Bowie value needed

[davy]

A good sharp knife is a joy to hold. However, most Bowies are so long and heavy that you need suspenders for the knife sheath to avoid your britches heading south when you need them in place the most! Spend a day with that knife on your hip, banging your leg, and see how you feel about big heavy knives the next morning. Thanks Goodness for horses and cars. :rotf:

Yeah but .. but after that is all said & done ... its a pure pleasure to pull out ... " now thats a knife" :hatsoff: :rotf:

Davy

 

[kaac1221]

Paul, I was merely discussing quality of steel in my particular knife but since you brought up the weight/length issue, IMHO I don't think a 6" blade Bowie-type knife is too long or too heavy. And yes, I have carried it all day in rugged areas along with a .58 cal musket, powder, balls etc. and didn't have any problems (just gotta be tough that's all :grin: ).

We're not talking about a Crocodile Dundee Special here. Yeah, that's a big knife.

Considering some of the wild dark scary places I've been known to wander into(like Lenny's Bar for one) I'd rather have my 6" blade Bowie than some wimpy little 'ol apple-peeler of a knife :winking: .

Seriously, for everyday use around the house and town(except for Lenny's)I do carry a 2" blade lockback. Just depends on a person's personal preference, I suppose. Different strokes......

Before anybody asks about Lenny's: It's such a rough place that the female bouncers with the tattoos stop you at the door and ask if you have a knife or gun on you. If you say no, they give you one before they let you go in. JUST JOKING!! There's no such place around here. At....least...I....don't ...think....so......

Have good day!! :v

Dryball

 

[paulvallandigham]

Dryball: Most Bowies have blades at least 8 inches long, and often as long as 12! They weight close to 3 lbs.

You will get a very hard argument that any knife with only a 6 inch blade is NOT a Bowie, although not from me. I think a 4 or 5 inch blade is about right for general camp use, and a 6 inch blade is more than long enough for social purposes. Its better than not being armed at all. However, do remember the First RULE OF GUNFIGHTING: DON'T go to a gunfight without a GUN you know and trust with your life. The problem with knives and martial arts skills as Primary Defense strategies is that the people like to attack you come in bunches. The days of one on one attacks, particularly unarmed, or only armed with a knife, are sadly becoming history. And, of course, a skilled knife fighter can do a lot of damage to even a small groups of attackers. But a knife is pretty useless for defense when faced with multiple assailants armed with guns.

That said, we just had a martial arts expert attacked here by two guys, who apparently were unarmed. He took them out! But, they ran off before police could arrive. According to police, there have been a number of similar attacks and robberies in the same area by men meeting the same description.

 

[kaac1221]

Too bad the martial arts expert couldn't have "immobilized" the attackers for the police.

Fortunately(knock on wood) we don't have that much violent crime in the immediate area where I live; rural/small town. Hope it stays that way!

 

[ChrisPer]

Both those knives would come home with me if I found them at a garage sale. I collect knives -don't have any Bowies - some collectors won't take anything else.

I would feel silly but pay AUD$45 for the Bowie privately, maybe $85 at an antique shop (probably wouldn't buy it though).

The bottom is indeed one of those scandinavian working knives, crappy-looking guard and handle but good steel. They were never expensive, and you can still find similar in hardware or fishing stores but with modern plastic handles.

 

[deane]

Paul,I hate to disagree with someone when I'm so new to this forum but I carried one for a year in another part of the world and it sure come in handy. Cuzzin Jack

 

[paulvallandigham]

Which of the two knives did you carry? And how much combat knife training have you had? I know just enough about knife fighting to get myself in trouble. I know a lot more about using a gun for self defense, and have experience, too.

 

[deane]

The bowie.A Western brand to be exact.You probably remember 'em. They was excellent for cuttin' hooch poles And once it did save my life and that was with no particular training. It just happened I had it at the right time.Oh, and no it wasn't any life and death struggle with an armed and resolute human opponent,it was a seven step viper whilst was squatting in the bush :hmm: Cuzzin Jack

 

[noworries]

Spend a day with that knife on your hip, banging your leg, and see how you feel about big heavy knives the next morning. Thanks Goodness for horses and cars. :rotf:

Not trying to profess how much of a stud I am (cause I am far from it) but I got used to carrying a large knife while in the Army. 8 years of having a Gerber MarkII on your hip and you come to appreciate just how handy a big knife is.

 

[NuclearMeltdown]

Hey guys-I'm an American who is in Sweden right now. Those Mora knives are in many of the shops here. Like mentioned above, they come with wooden or plastic handles. Very handy blade, and very sharp. Also, very inexpensive in the US and in Sweden.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

I've seen those Mora blades, nice knives. welcome to the MLF :hatsoff:

 

They weight close to 3 lbs

bull puckey - I'm lucky to have two friends who collect original Bowies and who have been willing to let me examine them. Between them they have several hundred knives - most have blades ranging from 6-14" and the heaviest (a Confederate D guard) weighs right at 2.2 lbs with the average weight of those with 8-12" blades being around 10-14 oz. Besides those I've also examined several hundred other originals and the vast majority are not overly heavy or unwieldy in the least.
Second Bowies are my #1 selling knife and again with blades of 8-10" average weight is less than a pound with most ranging from 8-12 oz.
Yes there are some heavier original Bowies and many modern makers do make them too heavy, but a correctly made big knife with a blade in that "standard" Bowie range of 8-10" should seldom weigh more than a pound at most with 10-12oz being more "normal".

