Bowie knives?

I

ItsKYRO

Joined
Sep 17, 2017
Messages
73
After two trips to Smoky Mountain Knife Works in two days it got me thinking about a combat bowie knife.

I dont know much about them but they had quite the range from $15-20 huge bowie knives that looked like some monster hunter type knives but hardly seemed sharp, and then there was $60+ KBARs which were beautiful but were a bit more than what i wanted to spend (especially with my other purchases :D)

What are your guys' thoughts on bowie knives?

Whats the norm for blade types? Whats the worst types used and just how bad are they?

How cheap can you get one thats still decent?

It would be used more like a last resort if there was a break in and no way to get to a gun for whatever reason, and also im not completely sure but i think bowies can be carried in Ohio?

Whats your thoughts? Recommendations?
 
For a Bowie know that's decent ( assuming you're talking about a classic clip point Bowie ) the cheapest Bowie you can get that's decent is $14.99 at the place you went to.
It's the marbles Bowie and is probably found where machetes are so you may not have seen it.
It's not thick and heavy because it's made of machete stock, but it is made by imicasa in El Salvador of a good piece of steel, and is full tang
For the price though you can afford to strip off the orange coating and do some other things to turn the knife more traditional if that's what you're after.

Most of the inexpensive Bowie knives you'll find there are made in China or pakistan, there are some Chinese Bowie knives being made that can be OK beater blades for the price if you just want to have fun with it, but cheap pakistani bowies are almost always total garbage.

Now if you think the marble's is too thin, then the KA-BAR is probably as cheap as I can think of because I don't know any specific Chinese bowies to look for.
 
There are some more-than-servicable $15-20 knives but not what you've described and not to really on for SD (even a last resort / backup SD tool).

A good Bowie will start at about 25x more than your stated budget (~$500 would be a low end figure for a GOOD blade that does what you need)

BTW knife laws in Ohio don't preclude a knife based on it being a Bowie or not (double edge daggers are the only specifically prohibited knives) but it must be open carried.
 
The cheapest you can go with a bowie and still get a decent knife? Probably the large Kabar or a Barker-Crowell competition bowie. So that would be about $80-$100. The regular Kabar is a bit small for fighting and is more of a utility knife. You can also go for one of the Windlass Steelcrafts bowies from atlanta cutlery or kult of athena, and they'd be about $80 also, but the quality and fit n finish may be a bit of a hit or miss. If you want higher quality, you can go with Cold Steel Laredo or a TOPS, but they would be in the $130-$180 range. I'd stay away from the cheap made in China bowies, like the Winchester bowie, which is about $20. There is a youtube video by two brothers showing a Winchester bowie broken at the tang and comparing it to the Cold Steel Laredo. They didn't show exactly what they did to break the Winchester, but I got the impression that it's just not tough enough for a real bowie knife. You get what you pay for.

As for laws in your state, county and locale, that can be a real pain in the neck to find out. But do your research before carrying a large knife. I would say almost all metropolitan areas ban carrying large knives.

Almost forgot the Ontario line. They make good knives as well.
 
Cereal_killer said:
There are some more-than-servicable $15-20 knives but not what you've described and not to really on for SD (even a last resort / backup SD tool).

A good Bowie will start at about 25x more than your stated budget (~$500 would be a low end figure for a GOOD blade that does what you need)

BTW knife laws in Ohio don't preclude a knife based on it being a Bowie or not (double edge daggers are the only specifically prohibited knives) but it must be open carried.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information however it surprises me you dont think the army /marine issued knives are good?
 
cbach8tw said:
Ontario spec plus line, Marine Raider Bowie. Condor makes some interesting blades with a basic carbon steel too.
Click to expand...
Condor, how could I forget about them? $40-$50 for a large bowie type knife, 1075 carbon steel with good heat treat. Now that probably would be the cheapest for a bowie that's tough and usable.

Also Cold Steel bowie machete for about $20. Bowie style, made in South Africa of 1050 steel. It's tough but won't hold an edge like a real knife of course, because it's a small machete.
 
Good is hard to quantify, especially one to another.

