Looking for a good Bowie

GB940Rookie said:
Wow, size is right up my alley. Looks like a western style Bowie with a Medieval handle. Will research more. Thanks
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I have one of their swords, it is one of the best fit blades I've seen. So much effort gets put into the fit and finish with these blades, I can't recommend them enough.

One thing is like all Filipino weapons, they work as tools too. I use mine for machete work all the time, hold up very well. I'm sure the Bowie is just as sound.
 
ThePeacent said:
Cold Steel 1917 Bowie,
12 inches, classic looks, classic sheath, beautifully blued carbon steel blade, full tang with riveted wooden handles
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I like the looks of that one also. I believe it to be a lot of knife for the money. If I was looking for strictly a user, it would be top three.

I want this one to be a little better finished. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
I know Buck has been mentioned, but the Buck General 120 in 5160 sounds good to me,or the 119 in that steel too. One Bowie I have from George Sakai in proprietary tool steel is one I also want to use some time in the future. As far as customs,I also have cool Bowies from Swampfox Knives, ML knives, & Idaho knife works.
 
Jack88 said:
If you don't have a khukuri grab yourself one from HI, check the forums for a blem they are great knives and cheap.

I've very much enjoyed learning about Bowies and after tons of reading I've decided that yes I am going to grab myself a Fallkniven Tor, but beyond that I'm definitely buying a Randall next. Love the Raymond Thorpe Bowie, wondering if I should just put an order in to wait 5 years or keep my eye out elsewhere...
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I really don't have a place in the lineup right now for a khukuri but it is a fine design for chopping/clearing.

Now, let's talk about that R. Thorpe Bowie.......Damn. Yes, yes and yes.

Do we need to look any further?

And don't forget about the Confederate Bowie. I look at that one more than the Thorpe. I definitely like the proportions better.

What's that? A five year wait?................Damn. No, no and no. And at nearly $700, we are starting to approach customs.

Like you said though, maybe score a good used one somewhere.
 
I've been looking for one of these for quite sometime:

29fugyv.jpg
 
GB940Rookie said:
I really don't have a place in the lineup right now for a khukuri but it is a fine design for chopping/clearing.

Now, let's talk about that R. Thorpe Bowie.......Damn. Yes, yes and yes.

Do we need to look any further?

And don't forget about the Confederate Bowie. I look at that one more than the Thorpe. I definitely like the proportions better.

What's that? A five year wait?................Damn. No, no and no. And at nearly $700, we are starting to approach customs.

Like you said though, maybe score a good used one somewhere.
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That thing is friggen beautiful, them seem extremely rare though... haven't seen many for sale elsewhere.

The model 1-7 is a classic that i think I'd like to have, reading the history on it intensified that desire lol

I wonder if it would be too big to fit on my flight kit.
 
The Cold Steel 1917 gets my vote for you as well, yet the Trailmaster in O1 would be a great Bowie as well.

This Von Tempsky Bowie by Svord gets great reviews as well.



GB940Rookie said:
Well Jack, your thread has convinced me that my next knife will be a Bowie. Since it seems you have decided to go with the Thor, I hope you don't mind me asking a few questions for myself.
I have a couple questions for the Bowie aficionados here.

I have a copy of a WW1 Bolo. It has a full tang 10.5" blade with a 4.8" saber grip handle south of the guard. Thickness is just shy of .25. I've included pics to show hand size. Don't know if it helps but what the hell. (It was 1am and I was bored)
lvMATic.jpg

w6ReGJd.jpg


I really like the looks of the BR 1909 Michigan Bowie but prefer a full tang blade if possible. When handling the Bolo I noticed that I wouldn't mind a little longer blade, 11-12".

So, after all that, here's my questions:

Any suggestions on blades with full tang and over 10"? AND
If I do decide to go with BR, has anyone tried the Moran handle? Seems like it might work well. If not, which handle shape is your favorite?

On a side note, the BR Vest Bowie Mod. A has my name all over it. Beautiful.
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I had a Randall Thorpe Bowie, and sold it. It was beautiful, yet too much blade for my taste.

This one, tho not mine, seems about perfect to me.

cEvEn26.jpg
 
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deltablade said:
I had a Randall Thorpe Bowie, and sold it. It was beautiful, yet too much blade for my taste.

This one, tho not mine, seems about perfect to me.

