Ausseknifeknut
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I bought one to play with , has the plastic sheath with firesteel. I'd never have this in my pack as a stand alone knife , but wondered what you guys thought?
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Honest opinions of the cold steel bushman Bowie blade for a survival knife?
- Thread starter Ausseknifeknut
- Start date
Bill Siegle
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2000
- Messages
- 6,731
I have not played with the Bowie version yet but a friend has an original Bushman and we have done stupid level stuff with it and it laughed the abuse off. Most of the use revolved around throwing it and attaching a spear handle and more throwing. The edge held up well to the hits and misses.
You can do much better BUT you can do much worse too! Depends on so many variables. For the quality and the price I think it is a good knife given that the definition of "survival knife" is purely subjective. Everybody ought to own one if for no other reason than it is fun and functional.
I'm probably not going to use it as a spearhead like people like to do but dipbait pointed out a great use for the hollow handle, getting edibles or even tinder from trees. I have the bowie version and it's a good knife. I can't think of anything it won't do that I would subject any knife to.
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2007
- Messages
- 5,463
Wow, saw a half dozen videos on them and now I want one too 
That's a real bargain fixed blade :thumbup:
That's a real bargain fixed blade :thumbup:
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2006
- Messages
- 1,079
I beat the heck out of my Bowie and older standard Bushman. Like the folks said already, love to throw them and haft them and throw as a spear as well.
Easy for me to sharpen in the field, simple clean up. I often wrap the handle in para cord or leather as my mood goes, and jam a small half of a wine bottle cork the up the tube towards the blade base, then stuff a few waterproof matches and tinder in the handle and put a champagne bottle cork in the end. The chamber is pretty well sealed.
To me, a fun, tough, no frills tool.
Mark
Easy for me to sharpen in the field, simple clean up. I often wrap the handle in para cord or leather as my mood goes, and jam a small half of a wine bottle cork the up the tube towards the blade base, then stuff a few waterproof matches and tinder in the handle and put a champagne bottle cork in the end. The chamber is pretty well sealed.
To me, a fun, tough, no frills tool.
Mark
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2013
- Messages
- 918
As others have said, it's a simple, no frills tool that you really can't kill unless you decide to kill it.
"Survival knife" implies you'll have it w/ you when drama ensues. I have one in each vehicle kit.
"Survival knife" implies you'll have it w/ you when drama ensues. I have one in each vehicle kit.
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2005
- Messages
- 4,360
COLD STEEL BUSHMAN BOWIE
Cold Steel Bushman Bowie Review-
“Where can I get a good knife that I could buy for under $20?" Countless friends and relatives have often ask me this very same question in the past. To many, I reply the Mora, but more often then not, the Mora isn't the "style" that they are looking for. How about the age old question "I'm looking for a knife I can beat the snot out of, but that won't hurt my wallet." (despite your anti knife abuse pleadings you had with them) Let’s face it, there are less than a handful of knives that come to mind when you factor in ruggedness and extreme thriftiness coupled with dependability. With some of the knives we purchase in a given year, one could feed a small village. It doesn't hurt to go the cheaper route. Sometimes you want a back up knife, or maybe a knife you can depend on, but aren't afraid to part with should your luggage get lost while traveling. The Cold Steel Bushman Bowie fits this criteria nicely. The knife is made of solid construction, is very easy to maintain, costs pennies, and looks cool!
Specifications:
Weight: 9.8 oz.
Blade Thickness: 3/32" (2.5mm)
Blade Length: 7"
Handle: Hollow
Steel: SK-5 High Carbon
Overall Length: 12 1/4"
Sheath: Cordura
The knife boasts a heavy 9.8 ounces., due to the metal in the handle (think of it as almost twice that of a full tang, if sandwiched together). The blade thickness: 3/32", gives this knife plenty of flex, yet still performs as a lightweight chopper. I don't think this is too thin to baton, and I wouldn't doubt the Bowie Bushman for a second if used in this manner. I'll speak more of the thickness later. The blade length is about 7", the normal size for most "combat" knives. This utilitarian size together with the bowie style blade makes for an interesting outcome.
The knife was comparatively sharp when it came out of the box, and with few swipes on the ceramic rod, it was screaming scary sharp. The SK-5 High Carbon Steel edge was an ease to touch up and re-sharpen throughout the whole process, and took to scary sharp within seconds of touching any fine abrasive. This might be attributed to the rockwell of 54, a little on the lower end of the spectrum. Could one possibly pick up a river rock and hone the knife fast in a pinch? You betcha! This also make sense from a more primitive situation standpoint, where one might not have the greatest sharpening systems, belt sanders, or strops lying around. (such as in a third world village). Outside sources equate this steel to 1080 or 1095, two steels which, in my book, are first choices for use outside in a long term field situation. The knife even threw sparks for the fire steel, despite the coating! It was a little awkward as a striker at first, but with some less traditional holds, it got the job done well and threw sparks like a cheap Godzilla movie. The hardiness of this steel really showed its true colors in the throwing test I decided to perform.
