I am American and I love Sheffield Bowies. I got a cheap copy of the first one that you presented on this video when I was about 11 for Christmas from Smokey Mountain Knife works. I love the second one. I have only seen one other Bowie like that, and it was an antique that went for thousands of dollars. I like the Sheffield knives,and it's a shame that it is a dying industry.
I very much liked the story he told in one of the earlier vids, about the french officers seeking out their british counterparts to provoque them for a smallsword duel. They intended to humiliate their enemies by displaying their superior skills in sophisticated swordmanship and ended up dead in the first seconds of the rencontre, getting surprised by an adversary that unceremoniously rushed into them, running them clean through with their blade in a very much death defying manouever the French didn't expect.
Out of hundreds of excellent videos I've seen on this channel, this is one of your best. I particularly like, that you mentioned the still existing Sheffield knifemakers, an unbroken lineage of centuries old knowledge and craftsmanship, and you emphasising the great importance of us as the comunity of blade aficionados ( aka knife fanboys) to support and keep alive this and other traditional arts and crafts. From own experience I can assure you that a lot of benefits can be won from entertaining good relation with your local gunsmith, cutlerer, carpenter, blacksmith and other specialised shops in or near the town you live. You don't have to order custom made swords or guns for thousands of bucks to do that, just make it your habit to always look there first for whatever bigger or smaller items you want to buy, be it cleaning or sharpening products, replacement parts, etc.You don't have to waste your time with the ocasionally met grumpy old men or bad service for there will normally be other places, not too far, where you will find the high quality professional advice and first class service that are the hallmarks of proud masters of their trade. Despite of the fact that you find most things cheaper on the internet, than in the average Ma & Pa hardware shop, in the long run, you will very likely safe money when buying at a place that has his own workshop, beside you doing your part in keeping alive the traditions and the know how, including its thousands and thousands of secret tricks and specialised knowledge, some of it unique and nowhere else to find than exactly in the region where you live, . Fuck the international normatised uniformity of globalised standards.
Growing up one of the things that fascinated me in grandfather's house was something he called an "Arkansas Toothpick, which he called a cousin of the bowie". It was a long, double edged dagger similar to a Scottish Dirk. As I got older and looked into it, I was surprised to find it's complicated history, especially relating to it's relationship with the Bowie. Very interesting to research if you're interested
I took delivery of a 5 inch whittle tang Bowie knife from the guys at the famous Sheffield shop this morning and they are stunning. I had a bit of a wait due to COVID as it was ordered back at the beginning of October but definitely worth the wait. If this one lasts as long as the first one did it will certainly see me out.
This is what I love about UA-cam videos. You get people who are empirically testing ideas. Also, the handle of the knife looks a bit like my grandmas' old Sheffield knives. Happy memories. I went to the Leadmill at Sheffield once... cool!
Hi Matt, the style of the clip on the point of the first knife was very characteristic of English made Bowie knife. in fact it was known as a Sheffeild clip. The clip starts partway back on the spine with a near ninety degree shoulder and then a grind line running parallel to the spine until the actual clip. Another prized characteristic was that many from Sheffeild were forged from crucible steels.
I live in Arkansas, so I've actually visited Washington, Arkansas, where the first bowie knife was supposedly made. There's a forge there, with a blacksmith who makes bowie knives. He knows basically their entire history and has a really nice cat and a few kittens that hang around the forge to get petted.
I actually knew that Sheffield produced many of the Bowie knives in the 19th century. There is an American program, here on you tube ( Bowie knives 1820-1870) which shows one of the largest collections of antique Bowie knives in the world. One thing became clear while viewing this collection ; Matt´s copy of a " Downton Abby toothpick" is not even particularly "ostentatious" for that period and the shape of it´s blade, is not the only shape that classified as a Bowie knife. Some of the "Bowie´s, made by Sheffield, had double edged blades and look more like daggers, than what we today percieve as having the classical Bowie look.
Years ago I saw a photo of a knife made for Resin Bowie, James' brother, by the same man who made James' knife. It had a silver handle very similar to the one shown. It had a more narrow blade and looked much like a carving knife from a formal carving set (knife and two prong fork) one would see at Thanksgiving.
I've two William Rodgers 5½inch Sheffield Bowie knives. With the single side finger scalloped grip. They feel beautiful in the head & are razer sharp. 👍🇮🇪
I'm not saying we're more civilised, just that they also weren't more civilised than us. War and killing are never civilised no matter what century it is. Also, those people weren't executed, they were recovered from the battlefield during the civil war.
It's really interesting how the Bowie evolved over time including the role and influence of these iconic English blade smith companies on an iconic American knife. The most iconic version of the American Bowie for me is the Western W49 style (pre-laminate, i.e. solid rosewood handle, so very much pre-Camillus). The older styled classic coffin handled Bowie with less swooped blade and that long Texas clip seems to be the one on which the Shefflied makers seemed to most pick up. These are all likely quite different than the James Bowie original, which is believed to have had a straight blade of a little over 9 inches and 1.5 inches think with a kind of "butcher" knife feel. Thank you Brother love your stuff!!
"Boo-ie" knives are knives modeled after that of the American knife fighter. "Bow-ie" knives are those modeled after that of Ziggy Stardust. Hope that clears things up.
