew some Canadian Forces who carried various types of blade in Afghanistan, Bowies and Kukri's among them. The Afghans themselves have a very old and prominent 'blade culture'.
The Ka-bar is pretty much a Bowie. Very serviceable for all kinds of chores. Combat, too, but soldiering is mostly being ready, occasionally fighting and fighting mostly with firearms and munitions. Knives keep you alive in all kinds of ways.
Sounds like James Bowie became rich by nefarious means.
Step 1: Smuggle in illegally enslaved people
Step 2: Turn in the buyers of said enslaved people for a bounty
Step 3: Buy the enslaved people for pennies on the dollar at the ensuing police auction
Step 4: Profit
Very cool account. Thanks and more such stuff would be nice as well.
There are two other intresting characters in the creation-myth of the bowie knife. James brother Rezin Bowie and the blacksmith om his estate, James Black, sometimes attributed to be the smith of the sandbar knife...
James Black, a former silversmith, had his forge and workshop in what is known now as Old Washington, Arkansas. It was in this area of Arkansas that James Black forged that knife for James Bowie. Again, I am descended from this family and the smithing seems to run deep in our blood. My own grandfather is the individual that taught Bill Moran, the founder of the Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing, how to make folded damascus steel. The restored workshop of James Black happens to be where those bladesmithing classes take place. The various theories of what made that particular knife so special are a family secret that even I guard very closely.
As a Texan I have to say I've never actually heard "boo-ie" knife until Mr. Easton started mentioning them in his videos, I've always pronounced it as it is spelled. Then again I'm not exactly the type of person who'd hear it much in real life, anyway. So maybe boo-ie is the more common pronunciation here.
@@dick_richards Are they saying "boo", or "boo-ie"?
As a Texan who lives in a rural area this is the first time I have ever heard the knife pronounced any way except boo-ee
Don't worry, the British cannot pronounce English correctly.
As an Arkansawyer who talks about them frequently, it is 'Boo-ee'
@@turtlebutme7103 I figured that would be the case. I am a suburb baby, sadly. :P
My main survival fixed blade is a Bowie (tops Prather) and the backup is kukri like (cold steel rajah ||).
Both are the best large knife designs out there. One is better at thrusts and the other is better at slashes/chops but both are so devastating to anything you want dismantled.
The history behind both designs are amazing and if I had a time machine that's what I'd go see next to the American Civil War.
Yes more Bowie knife stuff!
I find it wild that a person that gets shot multiple times. Runs illegal slave trade and kills multiple people... Are depicted as nice people.
I live in Canada in a rural area and I always carry a knife. They are useful. It's not a Bowie knife it's a 8 inch pocket knife but it's sharp. Hand guns are rare here but a knife at close quarters is still deadlier than a gun especially if the gun is used for self defence. Again in Canada you will almost never see a handgun other than police.
I’d prob recommend being armed in Baltimore these days though
Yes please
More Bowie stories!
Other versions of the Bowie tale state that James Bowie's brother Rezin came up with the design of the knife and had it made for James.
Another feature of the knife's legend is that the length of the knife was dictated by the man's length from armpit to waste, as that is the length that can reliably be hidden under a gentleman's coat. Knives were often not allowed indoors.
Had made for himself 9 in half inch hunting knife resemble ordinary butcher knife of the time . He loaned Jim
The only authoritative source for Bowie knife is, without doubt, David Bowie's biography.
We love Bowie knife,
But we didn't know the story.
Thank-you.
Great video. I say Bowie "booie" when referring to the knife simply b/c that's how Jim Bowie himself pronounced his name. Just like I wouldnt call David Bowie that b/c he pronounced it the way its spelled.
By the by I think it was his brother who designed & forged the knife for him.
We always heard it called Booie when I was a kid in Missouri.
Hope there isn't any statue of him in the US .. the Woke will be on overtime getting rid of it.
the Bowie knife is the 1911 of the knife world.
Without a wont to offend US guys, I think this bowie knife - especially with a single edge and relatively short false one was just a specific kind of hunter´s knife/hunting fang of the Dear Auld Continent.