Throwing?
Now, I know as much as the next guy that you don't want to throw your main knife. The straight forward one piece construction and balance, coupled with the relative inexpensive price of this larger bushman knife might make it a good knife as a set to throw professionally in tournaments or recreationally for fun. It just so happens that I have a throwing range in my back yard. After working with it for a little bit, I thought it rotated a little clumsy. I feel though, that with a little bit of use I'm sure someone could make a set of these their primary throwers. I'm sticking to my dedicated flat handle set though. The rotation and throwing ability wasn't the real reason I was hocking this steel though, it was my interest in the heat treatment. I gave it the screaming sharp edge treatment before the test was performed. That low heat treatment made it easy to leave an impressive edge, and the chipping was minimal despite the blatant abuse. I was extremely impressed with the blade too. After repeated throws, the blade did not bend at all. It even slid back in the sheath effortlessly.
The sheath could use an upgrade, with single stitching on the sides that seemed to be loosely bound. The belt loop is just a piece of nylon webbing, and is not a tight weave. The end of the sheath sports a type of plastic triangle on each side, near the end. This does not wrap around, and looks to be the consistency of a plastic binder that one would find in grade school. Certainly not the nicely textured features or the rigidity of kydex. Additionally, the sheath would routinely dull the knife when pulled out. One could easily construct a more expedient sheath out of 2" PVC pipe heated in an oven.
The handle was a novel tapering tube, the basis for the simplicity, style, and ergonomics that make up the bushman knife. One of the first things I noticed with this particular bushman was that there was no weld line where the tube sides were rolled together. I thought this was a nice touch, as it gave the illusion of one piece of solid steel. The coating over the seam was a nice touch and conformed to the hand without any distinctions. The handle proved itself with extended use over time. No blisters or wrist aching to speak of. The handle opening is about 1" at its widest point. This would easily accommodate a sapling or small ash shaft should you decide to take up joisting or something similar. More talk of that down below. The space inside could hold a wonderful small PSK and could be stuffed with all sorts of goodies. I easily put a small fishing kit and 100 feet of 50lb braided spiderwire in mine, coupled with a small Spyderco Ladybug. The knife is a little handle heavy, but as any tool would go, you would easily get used to it with use. At the point where the handle melds with the blade, there is a small swell that makes it comfortable to choke up on, right before the blade starts, for fine work. While my thumb didn't rub at all, I could see myself sanding it down later just for a better fit. Trap triggers were easily whittled. The heavier handle was interesting to hold near the end of the knife. When doing so, this made for a more formidable chopper, and I was able to take down a small oak tree with it. It worked well for smaller vines and stuff that got in my way, the lightness of the blade made me think of some of the thinner machetes out there. The flat blade worked well for pounding pegs into the ground.
Making traps:
As a Spear?
Though most frown on mounting your knife to a shaft, one could easily do so with the bushman. The handle is round and about an inch at the widest diameter. One can easily affix the blade to a tapered sapling or staff to make an expedient field spear. Why would one want such a tool?
The obvious answer would be defense, or perhaps hunting. In defense, it would be a formidable weapon against bears, alligators, zombies, or other creatures you wouldn't want to get up close and personal with. If you were hunting such animals, this would also be the case.
However, there is another largely over looked benefit of having a sharp blade mounted on a long staff. Sometimes one may want to forage for items in hard to reach places. I was able to get to the top of my large fig tree, where the succulent figs had evaded the onslaught of deer and other foragers. With the knife affixed to the elongated handle, the user can easily trim off nuts and berries that they could not reach by hand. I easily cut a high branch to get to this young pine cone, which could have been heated later to extract pine nuts.
ZOMBIES, WATCH OUT.
Using the spear to get the good figs at the top
This knife has an appealing thinner blade. The blade is about 2.5 mm, and caused the handle to flex quite a bit when it stuck true in the target. An interesting note is that the blade never needed tamping true due to bending. The thin blade made it easier to choke up close to front. The knife also was not awkward as most 7" knives for use as a fillet knife. A trout was cut and gutted very easily with the knife. The tail of the trout had to be cut off due to an odd lump. In the kitchen, it sliced up apple, tomato, and watermelon quite well. This would also make a wonderful camp/canoe knife. How often do you have a knife big enough to cut watermelon yet small enough to cut a tomato?