Amateur/hobby knife maker and hema guy for the last ten years here. That is a seriously cool knife - and it is definitely a fantastic weapon. It's a serious weapon and I would think that you mostly fight with the point, and have a lot of cool stuff you can do with it. I have made Bowies with cast handles before mostly as experiments and I rather like them from an aesthetic standpoint. If I had to use one as a serious self defense weapon however I would definitely wrap the grip with a fine and tight layer of cordage - and then hit the thing with a kind of thin natural resin like shellac. I have made three or four knives like that, and I have no idea whether this was a historical practice but it feels a lot better in my hand than a minimally textured bare metal grip. As Mr. Easton said the grip feels very slight in the hand - rather thin like a foil or a Fairbairn dagger - personally, I have found that if you keep the handle rather thin like that but add a bit of cordage over it it's very easy to tailor the grip to an individual user's hand - and doing the grip in this way is simple enough for the user to do himself. So long as you don't use a crazy modern epoxy on the cordage and you use a natural material (like a tightly woven hemp or cotton cord) it is no problem unwrapping the thing and cleaning the metal handle to like-new condition. A question for Mr. Easton: i know foil or small sword style handles can feel odd in the hand if one does not use them as intended, but is there anything you would personally change about the grip of that knife? I have Slavic Peasant Hands (XXL edition) and I find that many historical knife handles need to be scaled up a bit for me, particularly in their length (especially since I can make an attractive over-grip for most things if they need to be thicker). This would not be that big of an issue if, like an original Fairbairn-Sykes dagger, you could choke up on that knife and secure your front two fingers above the cross guard - but that particular knife looks like it isn't set up to be handled like that. Would you personally like it if that knife had a different handle shape, and was able to accommodate that kind of grip? Sorry for the long post. I just really loved that knife and want to make something like it now!
Forthcoming Bowie knife vid sounds like an excellent idea! That is a great example of one of the more ergonomic style historic grips. Seen some surviving historic examples that were so ornate as to seem, to my modern eye, downright horridly uncomfortable. Of course as they were widely carried, used, and trusted in their day the people using them must have known a thing or two of their handling that has been mostly lost to time with which we are unfamiliar. Great topic for discussion. Cheers!
it didn't appeal to my eye immediately, but you sold me on it! You get to like what you like, Matt, like all of us! Moreover, you have practical & aesthetic reasons to like it, so it's not weird at all.
We (US and England) had quite a close economic connection during that time. It really reminds me of the close relationship Japan had with China during the Tang dynasty. Many of the blades were Chinese made, but Japanese in design.
Brilliant video i love the iconic look and feel of a good quality bowie, that knife with the metal handle like old cutlery is beautiful ive never seen one like that before, despite its size it looks very fluid and fast in the hand . All the best - Jim
Thanks for the video. I always loved this old style myself. The grip I would compare that to that you didn't mention is the puukko. Very skinny at the top for the fingers, swells a bit down low to fill the palm better, gives a very good feel for the edge and tip.
that silver handled one is very nice, i was at an estate sale last week and picked up an I*XL hunters companion with nickel bolsters and mother of pearl scales, and i agree 100% that they are beautiful
Very pretty. Looks like something a San Francisco banker might have carried in about 1855. Dammit Matt. You have apparently given me the fever. I have bought ten Bowies in the past month. After watching one of your vids, I dug out an eagle pommeled ROMO made in Solingen that I bought on the playground when in the sixth grade. It was an old knife in 1969, lol. So I restored it, and went looking for a proper sheath. Started finding knives that I just HAD to have. At first just cheap ones, but this weekend I am getting a custom hand made one. Cost is more than all the others put together. It's all your fault if I go broke. (I even just bought one from Poshland that you designed. The buffalo/bone handled 1840s design.) Thanks though, lol. I guess you're my new mentor.
I've used many Bowie type knives but in my opinion the Cold Steel Trailmaster is my go-to; the clip isn't as pronounced and the weight feels good in my hand. Having said that, these examples are masterworks. I really like your knife videos. Thanks for sharing.
Brandl Stephenson Agreed on the CS Trailmaster . Mine is from the late 90s and it's a beast . Original sheath and handle worn out . I made a leather sheath and put a coffin handle made of teak on it . She's a beaut !
Until very recently, Bowie knives were specifically illegal to carry in Texas. Of course, no one can say with specifically identify what a Bowie knife actually is.
I would be quite interested if you did make a video on various Bowie knife types. And I can see what you mean about that grip resembling and handling like a Fairbairn-Sykes, though I prefer to hold the Fairbairn-Sykes in the T-grip, with my thump aligned with the ricasso, though not necessarily on the ricasso. This might be because my first F~S pattern knife was a V-42 Stiletto reproduction, but I also recall finding squeezing my thumb against the crossguard uncomfortable with the F~S, even though mine has a leather backing on the guard like the original V-42. I personally don't care for that style of handle on a Bowie, but I can see why you like it.
John Wilkes Booth was waving a Manson Sheffield dagger when he shouted "Sic semper tyrannis!" from the stage of Ford's Theater after shooting Lincoln. The blade has a gaudily patriotic acid etching.
the handle is very similar to one found on some gaucho knives, I personally like that style handle. Guess I should have watched to the end before commenting :)
Wig Spitting Tool in that warrior type of way now and back in the day. It's a beautiful knife ,the first one that is ,the. second one is a killer design also. Both of those are for fighting or self defense.
