Recommendation? Looking for an old west fighting knife

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Maverick44

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May 18, 2016
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I'm wanting to get an old west style fighting knife to wear as part of my costume for cowboy action shooting. I though about getting a Bowie, but everyone and their cousin has one, and I'm wanting something a little different. It's honestly not going to see a lot of use, but I don't want a wall hanger. I'm wanting something well made, but not to the level of it being a custom piece. Price range of around $50-$75 or so. I liked the Arkansas Toothpick, but most I've found seem to be wall hangers.

Any suggestions?
 
Maverick44 said:
I'm wanting to get an old west style fighting knife to wear as part of my costume for cowboy action shooting. I though about getting a Bowie, but everyone and their cousin has one, and I'm wanting something a little different. It's honestly not going to see a lot of use, but I don't want a wall hanger. I'm wanting something well made, but not to the level of it being a custom piece. Price range of around $50-$75 or so. I liked the Arkansas Toothpick, but most I've found seem to be wall hangers.

Any suggestions?
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If it is for show I would focus on the sheath more than the knife.
http://bonaknives.com/?page_id=779
If you look at some of Mr. Marcin Bona's frontier knives he makes some really distinctive sheaths. He sells them every once in a while in the knife makers for sale section. He doesn't take knife orders btw, he mostly just makes what he wants to make and then sells them.
Anyway those are out of your price range of $50-75. I would seriously consider getting a Russell Green River and pinning it with peened brass rivets. The sheath is very doable if you are willing to put in some work to make it yourself. Get a skin from the mountain man rendezvous or online and make one yourself. It is really easy to work brass, but it does take patience and care to make it look nice. A brass fringe or sinew sewed perimeter makes them look really good.
 
The Gaucho Style might suit you well.

I believe some re-enactors use Old Hickory carbon steel knives. They aren't fancy, but are reasonably close to what would have been common in the West and they are quite usable as they are still made for using.

A similar line with a similar heritage would be "Russel Green River knives"

You might see what Condor Knives has. If memory serves they make a Nessmuk style knife which might work for you.

You could also Google for "cowboy reenactment knives" and see what comes up.
 
Bowie or not, but what about just something unique like a hand ground, antler handled knife like the Silver Stag puts out. I've given a couple away as gifts to outdoorsy like people. Their sheaths even seem pretty hand made and unique from one to the next. I would guess in the old West, knives were mostly hand made or revived and rehandled in whatever was handy like bone or antler.
 
I'd get yourself an old hickory 7" butcher for about $14 and make a sheath for it.

The old hickory butcher really looks like the knives most carried back in the old west, and with a bag of farm remnant leather from the craft store you can easily make yourself a rustic sheath for it.

Here's something I did with an old GI cooks knife.

This is what the knife looks like now



Another good way to go would be to get an old hunting knife for cheap and put or have put a new handle on it.
 
Jhansenak47 said:
If it is for show I would focus on the sheath more than the knife.
http://bonaknives.com/?page_id=779
If you look at some of Mr. Marcin Bona's frontier knives he makes some really distinctive sheaths. He sells them every once in a while in the knife makers for sale section. He doesn't take knife orders btw, he mostly just makes what he wants to make and then sells them.
Anyway those are out of your price range of $50-75. I would seriously consider getting a Russell Green River and pinning it with peened brass rivets. The sheath is very doable if you are willing to put in some work to make it yourself. Get a skin from the mountain man rendezvous or online and make one yourself. It is really easy to work brass, but it does take patience and care to make it look nice. A brass fringe or sinew sewed perimeter makes them look really good.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's exactly the kind of knife that was most popular on the frontier.
Bowie's and toothpicks are the most glamorous and cool with lots of stories about them, but the truth is that butcher knives were most common.
 
Maverick44 said:
After doing some looking, those old hickory knives might be just the ticket. They're so cheap, I'll probably buy a few and modify them. Thanks fellas.
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There ya go.

Btw if they have micheals craft stores where you live, you can get a 5lb bag of what they call " farm remnants " leather scraps for $10.
Just pick the one that seems to include a decent sized piece in a color you like if you don't wanna dye it.
 
Russell Green River. They aren't fancy but are authentic to what was available at that time.

Russell%2520Green%2520River%2520Works%2520Tweaked.JPG
 
I can’t believe it hasn’t been suggested yet but...Condor Hudson Bay. (Photo hoisted from Ben Bouchard at Baryonyx, where I would buy the knife if I were you. You an use their sharpening service for free...)
yhst-129988217023674_2272_6055975

Bowies may have had a good PR manager but Hudson Bay knives were already work horses with “been there done that” credit long before the bit of unpleasantness at the Sandbar.
Not a "fighting knife" technically, but that said, i dont know that there is actually any historical precedent for cowboys or frontiersman to carry a single purpose fighting knife, rather than a utility knife that could be used to cut/stab a person as well as chop a branch, slaughter a cow, whittle a trinket or anything else. And lets face it, if you think a HB knife or two never got used to maim or kill someone in a fight between frontiersman or cowboys, I can't prove you wrong, but i'd bet against you.

The HB stands up to the Bowie for being impressive and large, is historically accurate/period correct, and would be one heck of a user. no wall hanger here... I have several Condors and they beg to be used.
 
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I would've suggested Windlass Steelcrafts (find 'em at atlanta cutlery) but you say you don't want a bowie. Maybe try Muela or Nieto, some models well within your price point and very well made. The stag handles would run way over 75 clams though.
 
19-3ben said:
I can’t believe it hasn’t been suggested yet but...Condor Hudson Bay. (Photo hoisted from Ben Bouchard at Baryonyx, where I would buy the knife if I were you. You an use their sharpening service for free...)
yhst-129988217023674_2272_6055975

Bowies may have had a good PR manager but Hudson Bay knives were already work horses with “been there done that” credit long before the bit of unpleasantness at the Sandbar.
Not a "fighting knife" technically, but that said, i dont know that there is actually any historical precedent for cowboys or frontiersman to carry a single purpose fighting knife, rather than a utility knife that could be used to cut/stab a person as well as chop a branch, slaughter a cow, whittle a trinket or anything else. And lets face it, if you think a HB knife or two never got used to maim or kill someone in a fight between frontiersman or cowboys, I can't prove you wrong, but i'd bet against you.

The HB stands up to the Bowie for being impressive and large, is historically accurate/period correct, and would be one heck of a user. no wall hanger here... I have several Condors and they beg to be used.
Click to expand...
Thanks for bringing that one up. I feel a case of CUPS* coming on...




*Completely Unnecessary Purchase Syndrome...
 
If it were me, I would get the AG Russell Green River as it is essentially a butcher knife and I believe authentic for the Old West. With a bowie, I would go with a Condor myself (Moonshiner is really cool). The Condor Hudson Bay is sort of a mountain man knife.
 
AG Russell Green River in 3v (if only it were possible) - and let it develop some patina
 
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