As a fillet knife:
There is a reason these knives are shipped by the case to villagers in jungles and similar environments. This knife is a great cheap alternative to most expensive "go to" knives out there. This knife could be a main user, a great standby in the car or the kit, and would make a great first time knife for any person just getting their feet into modern bush walking. It might make a good gift for that nephew of yours who is prone to losing stuff, because this knife surely won't chop a chunk out of your wallet, but will still give you peace of mind knowing that you could depend on it.
Joe Flowers
"Joezilla"
Cold Steel Bushman Bowie Review-
“Where can I get a good knife that I could buy for under $20?" Countless friends and relatives have often ask me this very same question in the past. To many, I reply the Mora, but more often then not, the Mora isn't the "style" that they are looking for. How about the age old question "I'm looking for a knife I can beat the snot out of, but that won't hurt my wallet." (despite your anti knife abuse pleadings you had with them) Let’s face it, there are less than a handful of knives that come to mind when you factor in ruggedness and extreme thriftiness coupled with dependability. With some of the knives we purchase in a given year, one could feed a small village. It doesn't hurt to go the cheaper route. Sometimes you want a back up knife, or maybe a knife you can depend on, but aren't afraid to part with should your luggage get lost while traveling. The Cold Steel Bushman Bowie fits this criteria nicely. The knife is made of solid construction, is very easy to maintain, costs pennies, and looks cool!
Specifications:
Weight: 9.8 oz.
Blade Thickness: 3/32" (2.5mm)
Blade Length: 7"
Handle: Hollow
Steel: SK-5 High Carbon
Overall Length: 12 1/4"
Sheath: Cordura
The knife boasts a heavy 9.8 ounces., due to the metal in the handle (think of it as almost twice that of a full tang, if sandwiched together). The blade thickness: 3/32", gives this knife plenty of flex, yet still performs as a lightweight chopper. I don't think this is too thin to baton, and I wouldn't doubt the Bowie Bushman for a second if used in this manner. I'll speak more of the thickness later. The blade length is about 7", the normal size for most "combat" knives. This utilitarian size together with the bowie style blade makes for an interesting outcome.
The knife was comparatively sharp when it came out of the box, and with few swipes on the ceramic rod, it was screaming scary sharp. The SK-5 High Carbon Steel edge was an ease to touch up and re-sharpen throughout the whole process, and took to scary sharp within seconds of touching any fine abrasive. This might be attributed to the rockwell of 54, a little on the lower end of the spectrum. Could one possibly pick up a river rock and hone the knife fast in a pinch? You betcha! This also make sense from a more primitive situation standpoint, where one might not have the greatest sharpening systems, belt sanders, or strops lying around. (such as in a third world village). Outside sources equate this steel to 1080 or 1095, two steels which, in my book, are first choices for use outside in a long term field situation. The knife even threw sparks for the fire steel, despite the coating! It was a little awkward as a striker at first, but with some less traditional holds, it got the job done well and threw sparks like a cheap Godzilla movie. The hardiness of this steel really showed its true colors in the throwing test I decided to perform.
Throwing?
Now, I know as much as the next guy that you don't want to throw your main knife. The straight forward one piece construction and balance, coupled with the relative inexpensive price of this larger bushman knife might make it a good knife as a set to throw professionally in tournaments or recreationally for fun. It just so happens that I have a throwing range in my back yard. After working with it for a little bit, I thought it rotated a little clumsy. I feel though, that with a little bit of use I'm sure someone could make a set of these their primary throwers. I'm sticking to my dedicated flat handle set though. The rotation and throwing ability wasn't the real reason I was hocking this steel though, it was my interest in the heat treatment. I gave it the screaming sharp edge treatment before the test was performed. That low heat treatment made it easy to leave an impressive edge, and the chipping was minimal despite the blatant abuse. I was extremely impressed with the blade too. After repeated throws, the blade did not bend at all. It even slid back in the sheath effortlessly.
The sheath could use an upgrade, with single stitching on the sides that seemed to be loosely bound. The belt loop is just a piece of nylon webbing, and is not a tight weave. The end of the sheath sports a type of plastic triangle on each side, near the end. This does not wrap around, and looks to be the consistency of a plastic binder that one would find in grade school. Certainly not the nicely textured features or the rigidity of kydex. Additionally, the sheath would routinely dull the knife when pulled out. One could easily construct a more expedient sheath out of 2" PVC pipe heated in an oven.