I always wanted a bowie with an handle like that. Sadly here they are quite rare, even the gaucho knives are sparse. I would love to buy a sheffield repro of that model! Thank you for the nice video.
Don't worry about how you prefer to pronounce Bowie, that''s how I pronounce it and how I learned from early life to pronounce it. I do love both those knives, but then I love all things sharp and pointy. Have a great day.
Although the bowie with the fancy handle is modern-made, there were quite a few of this handle style made by Sheffield for the American and British market in the 19th century apparently. Check out some of the antique auction sites and you find them occasionally, like Bonham's or Butterfield's.
Bram Stoker's Dracula was killed primarily with a bowie knife. Since it was set in Europe (tho the character was American) it might have been a Sheffield.
I have never seen a silverware handled bowie knife, nor have I ever wanted one. However like most Americans, for no good reason, after hearing someone with a British accent recommend it I do.
Just wanted to say, ive learned so much since finding your channel, thanks for the awesome content :) also you should ahh do another video on smallswords, that one example you have is really pretty. plus the steel hilted military non colichemarde is pretty cool. also if you happen to know any companies or smiths that produce proper historically accurate ones as least as far as the blade goes thatd be very helpful i found someone who can do cast replicas of actual historical examples soooo i need a blade or a whole sword to have remounted. im also planning on getting something like an epee blade to have a second one done eventually as a blunt trainer, or just a dull, they cant really do much damage from a swing so with a rubber tip and a flexier blade it should be pretty safe.
As far as the Bowie knife being a do all knife/tool in the 19th century George Washington Sears (aka Nessmuk) came down pretty hard on them, saying they were "thick, clumsy affairs of little use... rather fitted to adorn a dime novel or the belt of a Billy the kid, than a hunter." Ouch. And that second Bowie was pretty awesome looking, especially the profile.
Old reply, but lol I remember reading this in Nessmuk’s book, as well as many others after it. I think David Boye, a knifemaker, talks about the same thing in his book, who says that such gruesome clip point macho knives are fantasy murder weapons useful for little more than, uh, killing. You see it echoed time and time again that the bowie knife is not very practical in the woods. Indeed, any experienced woodsman in the North American continent to this day would vastly prefer a hatchet and a small fixed blade, or even a pen knife, instead of a do-all big knife. I will give two counter-arguments to the objections of the Bowie being a woodswalking frontier knife. The first and weakest is simply that we live in an age where going out in the woods is mostly a luxury and that you’ll be served well by anything that can cut at all, even a swiss army knife. Part of enjoying the wilderness is having fun, and if having fun means having a pocket sword at the hip, who cares? My second counterargument aligns with Matt Easton’s valid assertion that the Bowie was predominately a weapon, not a tool. This is inherent in the design of the clip point. For big knife cultures like Nepal or Mexico or the Philippines or Malaysia where the main tool for the wilderness is a big knife rather than an axe, the thing that all these knives like kukris and parangs and machetes have in common is that they were built for chopping and slashing and have quite bulbous tips clearly not intended for stabbing. Thin clip-point tips present on a Bowie assist very little in the woods with helping achieve greater velocity or splitting power. No, the only thing that a clip point helps with is making the point finer to make it easier to stab someone. That’s it. Rubbish for skinning or wood or vine whacking, but great for murdering. Yes you could use a bowie like a machete but something with a thin tip used as a slasher will always, always fall behind a fat-nosed bolo style knife when it comes to usefulness in the bush, hands down.
Upvoting because bowie. More pls. I liked the ornate handle one you showed too! Must get one. Incidentally, I do like FS daggers but eh, I found recent Sheffield ones not great. You would also have my gratitude if you did some episodes on FS or FS/Applegate daggers!
Messers good in antiquity and a messer is good today. I like to cutlery handle too. The grip is a item of fashion. When out of the sheath in use the bling factor is less important.
The ornate silver handle you showed looks a lot like what is used in argentinian and uruguayan facón . Facón is the knife that criole and gauchos (our kind of cowboy thing) made in the colonial era, from argentinian, spanish and british sabers. When they had a saber that somehow broke, they would cut it to size and remove it from the previous hilt, and put it in an ornate copper, silver, or nickel silver hollow hilt. Or sometimes they would do it just the same, because the wars ended, and having a saber to do everyday tasks could be cumbersome, so...snap or cut, and facón there is.
For a tool that's a terrible handle, but purely for the purpose of a weapon, I think it looks perfect. Perfect for an urban environment. Nice and gentlemanly. Stabby stabby.
My history teacher told me that James Bowie's knife was held upside down from how we normally use them, that the dull side of the blade (which would be thus pointing down) was thick and use to block with. He said way James Bowie used it was to stab and then pull upwards while pulling the blade out to cause massive damage compared to how a knife was normally used.
I love the Cutlery handle Bowie’s! They are very much the Victorian equivalent of a “pimped out” gun or whatever, much as I hate using the term. The men back then were very image conscious and cared what their accoutrements looked like. A very tasteful weapon from an age of good taste.