Just a large blade hunting/camp knife with a substantial cross guard. Story I heard in my youth was he added a large guard after his hand slipped onto the blade during a fight and was injured.
If you look at the common "Trade Knife" of the 1700s and early 1800s that makes perfect sense.
In ,Germany' of 19th century, the Hirschfänger , a knife for ,final stab' and Waidblatt/ Standhauer , a knife used as little billhook/ cleaver, had also one side full edge, and a only small second edge.
Mat, I am a great fan of yours. I also have a modest collection of knives. I thought you might be interested in references to the Bowie knife in WW1 by the German as well as the British soldiers, in the biography, " GOODBYE TO ALL THAT", by Robert Graves, on pages 111 and 153. This is a first hand account of the effectiveness of this weapon by this famous British writer.
The scrap that made Bowie famous came to be known as “The Sandbar Fight”. Bowie was one of several seconds observing a duel when things got squirrely. He was shot and stabbed, killed his opponent with a knife and survived.
He was a bit of a frontier rogue, but he wasn’t alone.
He was a man of his time.
Bowie Knife is a blade type that would make sense when made in to various different sizes and with different hilt types.
And so they are… There are dozens of “modified” Bowie blade shapes on the market. Arguably, the famous “K-Bar” Marine knife is one.
@@Bikewer a Bowie is kinda modified Seax 😅
@@beepboop204 An upsidedown Seax, but there are features of a Bowie that really are distinct. It has a false edge, it has a "drop" point and it usually has a guard and a finger choil/a flat section on blade closest to the hilt so you can put your finger over the guard in a fencing style grip.
@@steezydan8543 yes both the Seax and Bowie have different knife modifications. always comes down to the .... .... context
By 1886, there was not a lot of "Frontier" left int he lower 48 states. And most "Cowboys" carried some form of a cartridge revolver. Many did carry a knife, but it was more of a utility knife, for eating with and general cutting chores, not so much for self defense. As for the Sand Bar fight, of the research I have done, it was most likely he carried a straight backed large butcher type knife, and not a "Bowie" knife. I've always heard that the "Bowie" knife was not made until some time between 1831 and 1833. I could be wrong. I only have four Bowie knives in my collection :)
The problem stems from there having been two @ Bowie Knives @. The first one was a hunting knife that Rezin Bowiie had made as a gift for his brother James. This is most likely the one that was used in The Sandbar Duel. It was after that affair that James had what we now know as the Bowie Knife ' made by James Black. It was designed to be a weapon, not a hunting knife or woodsman's tool. It had an 11 1/2" long, 1/4" thick, and 2 1/2" wide blade with a brass S guard. And as coffin hilts were James Black's trademark, it pronbably had one of those as well. It was a ferocious looking thing apparently,. Davy Crockett wrote in his last letter from the Alamo to his wife, that he had Met James Bowie and had seen his famous knife and that. " The thought of it being used on another human being is enough to make a strnong man feel queasy, especially before breakfast. " And I don't think anyone could accuse Davy Crockett of having a weak stomach where violence was concerned. So it must have looked really nasty back then lol. Of course, nowadays they are not thought of in quite the same way. Familiarity breeds contempt as the saying goes.
Consider an 1873 peacemaker had a capacity of 6 (though often only 5 rounds were carried and the hammer sat on an empty cylinder) the reload time was substantial even with the introduction of metallic cartridges. A capable fighting knife was considered a valuable item. I will admit in what I see in period sales catalogs and old photos, often the knives were of a smaller size than an early bowie knife. 4-6 inches stilettos styles were often seen rather than the 8-12 large hack and slash blades
you often see in earlier references.
Yes, in the antique world, 6 or 7 inch blades are much more common than 8+ inch blades. Though in fairness, most of these knives were seen as hunting and general purpose field knives, rather than specifically fighting knives.
