Exploring the Origins of the Bowie Knife: The DREADED Blade of the West!

The Bowie knife, one of the most famous knives in American history. The favored weapon of James Bowie, knife of choice for the frontiersman, and the sidearm of choice for American volunteers. But what is a Bowie knife, and what is the bowie knife exactly designed to do? Its more complicated than may be expected. In order to fully understand where it came from, we dive into the history and myths of the bowie knife!

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Bowies, Big Knifes, and the Best of Battle Blades

The Bowie Knife: Unsheathing an American Legend

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[alexxbaudwhyn]

Man, musician, actor, activist
And blade maker!
David Bowie did it all

[garyheaton]

One of the best descriptions I have ever heard regarding the legendary Bowie knife.
My old uncle had a Bowie his daddy gave him back in the early 1950's. My great grand daddy handed it down to him, Along with a 1873 Winchester in 38-40. They say he had the knife before he, or his daddy, bought the '73 NEW and two boxes of ammo. He passed one whole box down with the rifle....so I'm pretty sure it was probably made back during the civil war. my family came from only a few miles from the Cherokee National reservation in east TN. I lost track of the Bowie around 1970 ish. My uncle left it to my dad..and my dad being as sentimental as he was 😂🤣😂🤣 my guess is that he sold it!! I was able to liberate my '73 from him before he had the chance to sell it.
That Bowie had a 10" blade with a back cut for about it 3" that was sharpened. The width was just under 1/4" at the finger guard, the handle was the standard coffin style used a lot back then. I don't remember a name being on it..but it did have two symbols on it..makers marks..I assume anyway.
Sorry for going on..history amazes me. Great video!! I subscribed too!

[DavidDiaz-zphu]

I was at Ft Bragg in the early 2000's and one of the things that blew my mind was finding out that some knife fighting expert instructor taught a full bowie knife fighting course to Special Forces soldiers. It was featured in an article of the Sine Pari magazine i saw complete with pictures.

[larryhurth]

On his way to Texas, James Bowie had carved a blade shape from wood and stopped at James Black's Forge in Washington, Arkansas. He paid Black to make this blade for him. Black did this commissioned work, but he also did some improvements on a blade of his own design; which included the back sharp edge. Jim Bowie liked Blacks improvements and used the improved version as the new "Bowie" knife. It was rumored that Black used a meteorite in part of the steel processing. When the blade was found in Mexico, it had been used for many years to cut corn stalks and never needed sharpening.
The name "Bowie" came from Scotland and the family there made large knives from broken swords, so the design of the fighting knife is probably centuries old before James and Resin Bowie were born.
The "Resin Bowie" is pictured in many depictions of an ebony handled and silver appointed straight back blade (butcher knife type) which was used at the Sandbar Fight and returned to Resin eventually.

[jaketheripper]

Literally watched this because I was curious about the use and application of the back cut, totally random and viewed as a suggestion on another unrelated video. I love how much focus and explanation was put into this specific aspect of the bowie in this video and I discovered all I wanted know about it. So crazy, seriously. I just randomly thought about it when I saw the thumbnail, and then this dude spends a solid couple minutes explaining the practical application and history of the back cut clearly and succinctly. I'm just so gobsmacked right now that I can barely see straight lol.

[journeyman]

I only subbed because I just bought a CS 1917 Bowie, I have A Thor, a Modern Bowie & a CS Leatherneck. I sold most of my CRK's and other folders.
I don't ever expect to use these knives but they bring me so much joy just appreciating the beauty and history.

[knownaigm]

Dude, you just perfectly condensed like 2 months of mountains of research I've done down into 11 minutes. Instant subscriber! Loving this channel, the in-depth accurate history and the bullshit-busting information. SO SO SO much info about knives these days that gets repeated is just flatout incorrect and I love that you're setting this stuff straight. Same thing with your video on Switchblades.

[keithweiss]

I was told by my hunter safety instructor that large knives were a total waste and that he could gut a deer with his tiny Swiss Army knife. I told him that might be true, but he would have to stop and sharpen his several times. My Bowie knife can easily gut two deer without stopping. The length of the sharpened edge is the key.