I kinda like the silver handled one. At first glance it looked kinda meh, but after looking at it a while it starts to look real shiny and pretty. I'm beginning to think that was the point; to show off and make people notice the big flashy knife you were carrying in your belt. Kind of like a deterrent. And like a sword you'd be wearing it a lot more than you'd be actually using it so why not look good while doing it! :)
Screw anyone who doesn't like that bowie knife, they'd probably rather have a cheap Chinese knife anyway. As an antique knife collector, that was one of the most beautiful bowie knives I have ever seen. It's so sad that they are so rare and unpopular. Guess people just can't appreciate good knives.
Don't forget that back edge serves as a karambit when properly sharpened. Test and see if that talon tip geometry doesn;t aid in the tip digging in when driving it in favoring the recurve.
I love the blade on that Middleton bowie. And I’ll have to go along with your friends and say I don’t like the handle. 😆 I didn’t know there were Sheffield Bowies with that blade shape. All the Sheffield Bowies I’ve seen here (Texas) have the more streamlined shape. I thought it was the design that determined a “Sheffield” knife... silly me.
I thought Sheffied Bowie knives were supplied with cultlery handles with the expectation that US buyers would replace with their preferred bone or horn handles?
Probably something like: "Knife", or "big knife". I'm not sure how far back the nomer of "Arkansas Toothoick" goes, or the like, but I imagine there were idiomatic terms such as that to refer to them depending on the style and where they were encountered. One can surely tell the stylistic difference between "Arkansas Bowies" and "Texas Bowies", etc. so it would make sense that various pig stickers had various nicknames.
Fair's fair -- I thought the silver cutlery handle was a bit shocking when you first showed it, but it's not awful. My main concern is how it handles as a weapon and a tool. A scrawny handle made of a relatively slippery material doesn't seem like a recipe for success.
I actually quite like the silver handled ones. It fits my style. (Btw in a fight the American clip point Bowie works best when upside down with cutting edge towards you)
Always wondered what the 1800's Sheffield Bowie knives were like steel quality wise. As well as the type of processes used to make that steel. What the make up of the steel was. How hard the blades were?
I have heard that knife laws in the U.K. have become, or are becoming, prohibitive. Are there restrictions on buying, owning and storing knives like the Sheffield examples you shared here?
Great vid, on some great knifes Matt.. What was the manufacturer name on that first bowie you showed? I love the blade n size of it.. Would love trying to find a repro of it. Keep up the good work.on your informative videos...
Gads! A cutlery Bowie. Looks like a movie prop. The blade I like, would be happy to sell the hilt and put on a nice wood hilt. Liked the one before it, although I suspect that was a bit too blade heavy for my taste. Take both apart and get a good knife out of it?
Matt, what are thoughts on the " " "Musso Bowie"? The brass back seems to dictate an "upside down" presentation to parry most efficiently, but the grip shape belies that, sonewhat...
I am American and I love Sheffield Bowies. I got a cheap copy of the first one that you presented on this video when I was about 11 for Christmas from Smokey Mountain Knife works. I love the second one. I have only seen one other Bowie like that, and it was an antique that went for thousands of dollars. I like the Sheffield knives,and it's a shame that it is a dying industry.
during the american civil war all the best knives and rifles were made in england, british steel was world renowned for quality
"I wanna look like a gentlemen while i stabbing you to death." Matt Easton -2017
^^ The most British thing ever! "Oh my, I seem to have stabbed you in the neck! Terribly sorry old chap."
HM mania That is a seriously posh knife.
I very much liked the story he told in one of the earlier vids, about the french officers seeking out their british counterparts to provoque them for a smallsword duel. They intended to humiliate their enemies by displaying their superior skills in sophisticated swordmanship and ended up dead in the first seconds of the rencontre, getting surprised by an adversary that unceremoniously rushed into them, running them clean through with their blade in a very much death defying manouever the French didn't expect.
You should read some P. Howard!
And I want to stab a burglar with a dagger of the price of a fancy car LOL.
You want my valuables? Here! Woodz steel with silver inlays and rubies.
Out of hundreds of excellent videos I've seen on this channel, this is one of your best. I particularly like, that you mentioned the still existing Sheffield knifemakers, an unbroken lineage of centuries old knowledge and craftsmanship, and you emphasising the great importance of us as the comunity of blade aficionados ( aka knife fanboys) to support and keep alive this and other traditional arts and crafts. From own experience I can assure you that a lot of benefits can be won from entertaining good relation with your local gunsmith, cutlerer, carpenter, blacksmith and other specialised shops in or near the town you live.
You don't have to order custom made swords or guns for thousands of bucks to do that, just make it your habit to always look there first for whatever bigger or smaller items you want to buy, be it cleaning or sharpening products, replacement parts, etc.You don't have to waste your time with the ocasionally met grumpy old men or bad service for there will normally be other places, not too far, where you will find the high quality professional advice and first class service that are the hallmarks of proud masters of their trade.
Despite of the fact that you find most things cheaper on the internet, than in the average Ma & Pa hardware shop, in the long run, you will very likely safe money when buying at a place that has his own workshop, beside you doing your part in keeping alive the traditions and the know how, including its thousands and thousands of secret tricks and specialised knowledge, some of it unique and nowhere else to find than exactly in the region where you live, .
Fuck the international normatised uniformity of globalised standards.
I literally burst out laughing when you pulled out that knife, it looks absolutely appaling. I want to get one as soon as possible.
sonny19931 tada!