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Well I doubt I'll get a Thorpe bowie any time soon now since I've decided on the Fallkniven, but those model 1 fighting knives seem pretty iconic. I'd love to get my hands on one of them, maybe it would even displace the Winkler on my survival kit.
 
marcinek said:
No. Out of the box Fallknivens ARE known to flake. Something about the HT/grinding process. A simple touch up of the edge before use eliminates the flaking.

Where's Mikael W Mikael W when you need him?!?
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I'm here but not as often as I used to!
( I spend time with my small sailingboat.)

My NL 1 & NL 2 has seen a lot of use during the years.
I bought the NL 2 ten years ago and the NL 1 in 2010 and they have both been used hard.
No chipping on my knives and they hold an edge more than well.

As someone said they are more towards campknives, but dressed like Bowieknives.
They are not balanced as fighters, but more for allaround duty in the Outdoors.

For a user I find the NL 2 to be enough knife for my needs.

NL2 033-1.jpg

I have never been in a situation in my outdoorlife, when an 8" blade haven't coped with any regular camp chores.

I bought the NL 1 because the price was right at the time, but it's primarily for the collection and isn't used as much as my smaller "Bowie's".
It's a massive knife and it takes a lot of workloads, but of course I don't abuse my NL 1.

IMGP5959.JPG
It's rehandled with a premium Sambar Stag Crown and it has become the centerpiece in my collection.

I also use and like Bark River made Bowie's.
The 2016 Custom Bowie A caught my fancy and I managed to get one in Sambar Stag.

IMAG0539.jpg

At 7" bladelenght it is more compact and easier to pack & carry, yet very capable due to the weight and bladegeometry.


Hope this helps!
Regards
Mikael
 
Nice blades! Did you rehandle the nl1 yourself? I'm curious as to if the tang is a ''stick'' tang, or more of a ''hidden'' tang I guess?
 
Nautique said:
Nice blades! Did you rehandle the nl1 yourself? I'm curious as to if the tang is a ''stick'' tang, or more of a ''hidden'' tang I guess?
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Yes I rehandled the knife myself and the tang is massive!
Thickness is 6mm and height is 18mm, running all the way to the pommelscrew.

Regards
Mikael
 
Mikael W said:
I'm here but not as often as I used to!
( I spend time with my small sailingboat.)

My NL 1 & NL 2 has seen a lot of use during the years.
I bought the NL 2 ten years ago and the NL 1 in 2010 and they have both been used hard.
No chipping on my knives and they hold an edge more than well.

As someone said they are more towards campknives, but dressed like Bowieknives.
They are not balanced as fighters, but more for allaround duty in the Outdoors.

For a user I find the NL 2 to be enough knife for my needs.

View attachment 725468

I have never been in a situation in my outdoorlife, when an 8" blade haven't coped with any regular camp chores.

I bought the NL 1 because the price was right at the time, but it's primarily for the collection and isn't used as much as my smaller "Bowie's".
It's a massive knife and it takes a lot of workloads, but of course I don't abuse my NL 1.

View attachment 725467
It's rehandled with a premium Sambar Stag Crown and it has become the centerpiece in my collection.

I also use and like Bark River made Bowie's.
The 2016 Custom Bowie A caught my fancy and I managed to get one in Sambar Stag.

View attachment 725470

At 7" bladelenght it is more compact and easier to pack & carry, yet very capable due to the weight and bladegeometry.


Hope this helps!
Regards
Mikael
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Love the info! How do you feel overall about the NL1? Mine is on the way. I do like the look of the Bark River 1909 bowies, I will probably be grabbing one at some point here. I'm now looking at a Randall next though, probably a model 1. I'm a huge history buff, and I love the modern history of that knife.

Thanks for the post!
 
Been researching the history of the Bowie the last couple days. Figured a knife this historically significant deserves some devoted study. Amazed at the sheer number of different designs. Starting basically as a long butcher's knife and slowly evolving into the modern Bowie that we all recognize today.

I ordered a couple books to peruse through.
"Bowie Knife" by Norm Flayderman and "Confederate Bowie Knives" by Melton, Phillips and Sexton.

Supposed to have lots of pics. I prefer pics of knives, guns and leather over long winded decriptions. Love looking at old photos of what people were actually carrying or wearing.
I like my coffee table books on these subjects. Looking forward to the new ones.

Still very undecided on which knives to consider. As far as production blades, Bark River is probably my favorite at the moment. Truth is, I don't know where this journey will lead......Fun:)
 
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