Bowie's

Muela bowies are very nice looking

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but soft, weak construction and quite small. Gimme a Natchez or Laredo anytime before those

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UCPOPO, did you do the work yourself? They look very nice but how do they feel in hand with the changes done, balance, etc?
 
I'm very satisfied with Cold Steel's Laredo, Natchez and Trail Master. But what I'm really hoping is that they come out with a Warcraft Bowie. 3V, DLC, micarta or G-10 scales in several blade lengths.
 
I picked up one of the Lon Humphrey Gunfighter Bowies a couple of months back and really like it.
 
Man with no name said:
UCPOPO, did you do the work yourself? They look very nice but how do they feel in hand with the changes done, balance, etc?
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Yes, it did change the balance up quite a bit. I still need to do a bit more shaping on them to get them how I want them.
 
I have the Trailmaster and the Laredo in San Mai III. For the money, it's hard to find anything better...unless you're willing to go up significantly higher in pay grade. But I doubt I'd use a $2000 knife. I have no problem using a $200-$400 knife.

$2000 gets into the realm of high quality rifles, shotguns and pistols.


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If you want a knife for the sole purpose of fighting, the Cold Steel OSS is hard to beat, it has better balance than others, and is a cross design between a long dagger and a Bowie. It has almost 9 inches long of blade length and is so lively in the hand like no other knife of the same dimensions. It lacks the chopping power of a heavy Bowie, but then again that's a trade off for a super fast knife..
 
Man with no name said:
I have an OSS. Great knife but I prefer a Bowie. Marauder comes to mind.
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I concur, Natchez and Laredo Bowies are my favorite knives, and I also own an Ontario SP10 "marine raider" which is awesome and pretty close in my preference, the only downside is they are huge knives and are no easily carried nor concealed. In spite of being a big knife , the OSS is easier to carry.. If I had a choice, I would prefer a Bowie though
 
I have owned the Natchez and Laredo bowies and the OSS. In fact I still own two laredos (SK5 versions) and think it is a great bowie and from what I have read, some kydex sheath makers in the USA make a kydex sheath that does make the Laredo easy to carry concealed. However, for my purposes my all time favourite bowie is the Cold Steel San Mai Trail Master (and Keating in his now dated bowie videos also likes the Trail Master). In Australia, from my experience, using knives for chopping is not good practice on our hardwood native timber. The timber is just too hard. So my trail master is never used for that and chipping of the blade is not something I have ever encountered. And besides which there is always a plentiful supply of timber on the bush floor in Australia. I mainly use the Trail Master for removing scrubby latana branches that poke out into my mowing area on my acreage as I am mowing and for general kitchen duties. This is the only knife I have ever owned that I can lay on a fresh loaf of bread and find it starts to cut in under its own weight. It is that sharp. Even though SK5 has never rusted on me (I clean it after every use), San Mai steel is a more useful choice in my climate with its high summer humidity.

I also own the three Boker Arbolito Gigante bowies (handles in wood, canvas micarta, and stag). They are beautiful bowies, have very nice sheaths that can be carried many ways (ie. like the laredo sheath in the belt, attached high on the belt, or as a dangler) and feel nice in the hand but I prefer the semi sharpened swedge on the Laredo and Trail Master. The Bokers' swedge is not sharpened at all. They are almost copies of the Trail Master but have a larger finger choil (which I like) and a curved very comfortable grip but do not come sharp like the Cold Steel bowies.
 
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I own and like Cold Steel Natchez Bowies in San Mai, SK-5, and O-1. My non-Bowie Cold Steel Black Bear Classic is much faster in hand , though.
 
I have a Boker El Gigante in guyacan ebony wood coming next week so I'll give you some feedback when it gets here. Leather sheath and 440C on the Boker fixes my only problems that I have with my TM. That O1 rusts like I live next to the Pacific, it spends time in Ohio and West Virginia mostly. It spends most of it's time in climate control and still rusts, it seems to be the most common problem for the O1 TM. I clean the TM thoroughly after any use but I'll still find a spot here and there. The sheath dulls like nobody's business too if you are not overly careful when sheathing or unsheathing it.

All the reviews I read and watched seemed to describe it was a pretty decent blade. It looks an awful lot like a TM and the sheath looked very nice. The thumb-snap on the sheath was even on the correct (spine) side so as not to get damaged or cut when used. It's also full tang and the handle has a little arc to it to make it a little more ergonomic. If CS brings a TM out in a more affordable stainless I'll be the first in line, hell I'd take that new DLC coating on the O1 as a compromise. I really like the Kray-Ex handle over most others too.

I'll still use my TM even though the couple little aggravating problems exist. I just hope something comes along this year that will address the problems.
 
Well as promised, I had my El Gigante come in today. For the price, $105 at site sponsor Cutlery Shoppe, it's a steal in my opinion. It's very well finished with a polished stonewash finish on the blade. It looks to have a 1/8" shorter blade and is a 1/4" thick instead of 5/16". The blade has a slight re-curve and looks to be FFG at first. Instead it's the slightest hollow grind I've ever seen.

The handle has a gentle curve that I at first worried about but came to actually really like. With a hammer grip choked up to the hilt the curve locks it into your hand. Slide your hand back and it turns into a very comfortable chopper. The ebony wood is ridged and even though it looked slick it was surprisingly grippy without the ridges being too sharp and digging into your hand. It's a full tang knife but the tang is tapered. It's very balanced, right at the top of the choil in fact just less than an inch it looks like. It feels more fighter than chopper or survival knife.

It was fairly sharp but not as sharp as my Trail Master (TM was shaving sharp). Here's something I'm not sure if I like, to get it shaving sharp it took quite a long time on my Sharpmaker. My TM sharpens much much faster so this steel (Bohler N695) must have a higher HRC. I'm hoping it's not too high as I worry about chipping.

As far as first looks go I'm pretty happy. Yes it looks like a TM but it's different enough that I don't feel like I just got a double. More tribute with a little bit different than carbon copy. I do like the Griv-Ex better than wood, it just soaks up punishment better and isn't as hard on your hands. The El G would be awesome with a Grivory handle, but is very serviceable as is.

The sheath is great. Dark brown embossed leather with multiple ways to attach it. It even has the thumb snap on the spine side so you can't cut it by accident. It's built sturdy and tough with only the slightest amount of flex. I'm thinking of looking for a leather guy to build me one just like it for my TM. It beats CS's sheaths by a ton. I have no problem saying that being the TM is a very good knife that almost everyone says has a substandard sheath.

Is it better than a TM? I couldn't say yes, it's just different. So far it looks promising. Right now I'd recommend it, although I'm not getting rid of my TM any time soon.
 
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