Aw, I know it's a bit ornate... maybe even anachronistically baroque, but I'd buy one in a flash! One can't have too many bowies!
It does look like my nana carving set lol
me too
That's not a butter knoife 5:02... that's a butter knoife!
Na, its a butlers knoife.
That's not a butlers knoife 😜
Growing up one of the things that fascinated me in grandfather's house was something he called an "Arkansas Toothpick, which he called a cousin of the bowie". It was a long, double edged dagger similar to a Scottish Dirk. As I got older and looked into it, I was surprised to find it's complicated history, especially relating to it's relationship with the Bowie. Very interesting to research if you're interested
I took delivery of a 5 inch whittle tang Bowie knife from the guys at the famous Sheffield shop this morning and they are stunning. I had a bit of a wait due to COVID as it was ordered back at the beginning of October but definitely worth the wait. If this one lasts as long as the first one did it will certainly see me out.
Would love a vid about the different Bowie styles!
This is what I love about UA-cam videos. You get people who are empirically testing ideas. Also, the handle of the knife looks a bit like my grandmas' old Sheffield knives. Happy memories. I went to the Leadmill at Sheffield once... cool!
Hi Matt, the style of the clip on the point of the first knife was very characteristic of English made Bowie knife. in fact it was known as a Sheffeild clip. The clip starts partway back on the spine with a near ninety degree shoulder and then a grind line running parallel to the spine until the actual clip. Another prized characteristic was that many from Sheffeild were forged from crucible steels.
I live in Arkansas, so I've actually visited Washington, Arkansas, where the first bowie knife was supposedly made. There's a forge there, with a blacksmith who makes bowie knives. He knows basically their entire history and has a really nice cat and a few kittens that hang around the forge to get petted.
Assuming you buy the story, which I do not. There's really nothing to substantiate it other than longevity.
Thrusting, Snap cuts and back cuts the Bowie knife is a beautiful weapon of many techniques.
I actually knew that Sheffield produced many of the Bowie knives in the 19th century. There is an American program, here on you tube ( Bowie knives 1820-1870) which shows one of the largest collections of antique Bowie knives in the world.
One thing became clear while viewing this collection ; Matt´s copy of a " Downton Abby toothpick" is not even particularly "ostentatious" for that period and the shape of it´s blade, is not the only shape that classified as a Bowie knife.
Some of the "Bowie´s, made by Sheffield, had double edged blades and look more like daggers, than what we today percieve as having the classical Bowie look.
Years ago I saw a photo of a knife made for Resin Bowie, James' brother, by the same man who made James' knife. It had a silver handle very similar to the one shown. It had a more narrow blade and looked much like a carving knife from a formal carving set (knife and two prong fork) one would see at Thanksgiving.
I've two William Rodgers 5½inch Sheffield Bowie knives. With the single side finger scalloped grip. They feel beautiful in the head & are razer sharp. 👍🇮🇪
An elegant weapon for a more civilized age :-D
Akatsukami :)
Civilized
i2.wp.com/www.ussflierproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Antietam.jpg
Would you like me to find you execution videos on liveleak or similar images of brutalities today as a rebut or?
I'm not saying we're more civilised, just that they also weren't more civilised than us. War and killing are never civilised no matter what century it is. Also, those people weren't executed, they were recovered from the battlefield during the civil war.
That is a star wars reference dude.
It's really interesting how the Bowie evolved over time including the role and influence of these iconic English blade smith companies on an iconic American knife. The most iconic version of the American Bowie for me is the Western W49 style (pre-laminate, i.e. solid rosewood handle, so very much pre-Camillus). The older styled classic coffin handled Bowie with less swooped blade and that long Texas clip seems to be the one on which the Shefflied makers seemed to most pick up. These are all likely quite different than the James Bowie original, which is believed to have had a straight blade of a little over 9 inches and 1.5 inches think with a kind of "butcher" knife feel. Thank you Brother love your stuff!!
thats the best damn steak knife I've ever seen!
I have considered using it to eat dinner with.
I could just picture your wife's face from across the table giving you the evil eye as you cut your meat lol
Did that with a muela "micro" Bowie. She just rolled her eyes. Those muelas from Spain, aren't too bad, for the price. Bit small, but not bad.
Yea its an amazing knife for fish dishes
I like your "gentleman" Bowie knife, but I always tended to like weapons and tools on the fancy side. Great video. Thanks for posting.
"Boo-ie" knives are knives modeled after that of the American knife fighter. "Bow-ie" knives are those modeled after that of Ziggy Stardust. Hope that clears things up.
Bowie Knives wouldn't exist but for the English Broken Back Seax ... respect your elders and your betters!
Amateur/hobby knife maker and hema guy for the last ten years here. That is a seriously cool knife - and it is definitely a fantastic weapon. It's a serious weapon and I would think that you mostly fight with the point, and have a lot of cool stuff you can do with it. I have made Bowies with cast handles before mostly as experiments and I rather like them from an aesthetic standpoint. If I had to use one as a serious self defense weapon however I would definitely wrap the grip with a fine and tight layer of cordage - and then hit the thing with a kind of thin natural resin like shellac. I have made three or four knives like that, and I have no idea whether this was a historical practice but it feels a lot better in my hand than a minimally textured bare metal grip. As Mr. Easton said the grip feels very slight in the hand - rather thin like a foil or a Fairbairn dagger - personally, I have found that if you keep the handle rather thin like that but add a bit of cordage over it it's very easy to tailor the grip to an individual user's hand - and doing the grip in this way is simple enough for the user to do himself. So long as you don't use a crazy modern epoxy on the cordage and you use a natural material (like a tightly woven hemp or cotton cord) it is no problem unwrapping the thing and cleaning the metal handle to like-new condition.
