I ordered a Case XX Bowie knife... My age & increasing nostalgia were the reasons for doing so 😊

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

So, yes, I ordered a new Case Bowie for my collection, a model CA311 with Job Case' facsimile etched into it's blade.
I used to own one that commemorated Jim Bowie by having a facsimile of his face/torso and dates of birth/death etched into it's blade. It got sold, along with most of my personal belongings, when I got divorced sixteen years ago. I simply felt that I wanted to start with a new clean slate, and therefore sold off almost everything that I had because I felt they had too much of an attachment to what I wanted to break away from.

Well, now, my being 56 years old, I often remember things that I had that I wish I could reconnect with. The Case Presentation Bowie is one of them. I feel it to be a pretty neat piece of Americana.

There was a similar knife that I regret not buying when they were available, that being the Western W49 Bowie. Well, an opportunity came up to buy a NIB W49 specimen at a Knife Show about a year or so ago, and so I purchased it.
Now with my ordering in a Case Bowie, I feel that this Genre of knife will now be well represented within my collection

I know a lot of knife folks won't buy a knife they don't intend on using, but I'm a different breed when it comes to that matter.
You see, I choose to collect such things, nicely displaying them within my domain, and they give me pleasure in that form. It's nice when I'm in my living space and look around at my surroundings, and these items never cease to put smiles on my face

I already have 20 to 30 traditional pattern Case knives in my collection, so this new addition will feel right at home
Theh first couple pictures below are of my Western W49 Bowie Knife, (made in USA by Camillus Cutlery).
And the bottom picture is of the Case Presentation Bowie coming my way...

 

[rampco88]

Still have a soft spot in my heart for Case. Especially the knives produced in the 60’s and 70’s.

 

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

Still have a soft spot in my heart for Case. Especially the knives produced in the 60’s and 70’s.

There is so much history to this Iconic American brand ❤❤

 

[d762nato]

Nice blade Congrats, I used to have a western also now a friend of mine owns it. I've looked them over a few times since and thought about picking up another as it was a Vietnam era bowie but not as nice condition as yours.

 

[rampco88]

There is so much history to this Iconic American brand ❤❤

We’re the same age, well technically I’ll turn 56 this August. For me my earliest recollections of Case knives were hunting knives. I remember being too young to go up to deer camp in VT with my great uncle and his friends. While he was gone for that week I would hang out in his sun room and stare at his collection of fixed blade knives hanging on the wall. Most were Case and others were souvenirs he brought back from the war (WW2). Yes, those knives do bring on the memories.

 

[Bob Denman]

It's a Beauty: wear it in good health!

 

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

I did want to add something about Bowie knives that are of this shape. Many folks know the roots of when the style became popular, but many folks don't.
So, although I am no historian, I can share that the shape of this Bowie became a popular thing after the US military started using Collins Bowie Machetes of this pattern during World War 2.
I believe there were other makers besides Collins, but I believe the Collins Machete was the basis for them all.

Case was one of the firms to make some for military use...

WORLD WAR II WW2 CASE BOWIE KNIFE MARINE RAIDERS
Collins & Company, Case, Kinfolks and Western produced the knives during the eight years that they were manufactured for the US Army Air Corps.

Here is one of the WW2 Western specimens...


Here is a pic of one of the Collins Bowie knives of WW2...



So, while some folks think that the Case and Western Bowie knives look like they have no historical appearance to them, they actually do.
And, even the Collins original was said to be based on some Confederate Bowie knife profiles.


I think time has caused the root history of the Case Bowie and Western W49 Bowie knives to fade away.
I have always thought that Case should have done a better job at using the WW2 history of this style knife in their sales marketing. I think it would have kept that history from fading so much, and their currently made Case Bowie knives would have been better tied/identified with their WW2 ancestors.

 

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

I received my Case Bowie today... My latest piece of "Americana"

 

[JWright214]

I have one too, just for pictures and display. I think they are pretty knives.

 

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

I have one too, just for pictures and display. I think they are pretty knives.

Yes, it's just another item for display in my eclectic collection.
With that said, they are real knives. There are videos on youtube where these knives get put through their paces.

Here is a side by side picture of my Western W49 Bowie, (made by Camillus Cutlery when they owned the brand), and my new Case Bowie.

Americana times two!

 

[baxtrom]

So, yes, I ordered a new Case Bowie for my collection, a model CA311 with Job Case' facsimile etched into it's blade.
I used to own one that commemorated Jim Bowie by having a facsimile of his face/torso and dates of birth/death etched into it's blade. It got sold, along with most of my personal belongings, when I got divorced sixteen years ago. I simply felt that I wanted to start with a new clean slate, and therefore sold off almost everything that I had because I felt they had too much of an attachment to what I wanted to break away from.

Well, now, my being 56 years old, I often remember things that I had that I wish I could reconnect with. The Case Presentation Bowie is one of them. I feel it to be a pretty neat piece of Americana.