An Ontario Knife Old Hickory #7 butchers knife in 10" or 14" may fit the bill, minus a guard if that's a concern of not.
It could be rehandeled, a guard added and the clip brought back a little further and sharpened if you are into tinkering.
 
It's tough to beat the Ontario SPC series. Under $50 can get you a hell of a Bowie. I don't think 7" is too small in fact for my use it's an excellent size for most real world uses. I have one and use it as a light wood chipper for the fire pit, but takes a phone book paper slicing edge. For the price it's hard to compete with IMO.
 
Cereal_killer said:
A good Bowie will start at about 25x more than your stated budget (~$500 would be a low end figure for a GOOD blade that does what you need)
Click to expand...

There are a lot of good bowies under the $500 by a good margin.

Himalayan Imports makes 4 or 5 variations, and none of them crack more than $200. Obviously, they aren't the only makers that make good lower cost bowies, but I have first hand experience with several of their models. All are rock solid user/fighters.

Even mass producers like Cold Steel make several models that are full functional blades that are less than half of $500.

It just depends on what you are looking for in a bowie. There are lots of great blades in 500 and north range. Fantastic talent found at that level. Still, big ol' fighting knives can be had at reasonable prices too.
 
If you ask me any combat bowie must have a sharpened swedge. One of the reasons the Bowie is such an effective fighting knife is its ability to do back cuts. Without that special ability there is really very little making the Bowie special at all.
 
GrReaper said:
Condor, how could I forget about them? $40-$50 for a large bowie type knife, 1075 carbon steel with good heat treat. Now that probably would be the cheapest for a bowie that's tough and usable.

Also Cold Steel bowie machete for about $20. Bowie style, made in South Africa of 1050 steel. It's tough but won't hold an edge like a real knife of course, because it's a small machete.
Click to expand...
The 15$ marbles is made by imicasa who also owns and makes condor so that's definitely something to consider when price is a factor.
Maybe if a thick blade is required it wouldn't be the most ideal but I use the hell out of my marbles machetes which are the same stock and 1075 steel as this Bowie and they are definitely tough.
I would say this marbles bowie is really the cheapest you could go for a bare minimum usable bowie brand New.

Btw the Buck 119 is Bowie-ish and is very well known as a great American made knife and can be had for under 50$ at Walmart around Christmas.
 
Would not buy a cheap bowie knife if I were you. Never has the old adage "you get what you pay for" been more true than in the knife industry. I'd be fully prepared to spend around at least 100 bucks on a decent quality, mass-produced bowie knife if I were you.

Plenty of videos just like this all over youtube...

 
Hickory n steel said:
The 15$ marbles is made by imicasa who also owns and makes condor so that's definitely something to consider when price is a factor.
Maybe if a thick blade is required it wouldn't be the most ideal but I use the hell out of my marbles machetes which are the same stock and 1075 steel as this Bowie and they are definitely tough.
I would say this marbles bowie is really the cheapest you could go for a bare minimum usable bowie brand New.

Btw the Buck 119 is Bowie-ish and is very well known as a great American made knife and can be had for under 50$ at Walmart around Christmas.
Click to expand...
Never looked at the marbles bowie before, but the thin stock would likely make this a fast fighter. That sharpened clip is nice too, all for 15.00. Makes me interested. I sort of want to get a few, strip and patina them (Maybe even do some ferric Cl etching) and give them to friends...
 
W. Anderson said:
Never looked at the marbles bowie before, but the thin stock would likely make this a fast fighter. That sharpened clip is nice too, all for 15.00. Makes me interested. I sort of want to get a few, strip and patina them (Maybe even do some ferric Cl etching) and give them to friends...
Click to expand...
I just don't have a whole lot if use for a sizeable Bowie or I would've bought one when I did my 2 machetes.
I do still want one though, so maybe I can use it in the kitchen.
FYI the handles on the marbles stuff is just cheap pine so I don't know whether or not you'd want to replace them.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I just don't have a whole lot if use for a sizeable Bowie or I would've bought one when I did my 2 machetes.
I do still want one though, so maybe I can use it in the kitchen.
FYI the handles on the marbles stuff is just cheap pine so I don't know whether or not you'd want to replace them.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'd probaly make some horn scales. I like ram.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top