A question for Mr. Easton: i know foil or small sword style handles can feel odd in the hand if one does not use them as intended, but is there anything you would personally change about the grip of that knife? I have Slavic Peasant Hands (XXL edition) and I find that many historical knife handles need to be scaled up a bit for me, particularly in their length (especially since I can make an attractive over-grip for most things if they need to be thicker). This would not be that big of an issue if, like an original Fairbairn-Sykes dagger, you could choke up on that knife and secure your front two fingers above the cross guard - but that particular knife looks like it isn't set up to be handled like that. Would you personally like it if that knife had a different handle shape, and was able to accommodate that kind of grip?
Sorry for the long post. I just really loved that knife and want to make something like it now!
Forthcoming Bowie knife vid sounds like an excellent idea! That is a great example of one of the more ergonomic style historic grips. Seen some surviving historic examples that were so ornate as to seem, to my modern eye, downright horridly uncomfortable. Of course as they were widely carried, used, and trusted in their day the people using them must have known a thing or two of their handling that has been mostly lost to time with which we are unfamiliar. Great topic for discussion. Cheers!
it didn't appeal to my eye immediately, but you sold me on it! You get to like what you like, Matt, like all of us! Moreover, you have practical & aesthetic reasons to like it, so it's not weird at all.
We (US and England) had quite a close economic connection during that time. It really reminds me of the close relationship Japan had with China during the Tang dynasty. Many of the blades were Chinese made, but Japanese in design.
Brilliant video i love the iconic look and feel of a good quality bowie, that knife with the metal handle like old cutlery is beautiful ive never seen one like that before, despite its size it looks very fluid and fast in the hand . All the best - Jim
That handle looks gorgeous
Thanks for the video. I always loved this old style myself. The grip I would compare that to that you didn't mention is the puukko. Very skinny at the top for the fingers, swells a bit down low to fill the palm better, gives a very good feel for the edge and tip.
The second one is beautiful. I love the handel and the blade. I think i need one like that.
handle
@@ianbradshaw1770 I wish that your mother never learned to open her legs.
Gorgeous Blade!!!!
I always think of the Bowie as a sort of Victorian Cinquedea: self defence and showing off rolled into one.
Yes pretty much!
that silver handled one is very nice, i was at an estate sale last week and picked up an I*XL hunters companion with nickel bolsters and mother of pearl scales, and i agree 100% that they are beautiful
I looked up Bowie knives on Wikipedia, and Jim Bowie used this pattern specifically for fighting. That appears to be it's origin by that name.
The fancy handled Bowie surprised me at first, but it's quickly growing on me
excellent video..thank you
Very pretty. Looks like something a San Francisco banker might have carried in about 1855. Dammit Matt. You have apparently given me the fever. I have bought ten Bowies in the past month. After watching one of your vids, I dug out an eagle pommeled ROMO made in Solingen that I bought on the playground when in the sixth grade. It was an old knife in 1969, lol. So I restored it, and went looking for a proper sheath. Started finding knives that I just HAD to have. At first just cheap ones, but this weekend I am getting a custom hand made one. Cost is more than all the others put together. It's all your fault if I go broke. (I even just bought one from Poshland that you designed. The buffalo/bone handled 1840s design.) Thanks though, lol. I guess you're my new mentor.
Interesting , wicked looking blade
I've used many Bowie type knives but in my opinion the Cold Steel Trailmaster is my go-to; the clip isn't as pronounced and the weight feels good in my hand. Having said that, these examples are masterworks. I really like your knife videos. Thanks for sharing.
Brandl Stephenson Agreed on the CS Trailmaster . Mine is from the late 90s and it's a beast . Original sheath and handle worn out . I made a leather sheath and put a coffin handle made of teak on it . She's a beaut !
I have three Sheffield blades I say English steel it's top notch and pleasant on the eye a joy to use !
Keep the Bowie Knife love coming . Cheers !
I'm a big fan of Sheffield bowies.
Its also interesting to note that some of the first weapon control laws in the US were about where and when you could carry Bowie knives, not guns.
Until very recently, Bowie knives were specifically illegal to carry in Texas. Of course, no one can say with specifically identify what a Bowie knife actually is.
I would be quite interested if you did make a video on various Bowie knife types.
And I can see what you mean about that grip resembling and handling like a Fairbairn-Sykes, though I prefer to hold the Fairbairn-Sykes in the T-grip, with my thump aligned with the ricasso, though not necessarily on the ricasso. This might be because my first F~S pattern knife was a V-42 Stiletto reproduction, but I also recall finding squeezing my thumb against the crossguard uncomfortable with the F~S, even though mine has a leather backing on the guard like the original V-42.
I personally don't care for that style of handle on a Bowie, but I can see why you like it.
That silver tableware Bowie knife looks actually awesome!
I think I read somewhere that Wostenholme (Sheffield cutlers) had something like a sponsorship deal with Jim Bowie.
