![]() ![]() In an 1828 account of the capture of a pirate schooner carrying a mixed group of Spanish and South American pirates, the carrying of knives similar to the early Bowie knife is mentioned:Īmongst these, were a large number of long knives – weapons which the Spaniards use very dexterously. īernard Levine has reported that the first known Bowie knife showed a strong Mediterranean influence insofar as general lines were concerned, particularly the shape of the traditional Spanish folding knife ( navaja), then often carried by immigrants to Mexico and other territories of the Old Southwest. It was straight-backed, described by witnesses as "a large butcher knife", and having no clip-point nor any handguard, with a simple riveted wood scale handle. The blade, as later described by Rezin Bowie, was 9 + 1⁄ 2 in (24 cm) long, 1⁄ 4 in (6.4 mm) thick and 1 + 1⁄ 2 in (3.8 cm) wide. The earliest such knife, made by Jesse Clift at Bowie's brother Rezin's request, resembled Spanish hunting knives of the day, and differed little from a common butcher knife. The historical Bowie knife was not a single design but was a series of knives improved several times by Jim Bowie over the years. This is a copy of the Fowler Bowie currently displayed at the Alamo. Origin and description An early Bowie of the type made for Rezin Bowie and commissioned by the Bowies to Searles and Constable. ![]() With no solid definition and conflicting accounts of knife history, many were credited with the invention or improvement of the blade. Others incorporated the errors into their accounts of both Bowie and his knives. Some documents were misquoted, some reported facts cannot be confirmed, etc. In the mid-20th century, a Bowie knife book author took liberties with the historical facts. A later Bowie claimed that the information attributed to John was a lie and that John probably never saw the document, etc. ![]() Rezin's grandchildren named a different blacksmith. Sixteen years after James' death someone (assumed to be James' brother John) slightly amended Rezin's explanation to include a blacksmith. His brother Rezin Bowie provided a terse history two years after James' death. The Bowie family provided a variety of conflicting knife histories. James Bowie prominently wore a large knife after the Sandbar fight. That Sandbar Fight received national publicity (accounts in Philadelphia, New York, and the Niles' Register of Washington, D.C.) within months of the event. ![]() Historians seriously entertain the possibility that Bowie fought only one personal knife fight (and, if Rezin Bowie's account is true, that fight was not fought with a blade meeting the modern definition). James Bowie left a very thin paper trail in the absence of verifiable facts, his history was buried in unverifiable knife-fighting legend. The Bowie knife derives part of its name and reputation from James Bowie, a notorious knife fighter, who died at the Battle of the Alamo. To complicate matters, some American blades that meet the modern definition of the Bowie knife may pre-date Bowie. Absent a consensus definition, it is impossible to clearly define the origin of the knife. In the mid-19th century, when the popularity of the knife was at its peak, the term was applied to a wide range of blades. By the mid-20th century most included some combination of blade length and blade shape. The early history of the Bowie knife is complicated by murky definitions, limited supporting documentation, and conflicting claims. The knife pattern is still popular with collectors in addition to various knife manufacturing companies there are hundreds of custom knife makers producing Bowie knives with different types of steel and variations in style. 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. A Bowie knife ( / ˈ b uː i/ BOO-ee ) is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother Jim Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight. ![]()
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