 

[LRB]

To add to Gray Wolf's post. This Bowie has a 13 3/4" blade and weighs in at only 1 lb, 11 oz.

 

[davy]

To add to Gray Wolf's post. This Bowie has a 13 3/4" blade and weighs in at only 1 lb, 11 oz.

If I am not mistaken the original Musso Bowie is close to the same weight as well, big but less weight than you would think! :hatsoff: I think balance is important as well in handling one of these big knives ... the better balanced the less cumbersome I think. Thats from my own "less than scientific" handling of a few big knives. Some ARE in fact big, clunky, heavy, and cumbersome .. but ... some are simply not .. instead they are well balanced and light for their size. :hmm:

Davy

 

[TFoley]

Finnish fixed-blade hunting knives are called Puukko, not Swedish.

See this very useful site
[url] http://www.puukkosivut.net/[/url]

As you can see, the history of the knife and the way it is made are deeply rooted in Finnish culture...

Suomalainen puukkokulttuuri elää uuden tulemisen aikaa. Puukonvalmistus kursseja, puukkokilpailuja sekä puukko messuja järjestetään vuosittain maassamme lukuisia. Puukkoon liittyvä toimintamme on kuitenkin vielä lasten kengissä verrattuna muihin pohjoismaihin, joissa töiden taso on erittäin korkeaa, osaavia puukkoseppiä on runsaasti, tarvikkeita, työkaluja sekä materiaaleja on tarjolla valtavasti. Oman kulttuurimme elvyttäminen samalle tasolle edellyttää uusien harrastajien neuvomista ja innostamista. Myös puukkoon liittyvää tietoutta on pyrittävä jakamaan aiheesta kiinnostuneille.

Omalta osaltani toivon näiden sivujen avulla edistäväni suomalaisen puukkokulttuurin säilymistä ja perinteen jatkumista.

OK?

tac

 

[paulvallandigham]

Tac: That would be a much more informative site if the language was written in English! :blah: :shocked2: :shake: Know any good site in English? :hmm:

 

[shmrck1]

Suomalainen puukkokulttuuri elää uuden tulemisen aikaa. Puukonvalmistus kursseja, puukkokilpailuja sekä puukko messuja järjestetään vuosittain maassamme lukuisia. Puukkoon liittyvä toimintamme on kuitenkin vielä lasten kengissä verrattuna muihin pohjoismaihin, joissa töiden taso on erittäin korkeaa, osaavia puukkoseppiä on runsaasti, tarvikkeita, työkaluja sekä materiaaleja on tarjolla valtavasti. Oman kulttuurimme elvyttäminen samalle tasolle edellyttää uusien harrastajien neuvomista ja innostamista. Myös puukkoon liittyvää tietoutta on pyrittävä jakamaan aiheesta kiinnostuneille.

Omalta osaltani toivon näiden sivujen avulla edistäväni suomalaisen puukkokulttuurin säilymistä ja perinteen jatkumista.OK?
tac

Tac,
Maybe you clicked on the wrong forum,or
maybe you think what you are talking about
is an international language,sorry not so.
I have seen your post,and I have always
understood them prior to this post. I personally
am confused by your post:hmm:And I:surrender: to
whatever you may be thinking.
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

[shmrck1]

Paul,
I am not a big knife type of guy. However,
I do own a rep Bowie with an 8" blade,12" OA.
SS blade(will never own another,SS that is).Even
with sheath it weighs just a tad over 24oz..
I don't carry it while hunting.As a matter of
fact it never leaves my gun room.But I have one!
I guess that is my problem:: I need one of
everything that I can pay for+++.
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Snake eyes: I know the problem! There are knives you " just have to own" and then there are working knives. I have both! I finally parted with some of my " gotta have " knives by donating some to my local chapter of Pheasants Forever to raffle off. There are more in one drawer or another. I run across them every once in awhile! :rotf: :thumbsup:

 

[TFoley]

Well, naturally with such a large Finnish population in America, I was certain that my pearls had been cast on still waters [to mix metaphors], and that one of the many Finnish speakers on this forum would have helped you out.

Just up the way from us in Ontario, on the shores of Lake Superior we have Little Finland, an area where the settlers were from the old country, and the names of the places and road reflects that heritage - Suomilainen Street, Helsingen Street, Rouvaniemi Road and so on.

Anyhow, with copious apologies to those of you who do not seem to speak Finnish [everybody does where I am, but then I am presently in Turku :wink: ], I'll just say that the little quote gives details of the simple yet time-proven construction and use of birch-bark or cork for the handles of this eponymous knife, as well as the neat little fold-over top of the full-length sheath that stops it falling out when cavorting around in the snow chasing the reindeer or Russians [sorry Russians, but you DID get your butts handed to you on plate by an army 1/10th your size].

Lesson has been learnt. I am suitably contrite. :redface:

Best wishes to all

tac in Suomi until tomorrow