[Falcun]

According to books written a long time ago that reference Rezin's knife, they state that Jim used Rezin's knife at the Sandbar Fight and while he was laid up healing from his wounds gained there, he drew and whittled a bigger, better version. Rezin's knife was just a hunting knife made from a file and had a bolster and the blade came down like a chef's knife so the hand wouldn't slip down the blade. Rezin had sliced his hand to the bone while cutting a deer's throat and was said to be annoyed about how the knife's design allowed the hand to slip from the handle down the blade. Hunting knives of that time did not have guards, they were just "butcher knives." Jim took that design and added the guard, the clipped point with the sharpened back edge and increased the size all around, creating a fighting knife and not just a hunting one. He was said to have taken the design to James Black in Arkansas where he crafted a masterpiece. Legends say that Black had rediscovered Damascus Steel and used it to forge Bowie's knife. By all accounts, the "Bowie" knives that were sold commercially were never the same as the one that Bowie himself carried. His was a monster and identified him among other men dressed the same and carrying big knives. Of course all we have is hearsay and while some claim the real Bowie still exists, we know that Santa Ana ordered the bodies burned and he would have either taken the knife himself or burned it with the body.

The description of the Bowie was that it was long enough to almost be a short sword, heavy enough to chop wood, wide enough to paddle a canoe and sharp enough to shave with.

[marcusmoonstein]

The Bowie actually makes an excellent survival knife. The thick spine and wide blade mean that you can pound on the back with a stick and use it to split wood, while the dainty point makes it great for butchering game.

[axiomrunner]

absolutely love the educational approach towards the topic. I've seen several videos and most having a overly-fan-fiction approach or opinionated theory approach.... but your well versed information along with citations and additional readings give credibility.... and as a person living in San Antonio, 9 minutes away from THE ALAMO itself, i appreciate the work put into this video.

[glenmartin]

A good video. Thank you.
The Bowie knife is simply what friends referred to as a bush knife. It was very handy as a sort of multi-tool on farms and when hunting in the South.
My father served in the US Marines during WW2 and so I prefer the Kbar.
During the early 1960's, "Boo wie" was the preferred pronunciation.
The military personnel used combat knives. I do not know of anyone directly or indirectly, except during the frontier period, who fought another person with a Bowie knife.

[inregionecaecorum]

I bought my first Bowie knife for the grand price of eighteen shillings and sixpence at the grand age of thirteen in the 1960s before such things were frowned on. Unfortunately it was stolen more than twenty years ago, but since then I have bought various blades from the same manufacturer in Sheffield (Still going been going since the days of Jim Bowie) every blade is individual and different.

[CampfireKodiak]

Excellent video! One comment I have is: Bowie rhymes with Louie. (pronounced Boo-wie) That's how Jim Bowie pronounced his name and that's how all Texans do too. It's a Scottish name and that's how it's pronounced. David Bowie is British and for some reason that's how the Brits pronounce it. Ironically a lot of the historic Bowie knives where made in the UK. So I suppose both are correct although the Brits pretty much do everything backwards anyways. 🙂

[RUBIZEN]

Great to hear Bill Bagwell referenced. I loved reading his articles in Soldier of Fortune magazine back in the 80's. Peter G. Kokalis too.

[paulsmith]

Very well spoken, those Big Blade are some of the best blades especially if it's a battle blade.
Its hard to image life with a knife.
Knife Life 101

[eviljesus]

Been using one as my primary knife since childhood. We could use the large oak handled ones we got at gun shows for everything from chopping down small trees to make short term fences/corrals in the woods, make shelter for a week of fencing deep in the wooded back acres, chopping up game etc. Best paired with a small detail knife, either a jack knife or even a 2nd, smaller fixed blade. These days I tend to carry a more simple lg bushcraft knife unless I'm specifically hunting, then it's back to the trusty bowie for sticking hogs and such.

[crackin]

I have a great one it has a great saw on the back and great for cooking .
$19 bucks at Harbor Freight.
And as I was typing this your video ran an ad for Harbor Freight.
Crazy.
Bowie's are also great for cooking bacon

[JoseLopez-xfgp]

Good video. The Marine Raider Bowie issued to Marines during WW2. The marine bayonet and the kabar are both modeled after the Bowie knife.

[orboakin]

I am so glad the YouTube algorithm recommended this to me. I love learning about history. My first introduction to bowie knives was via cartoons I would watch as a kid in Nigeria. I had no idea there was more to them. Great video.