Why Bowie gets all the love and not Hudson Bay

" I currently have a Busse MUK, which is a high end Nessmuk. It is 0.14" thick and nearly 2 inch wide blade. IT is a great slicer." - Cobalt
Cobalt, I tried to message you but inbox is full. If you see this which Muk is .140? I have the mini muk that is .160, as far as I can research the original Muk is .160. Is the anorexic Muk .140?
 
Midwest Firecraft said:
" I currently have a Busse MUK, which is a high end Nessmuk. It is 0.14" thick and nearly 2 inch wide blade. IT is a great slicer." - Cobalt
Cobalt, I tried to message you but inbox is full. If you see this which Muk is .140? I have the mini muk that is .160, as far as I can research the original Muk is .160. Is the anorexic Muk .140?
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I had no idea my inbox was full. cleared it out a bit. The std MUK is somewhere in the 0.14 to 0.15 range
 
Midwest Firecraft said:
Cobalt,
Thanks for your response. That is interesting because all I can find is .165 models from the Busse sight:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/anorexic-hog-muk-specs-special-pricing-and-other-info.824000/
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...mini-muk-baby-boom-war-train-handcar.1378361/
Looks like there was a prototype at .125, but I don't think it was ever made as far as I can tell. There was a BusMuk that was released first but I can't find any specs on the blade thickness.
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Hey, but I could be wrong, lol, it has been many scotch bottles since I measured the thickness. maybe it is 0.165
 
BladeScout said:
Clip - what clip point? ;)

EdwinForrestBowieknife.jpg
.

BTW the above is a very good looking knife IMO - clip point or no clip point.
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That knife has a style to it! Looks suspiciously like a kitchen knife (made in France) that resides in my counter-top block. Probably much thinner than that example tho.
 
DunRanull said:
That knife has a style to it! Looks suspiciously like a kitchen knife (made in France) that resides in my counter-top block. Probably much thinner than that example tho.
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Yes estimates put it at between 1/4" and 3/8". Length estimates vary from 9" to 11" blade.
 
Cobalt said:
But, but, but, wasn't the original Sandbar fight Bowie a camp knife, that was used for a fight? So if the hudson is a camp knife and we know that bowie used a camp knife in a fight and we call it a bowie, isn't the hudson a bowie? ;)
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I think the original "sand bar" knife was a modified butcher knife.

From what I understand, the original "sand bar" knife either no longer exists, or is long, long lost, so we'll never know for sure.
(and even if it were located and proven beyond a doubt to be the knife used by Bowie on the sand bar, too many people would refuse to believe, because it does not match what they picture in their "minds". (note quotes)
Sad fact:
"Tis easier to believe a lie, than to admit one was wrong or mistaken about something for most of their lives."
 
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I think the Hudson Bay knives didn’t get as much press because it’s hard to get a story out of mundane chores and regular life activities. Where as the Bowie became known and associated with fightin! A bloody knife fight sounds a lot more interesting than doing mundane chores. Just my humble observation and opinion.
 
The Hudson Bay knife is a tool and the Bowie knife is a myth... Both are great patterns, in the end it depends what you're gonna do with them...
 
I'm a Canadian and I've yet to see a Hudson Bay knife in person, but I've seen tons of Bowies over the years.

Bowie was publicized in 1827 after Mississippi Vidalia Sandbar Duel. And English manufacturers in Sheffield stepped in pretty soon after and started producing copy's. They were a popular go to in the Civil War which I think made them even more legendary. Where as it sounds like the Hudson Bay camp knife wasn't made until the 1850's also by Sheffield. And it was never really used in War.

Just goes to show you that even over 100 years ago Tacticool still out sold Bushcraft :D
 
cbrstar cbrstar To see a Hudson Bay knife in person, and available, check out the Condor catalogue. They have been making them for quite some years. There's also a guy specialized in reenactment knives who makes one. PM me for the link if you are interested. As to the application, the original Bowie (or the first...) was definitely intended as a fighting knife. The Hudson Bay knife was intended as a camp knife, supposed to combine the utility of a knife and a hatchet.
a8e5ysI.jpg
 
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From the guy's website :
[I researched the Original Hudson Bay for an article in Tactical Knives Magazine. I saw, measured and studied several originals at museums. These knives were called "the knives with the eyes" by the Canadian Indians who were the original targeted market for the first trade in the 1800s. This one has an 8 inch inch blade of 1/4 inch steel. It is blade heavy for doing heavy camp chores and eliminating the need for a belt axe. The Working Man's version has three rivets/side; the Chief's Grade has the front brass scale and two large rivets.]
 
I easily see the mountainmen preferring their Green River butcher knives and their hatchet to the Hudson Bay knife. As with all "jack of all trades" it's a bit mediocre at everything. I didn't like mine : too heavy, not a great slicer, not a great chopper and not a great splitter.
 
herisson said:
I easily see the mountainmen preferring their Green River butcher knives and their hatchet to the Hudson Bay knife. As with all "jack of all trades" it's a bit mediocre at everything. I didn't like mine : too heavy, not a great slicer, not a great chopper and not a great splitter.
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Well, I have yet to put the HBC to any real world use, before I can form an opinion.
I have always prefered the Bowie style, but the HBC is a historic model and nice to have in the collection.

Here's the Odin with a recently made Red Deer handle.
IMGP6561.jpg
The idea was to keep it as close as possible to a mid 19th century style.
Background pic is from Norm Flayderman's book"The Bowie Knife".

Regards
Mikael
 
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That's beautiful ! I definitely see the Volcano with such a handle. Awesome !
 
herisson said:
That's beautiful ! I definitely see the Volcano with such a handle. Awesome !
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That's certainly just as possible to do as on the NL's! :thumbsup:
As good Sambar Stag are getting harder to find, I have switched to localy sourced European Red Deer antlers.
No regrets as Red Deer Stag can be real nice in its own right.

Regards
Mikael
 
herisson said:
I easily see the mountainmen preferring their Green River butcher knives and their hatchet to the Hudson Bay knife. As with all "jack of all trades" it's a bit mediocre at everything. I didn't like mine : too heavy, not a great slicer, not a great chopper and not a great splitter.
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It kind of depends on how you define the term "mountain man" but the Green River knives came after the beaver trade. During the 1820-40 period they mostly used I Wilson and other English brands.
 
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