Original Bowie Knife design

[Bill Siegle]

I have always been a fan of Bowie knives in almost any form and the bigger the better This past year I was blessed with being at the OKCA show where the legendary Forrest Bowie was on display. The Forrest Bowie for those that don't know is the knife most likely to have been the one Jim Bowie used at the famous Sandbar duel. I was inspired to make a variation of my own and this is what I came up with. I matched the original dimensions as best I could interpreting from pics I took and online references. This is 17in overall with a 12inch blade. I used natural linen micarta for the scales and secured them with flared stainless steel tubes and epoxy. Weight wise it is just shy of 21oz. Now most know how Jim Bowie used his knife to kill an opponent who had shot him and stabbed him with a sword cane, but many do not know how he got the knife. As I understand the story is that Jim's brother, Rezin, owned the knife first and gave it to Jim after he had cut his hand when he killed a wild bull with the knife! Yes Rezin killed a bull with a knife but Jim gets all the fame Anyway, Rezin made/had made himself another design using a full guard and gave the first knife to Jim. Who knows if any of it is true but it is a very cool story and the knives are impressive for sure!!!!!!
Original Bowie from show.

My version.

 

[Adrenaline]

that's excellent bill

 

[caine]

awesome i like that alot

 

[Jonny1280]

I got to handle this knife over the weekend at BeckerWest.
What an awesome knife! Great work on that one Bill.
I was really surprised how nimble and alive it felt in the hand. Especially for such a long knife.
Tom's a lucky man to have walked away with it. In all fairness, he was pretty pumped. For good reason!!

 

[Awesom-o-4000]

Here she is after a year of use and a new shiny dangler

 

[scrappy]

I like it Bill. Nice work.

 

[willrise]

Making any of more of these Bill?

 

[Bill Siegle]

Not making any on spec but I am open to making more if ordered.

 

[Jonny1280]

Here she is after a year of use and a new shiny dangler View attachment 680742

Very cool.
That's a heck of a setup.

 

[NixKustoms]

I never put it on after I made it but it should be a kick ass rig!!

Thanks awesome!!

Another pic.

 

[Bill Siegle]

Here is a neat customer idea on this pattern. He liked the Bowie shape but wanted something smaller. Here it is with a 7inch blade. The handle slabs are contoured slightly to aid in a secure grip. Kinda digging it!

 

[1066vik]

that's got an 18th Century scalper type trade knife vibe going!
nicely done!

 

[Bill Siegle]

That is my thought too! The customer was very happy with it and has already put it to use

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Both SWEET!!!!

 

[bigcountry1315]

Awesome knives. I have always been a huge history buff. Everyone has heard of Jim's fight on the sandbar but I just read in 1831 3 men were hired to kill Jim and even though they were armed with rifles Jim was the only one that walked away! Just reading about the different events that he was involved in or other Mountain Men lived in is just nothing short of amazing!!! The guts it took to take off into hostile territory with only a small party and having to rely on your wits and skills to survive says a lot about the men of that day!!!!