John Wilkes Booth was waving a Manson Sheffield dagger when he shouted "Sic semper tyrannis!" from the stage of Ford's Theater after shooting Lincoln. The blade has a gaudily patriotic acid etching.
the handle is very similar to one found on some gaucho knives, I personally like that style handle. Guess I should have watched to the end before commenting :)
Wig Spitting Tool in that warrior type of way now and back in the day. It's a beautiful knife ,the first one that is ,the. second one is a killer design also. Both of those are for fighting or self defense.
I like that style of bowie seems fancy
I love that style...
I always wanted a bowie with an handle like that. Sadly here they are quite rare, even the gaucho knives are sparse. I would love to buy a sheffield repro of that model! Thank you for the nice video.
Don't worry about how you prefer to pronounce Bowie, that''s how I pronounce it and how I learned from early life to pronounce it. I do love both those knives, but then I love all things sharp and pointy. Have a great day.
Although the bowie with the fancy handle is modern-made, there were quite a few of this handle style made by Sheffield for the American and British market in the 19th century apparently. Check out some of the antique auction sites and you find them occasionally, like Bonham's or Butterfield's.
I think that knife looks amazing! :D
I’d love a Sheffield in my collection!
Great looking knives and the seconded one inparticual.
Bram Stoker's Dracula was killed primarily with a bowie knife. Since it was set in Europe (tho the character was American) it might have been a Sheffield.
I have a 10" Bowie circa 1975 made by C.K of Italy, it's a fabulous knife but no one seems to have heard of C.K cutlery
I have never seen a silverware handled bowie knife, nor have I ever wanted one. However like most Americans, for no good reason, after hearing someone with a British accent recommend it I do.
Job well done my friend.
I do like the look a lot.
Just wanted to say, ive learned so much since finding your channel, thanks for the awesome content :) also you should ahh do another video on smallswords, that one example you have is really pretty. plus the steel hilted military non colichemarde is pretty cool. also if you happen to know any companies or smiths that produce proper historically accurate ones as least as far as the blade goes thatd be very helpful i found someone who can do cast replicas of actual historical examples soooo i need a blade or a whole sword to have remounted. im also planning on getting something like an epee blade to have a second one done eventually as a blunt trainer, or just a dull, they cant really do much damage from a swing so with a rubber tip and a flexier blade it should be pretty safe.
That was the gentleman’s style of design.
As far as the Bowie knife being a do all knife/tool in the 19th century George Washington Sears (aka Nessmuk) came down pretty hard on them, saying they were "thick, clumsy affairs of little use... rather fitted to adorn a dime novel or the belt of a Billy the kid, than a hunter." Ouch. And that second Bowie was pretty awesome looking, especially the profile.
Old reply, but lol I remember reading this in Nessmuk’s book, as well as many others after it. I think David Boye, a knifemaker, talks about the same thing in his book, who says that such gruesome clip point macho knives are fantasy murder weapons useful for little more than, uh, killing.
You see it echoed time and time again that the bowie knife is not very practical in the woods. Indeed, any experienced woodsman in the North American continent to this day would vastly prefer a hatchet and a small fixed blade, or even a pen knife, instead of a do-all big knife.
I will give two counter-arguments to the objections of the Bowie being a woodswalking frontier knife. The first and weakest is simply that we live in an age where going out in the woods is mostly a luxury and that you’ll be served well by anything that can cut at all, even a swiss army knife. Part of enjoying the wilderness is having fun, and if having fun means having a pocket sword at the hip, who cares?
My second counterargument aligns with Matt Easton’s valid assertion that the Bowie was predominately a weapon, not a tool. This is inherent in the design of the clip point. For big knife cultures like Nepal or Mexico or the Philippines or Malaysia where the main tool for the wilderness is a big knife rather than an axe, the thing that all these knives like kukris and parangs and machetes have in common is that they were built for chopping and slashing and have quite bulbous tips clearly not intended for stabbing. Thin clip-point tips present on a Bowie assist very little in the woods with helping achieve greater velocity or splitting power. No, the only thing that a clip point helps with is making the point finer to make it easier to stab someone. That’s it. Rubbish for skinning or wood or vine whacking, but great for murdering. Yes you could use a bowie like a machete but something with a thin tip used as a slasher will always, always fall behind a fat-nosed bolo style knife when it comes to usefulness in the bush, hands down.
Upvoting because bowie. More pls. I liked the ornate handle one you showed too! Must get one. Incidentally, I do like FS daggers but eh, I found recent Sheffield ones not great. You would also have my gratitude if you did some episodes on FS or FS/Applegate daggers!
Yes!
Messers good in antiquity and a messer is good today. I like to cutlery handle too. The grip is a item of fashion. When out of the sheath in use the bling factor is less important.
That's a barbecue knife.
Compare to "barbecue gun". Something you wear to a shindig, to look fancy.
A friend had his great grandfathers 32 remington da with mother of pearl grips. He said his gg called it his *church gun.*
Matt The Knife.
The ornate silver handle you showed looks a lot like what is used in argentinian and uruguayan facón . Facón is the knife that criole and gauchos (our kind of cowboy thing) made in the colonial era, from argentinian, spanish and british sabers. When they had a saber that somehow broke, they would cut it to size and remove it from the previous hilt, and put it in an ornate copper, silver, or nickel silver hollow hilt. Or sometimes they would do it just the same, because the wars ended, and having a saber to do everyday tasks could be cumbersome, so...snap or cut, and facón there is.