The handle was a novel tapering tube, the basis for the simplicity, style, and ergonomics that make up the bushman knife. One of the first things I noticed with this particular bushman was that there was no weld line where the tube sides were rolled together. I thought this was a nice touch, as it gave the illusion of one piece of solid steel. The coating over the seam was a nice touch and conformed to the hand without any distinctions. The handle proved itself with extended use over time. No blisters or wrist aching to speak of. The handle opening is about 1" at its widest point. This would easily accommodate a sapling or small ash shaft should you decide to take up joisting or something similar. More talk of that down below. The space inside could hold a wonderful small PSK and could be stuffed with all sorts of goodies. I easily put a small fishing kit and 100 feet of 50lb braided spiderwire in mine, coupled with a small Spyderco Ladybug. The knife is a little handle heavy, but as any tool would go, you would easily get used to it with use. At the point where the handle melds with the blade, there is a small swell that makes it comfortable to choke up on, right before the blade starts, for fine work. While my thumb didn't rub at all, I could see myself sanding it down later just for a better fit. Trap triggers were easily whittled. The heavier handle was interesting to hold near the end of the knife. When doing so, this made for a more formidable chopper, and I was able to take down a small oak tree with it. It worked well for smaller vines and stuff that got in my way, the lightness of the blade made me think of some of the thinner machetes out there. The flat blade worked well for pounding pegs into the ground.
Making traps:
As a Spear?
Though most frown on mounting your knife to a shaft, one could easily do so with the bushman. The handle is round and about an inch at the widest diameter. One can easily affix the blade to a tapered sapling or staff to make an expedient field spear. Why would one want such a tool?
The obvious answer would be defense, or perhaps hunting. In defense, it would be a formidable weapon against bears, alligators, zombies, or other creatures you wouldn't want to get up close and personal with. If you were hunting such animals, this would also be the case.
However, there is another largely over looked benefit of having a sharp blade mounted on a long staff. Sometimes one may want to forage for items in hard to reach places. I was able to get to the top of my large fig tree, where the succulent figs had evaded the onslaught of deer and other foragers. With the knife affixed to the elongated handle, the user can easily trim off nuts and berries that they could not reach by hand. I easily cut a high branch to get to this young pine cone, which could have been heated later to extract pine nuts.
ZOMBIES, WATCH OUT.
Using the spear to get the good figs at the top
This knife has an appealing thinner blade. The blade is about 2.5 mm, and caused the handle to flex quite a bit when it stuck true in the target. An interesting note is that the blade never needed tamping true due to bending. The thin blade made it easier to choke up close to front. The knife also was not awkward as most 7" knives for use as a fillet knife. A trout was cut and gutted very easily with the knife. The tail of the trout had to be cut off due to an odd lump. In the kitchen, it sliced up apple, tomato, and watermelon quite well. This would also make a wonderful camp/canoe knife. How often do you have a knife big enough to cut watermelon yet small enough to cut a tomato?
As a fillet knife:
There is a reason these knives are shipped by the case to villagers in jungles and similar environments. This knife is a great cheap alternative to most expensive "go to" knives out there. This knife could be a main user, a great standby in the car or the kit, and would make a great first time knife for any person just getting their feet into modern bush walking. It might make a good gift for that nephew of yours who is prone to losing stuff, because this knife surely won't chop a chunk out of your wallet, but will still give you peace of mind knowing that you could depend on it.
Joe Flowers
"Joezilla"
Ausseknifeknut
BANNED
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2013
- Messages
- 1,254
Very nice thanks joezilla 
I bought the one with the plastic sheath and firesteel . Had it for a few weeks now but haven't had a chance to use it at all
I bought the one with the plastic sheath and firesteel . Had it for a few weeks now but haven't had a chance to use it at all
Blue Sky
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2002
- Messages
- 3,486
Any other left handers out there with a Bushman of either style? I have one and I really want to like it but it has one flaw imo.
When holding it in my left hand and and choked up a little, the hollow area of the folded handle falls right at the base of my index finger. This takes away an important area of support for my hand and makes it very hard to grip with a high level of force. Right handed, not a problem. Has anyone else noticed this or is it just my own little quirk? Like I said, I really want to like these things but making tinder curlies or similar is just problematic.
When holding it in my left hand and and choked up a little, the hollow area of the folded handle falls right at the base of my index finger. This takes away an important area of support for my hand and makes it very hard to grip with a high level of force. Right handed, not a problem. Has anyone else noticed this or is it just my own little quirk? Like I said, I really want to like these things but making tinder curlies or similar is just problematic.
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2005
- Messages
- 19,385
I dismissed this knife immediately. I think I need to handle one in person.
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2008
- Messages
- 3,372
this one rides beside the driver seat in my old 4Runner. It has done everything from clearing brush to processing dead animals. I bought three 'seconds' at 3/$29.95. Still on the first one. Can't wear it out.