@@scholagladiatoria I think that's because most frontiersmen were sane rational people. However, you do read many accounts of people (rationally or otherwise) in the muzzleloading era ordering massively large knives or even hunting swords, with the mindset of "I may be under threat and have to defend myself therefore I need the longest sharpened iron bare I can carry comfortably." The correlation I noticed was the more effective the firearms got, generally the smaller the bladed weapons got. Also, Maturity probably has something to do with it. I served as an infantryman in the army for 2 hitches, when I was a young private I had a KABAR I always carried, by the time I got out as a Staff sergeant I had a case trapper pocket knife. A book you may enjoy about personal weapons of American frontiersmen is "Gunsmoke and saddle leather. Which covers the end of the American colonial period to the introduction of smokeless powder and deals almost exclusively with private citizens rather than military-issued weapons.
Please do continue to dig through the BNA and share the interesting articles you find
I love that at time of writing UA-cam says that this video has four comments, but I can read six comments.
Edit: Christ, I knew that in the 1840s-50s the U.S. Congress was a bit rowdy, but I hadn't heard that the state legislators were actually killing each other in the chamber!
The third knife that you showed is not a Bowie knife. It's an Arkansas toothpick. Basically a large dagger.
Jim Bowie gave one of his knives to his friend, a actor. it is now in a private collection. it looks like a large butchers knife ,a triangular shape with a clip point. this is shown on UA-cam. It looks nothing like a bowie knife we know today, which has a curved clip point. The clip point knife we know today as a bowie, has been used all over the world in the past, which have a curved clip point.
A Bowie knife is MUCH bigger. See “Alamo” movie with Jason Patrick.
The Bowie knife comes in many sizes & shapes actually. But if it was in a movie ofc it has to be true!! 😉
You should do audio books man! There's not enough people who read historical books or documents for audio books.
Nothing grates my ears as much as Boo-ee and Bow-ee: It's Boe-ee... 😝😝😝 I never knew Bowie was a slaver... Fascinating stuff, Matt, cheers 👍👍👍
That part of the Texas revolution is usually carefully omitted. The "freedom" the Texians fought hardest for was the freedom to own and use slaves.
Is the Von Tempsky ranger knife (NZ Bowie) worth a segment. Perhaps not much source material. I read somewhere that they were used held backwards along the forearm as protection against blows from Mere clubs (was one on Matt's wall) and Taiaha. The ranger being armed with a pistol in the other hand.
The first Colt revolver came out in 1837. The Colt Paterson Revolver, a 5 shot .36 caliber percussion cap revolver. It wasn't until 1851 that Colt came out with a true belt, or holster pistol. The 1851 Colt Navy, also in .36 caliber. Made for the US Navy at the time, but became very popular with civilians.
Baby Dragoons of the 1840s were predecessors to the '51 Navy. I shoot an 1851 London Navy and a 3rd Model Dragoon incidentally :-)
@@scholagladiatoria Okay, yes the Baby Dragoon, .31 caliber was primarily created for the Pony Express. As for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd model Dragoons, those where any thing but belt guns. Way to big. They where carried in holsters on a saddle. I guess you could carry one, but you'd want to wear suspenders. The 1851 Navy, was light enough that it was comfortable to wear in a holster, on your belt. See what I"m saying?
GREAT video, thanks you!
Could you do the FS Fairbairn
So interesting. Please do more in the subject
more bowie knife videos please!
Good Video!
For a great book on the subject I recommend “The Bowie Knife: Unsheathing an American Legend”
by Norm Flayderman
Lots of beautiful photos of antique knives and accounts of their use
Their were laws restricting their carrying back them some are still on
The books
The ‘smith I apprenticed under sort of specialized in making antique bowies, impressive and scary knives. He carried a big one everywhere he went
I had a wife that was an emergency room nurse and they brought in a dead guy that had been stabbed with a big Bowie right in the heart cutting it almost in half. Police said he chased the guy that stabbed him down a flight of stairs and across the parking lot!
Hey deadhorse , have a look at this some of Norm Flaydermans knives live in the hand , he is a small channel but you will salivate at the examples he shows off ua-cam.com/video/Rs83TYH351g/v-deo.html
Wow, that must be a rare book judging by how expensive it is!
Please do dig out more accounts
I wonder if there is any connection between the products from Sheffield and what Bowie's chopper knife actually looked like. Maybe more like a 1918 USMC marine bolo knife I suspect or a pointed Kukri.