There was a similar knife that I regret not buying when they were available, that being the Western W49 Bowie. Well, an opportunity came up to buy a NIB W49 specimen at a Knife Show about a year or so ago, and so I purchased it.
Now with my ordering in a Case Bowie, I feel that this Genre of knife will now be well represented within my collection

I know a lot of knife folks won't buy a knife they don't intend on using, but I'm a different breed when it comes to that matter.
You see, I choose to collect such things, nicely displaying them within my domain, and they give me pleasure in that form. It's nice when I'm in my living space and look around at my surroundings, and these items never cease to put smiles on my face

I already have 20 to 30 traditional pattern Case knives in my collection, so this new addition will feel right at home
Theh first couple pictures below are of my Western W49 Bowie Knife, (made in USA by Camillus Cutlery).
And the bottom picture is of the Case Presentation Bowie coming my way...

View attachment 1809647View attachment 1809648View attachment 1809649

You’ve got to have pretty big pockets, Pocket knife Jimmy! And nothing wrong with age and nostalgia, if it makes you buy great looking knives, right?

 

[mauser9]

Awesome!! Beautiful knife I would be proud to own and display. Thanks for showing.

 

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

Comparing the top photo of an original WW2 military issue Case Bowie, to the bottom photo of my modern day Case Bowie... The design has actually stayed fairly close to the original.

As I've said before, I have read many posts in the past about the Case Bowie looking cartoon'ish, and many saying that it does not look like an 1800's Bowie.
Well, the Case Bowie is based on the Collins Bowie machete that was first supplied to the US military during WW2 as basically a large knife that could play duo role by being both a short machete/large knife.
So, yes, Western and Case helped in supplementing these knives to the military, and so when you see a Western W49 or the Case Bowie knives, they look the way they do because they are made to not look like an 1800's Bowie, but rather like the Collins, Case, Western, and Kinfolk Bowie knives that were issued to the US Military during WW2.



The steel nowadays is the 420hc stainless steel, but since Case tends to run their 420hc a few points lower in hardness than Buck does with their 420hc, it likely makes it a little tougher and a decent choice for a bigger blade knife such as these are.

 

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

It was musical chairs time with my display boxes to find a spot for my Case XX Bowie.
This spot was as good as any, and I made sure to put in a folding Case slipjoint pocket knife in with it as well



Now I'm waiting for a white handled model 2000 Case XX Bowie I ordered as a follow up to this one. It will not only have the white synthetic handle, but also have no scenes/portraits etched into it's blade

 

[evergreensSequoiaseucalyptusandOaks]

So, yes, I ordered a new Case Bowie for my collection, a model CA311 with Job Case' facsimile etched into it's blade.
I used to own one that commemorated Jim Bowie by having a facsimile of his face/torso and dates of birth/death etched into it's blade. It got sold, along with most of my personal belongings, when I got divorced sixteen years ago. I simply felt that I wanted to start with a new clean slate, and therefore sold off almost everything that I had because I felt they had too much of an attachment to what I wanted to break away from.

Well, now, my being 56 years old, I often remember things that I had that I wish I could reconnect with. The Case Presentation Bowie is one of them. I feel it to be a pretty neat piece of Americana.

There was a similar knife that I regret not buying when they were available, that being the Western W49 Bowie. Well, an opportunity came up to buy a NIB W49 specimen at a Knife Show about a year or so ago, and so I purchased it.
Now with my ordering in a Case Bowie, I feel that this Genre of knife will now be well represented within my collection

I know a lot of knife folks won't buy a knife they don't intend on using, but I'm a different breed when it comes to that matter.
You see, I choose to collect such things, nicely displaying them within my domain, and they give me pleasure in that form. It's nice when I'm in my living space and look around at my surroundings, and these items never cease to put smiles on my face

I already have 20 to 30 traditional pattern Case knives in my collection, so this new addition will feel right at home
Theh first couple pictures below are of my Western W49 Bowie Knife, (made in USA by Camillus Cutlery).
And the bottom picture is of the Case Presentation Bowie coming my way...

View attachment 1809647View attachment 1809648View attachment 1809649

49's are a Great Bowie and you're New CASE is a Beauty too.........Smart Purchase ~

 

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

I received my white handled Case XX Bowie knife today... I really like the look the white handle gives to this model
I like my black handled model too, but instead of having to pick one or the other, getting one of each solved the problem.

 

[Kirk Raptor]

First of all, you're not all that old . . . and you're certainly not the first guy to lose treasures in a divorce (speaking from experience).

You are a very lucky man, as you clearly have the resources to do more with your nostalgia than just reminisce. You made your memories real again. Thanks for all the great posts and the accompanying narrative. I, for one, learned a lot.

Enjoy those Bowies!

 

[Bob Denman]

That is one very pretty pile of steel!!