Oh dear. I made this comment just when you showed the hilt, and paused the video. Didn't got to the part where you mentioned the gaucho knives! sorry!
For a tool that's a terrible handle, but purely for the purpose of a weapon, I think it looks perfect. Perfect for an urban environment. Nice and gentlemanly. Stabby stabby.
I love how similar they are to the Ka-Bar, just larger
My history teacher told me that James Bowie's knife was held upside down from how we normally use them, that the dull side of the blade (which would be thus pointing down) was thick and use to block with. He said way James Bowie used it was to stab and then pull upwards while pulling the blade out to cause massive damage compared to how a knife was normally used.
There are records of people holding them like that, but not Jim Bowie himself (we know nothing about how he used it).
The texture of the silver grip looks like it would be very good in the hand.
I love the Cutlery handle Bowie’s! They are very much the Victorian equivalent of a “pimped out” gun or whatever, much as I hate using the term. The men back then were very image conscious and cared what their accoutrements looked like. A very tasteful weapon from an age of good taste.
Knives are good. Bowie knives are very good.
I like the "butter knife" grip
You definitely on your own with the posh cutlery Bowie knife
I’ve 12 place settings just like that handle... I’ll never be able to look at them the same again!
I kinda like the silver handled one. At first glance it looked kinda meh, but after looking at it a while it starts to look real shiny and pretty. I'm beginning to think that was the point; to show off and make people notice the big flashy knife you were carrying in your belt. Kind of like a deterrent. And like a sword you'd be wearing it a lot more than you'd be actually using it so why not look good while doing it! :)
Don't forget , Sheffield makes good rock bands, too.
Screw anyone who doesn't like that bowie knife, they'd probably rather have a cheap Chinese knife anyway. As an antique knife collector, that was one of the most beautiful bowie knives I have ever seen. It's so sad that they are so rare and unpopular. Guess people just can't appreciate good knives.
I have a original bowie knife I got from my father. he got it in the 60s when he was young
Don't forget that back edge serves as a karambit when properly sharpened. Test and see if that talon tip geometry doesn;t aid in the tip digging in when driving it in favoring the recurve.
I love the blade on that Middleton bowie. And I’ll have to go along with your friends and say I don’t like the handle. 😆
I didn’t know there were Sheffield Bowies with that blade shape. All the Sheffield Bowies I’ve seen here (Texas) have the more streamlined shape. I thought it was the design that determined a “Sheffield” knife... silly me.
I thought Sheffied Bowie knives were supplied with cultlery handles with the expectation that US buyers would replace with their preferred bone or horn handles?
What did they call that style of knife before Jim Bowie made them popular?
SrgGoofy Thats a very good question! Never thought of that
There's a line of thought that the knife Bowie actually initially used was little more than a large kitchen knife. How true that is I cannot say,
Probably something like: "Knife", or "big knife". I'm not sure how far back the nomer of "Arkansas Toothoick" goes, or the like, but I imagine there were idiomatic terms such as that to refer to them depending on the style and where they were encountered. One can surely tell the stylistic difference between "Arkansas Bowies" and "Texas Bowies", etc. so it would make sense that various pig stickers had various nicknames.
Seax, messer, dirk, dagger, or just whatever the local word for big knife is. Large knives with clip points are quite ancient.
I have seen various early Victorian texts just refer to these at butcher knives - even when they had a guard.
First time seeing one of those, they are kind of interesting.
Fair's fair -- I thought the silver cutlery handle was a bit shocking when you first showed it, but it's not awful. My main concern is how it handles as a weapon and a tool. A scrawny handle made of a relatively slippery material doesn't seem like a recipe for success.
I would want ivory in there, like the fancy colts used to have.
You should do a video on Ka-Bar US Marine knives. Curious to see what you think about their handling.
I like those too.
i love bowie knives, i have quite a lot of them.
I actually quite like the silver handled ones. It fits my style. (Btw in a fight the American clip point Bowie works best when upside down with cutting edge towards you)
I'd like to hear your opinion on the Bowie knife as it was used in the Sandbar duel.
Hi Matt. Do you know a good amount about Gaucho knives? I'm from Argentina and I'd like to hear your thoughts on them
Always wondered what the 1800's Sheffield Bowie knives were like steel quality wise. As well as the type of processes used to make that steel. What the make up of the steel was. How hard the blades were?
I have heard that knife laws in the U.K. have become, or are becoming, prohibitive. Are there restrictions on buying, owning and storing knives like the Sheffield examples you shared here?
Great vid, on some great knifes Matt..
What was the manufacturer name on that first bowie you showed?
I love the blade n size of it..
Would love trying to find a repro of it.
Keep up the good work.on your informative videos...
Gads! A cutlery Bowie. Looks like a movie prop. The blade I like, would be happy to sell the hilt and put on a nice wood hilt. Liked the one before it, although I suspect that was a bit too blade heavy for my taste. Take both apart and get a good knife out of it?
Matt, what are thoughts on the " " "Musso Bowie"? The brass back seems to dictate an "upside down" presentation to parry most efficiently, but the grip shape belies that, sonewhat...
I love it! İt's so shiny! :-)