James Bowie

[Loja man]

The Musso Bowie could almost be a Falchion!!

 

[Johnny Tremain]

The first knife the Bowie bros made was the one pictured on the cover of that book. Its called the Searles bowie.
Made by George Searles of Baton Rouge LA.

I have a copy of it, and if your lucky Dixie gun works may have a few left. In the catalog its called the Dixie bowie.

Rezin's is in the Alamo museum, and Jim's is in the Santa Anna museum in Mexico City.
You will never own anything as sharp. it is wicked

 

[Rudyard]

Bowies Tooth picks, Coffin hilts Halfhorse Half horse half allligater . Horse heads . !2" worked back Dirks Riflemens, Scene duos . all sizes. My mark . .J E Middlelton mark .All grist to the Sheffield makers & dealers mill . Fred James, Ivy James. heaps of 'crooked / Canou, knives & Indian awls . & Stan Shaw up Garden Street. Oh & Blackfoot dags two sizes . Same as me made in Sheffield .
Rudyard

 

[LRB]

The first knife the Bowie bros made was the one pictured on the cover of that book. Its called the Searles bowie.
Made by George Searles of Baton Rouge LA.

I have a copy of it, and if your lucky Dixie gun works may have a few left. In the catalog its called the Dixie bowie.
View attachment 110564
Rezin's is in the Alamo museum, and Jim's is in the Santa Anna museum in Mexico City.
You will never own anything as sharp. it is wicked

With all due respect, NO. The 'Daniel' Searles Bowie was made in the early 1830's. The one in that picture was made for Rezin to be a gift to a Dragoon captain by the name of Fowler. By Rezin Bowies own words, the first Bowie knife was made by a blacksmith named Jesse Cliff for Rezin. Neither Rezin nor James actually made knives. No one knows the where abouts of the knife Jim Bowie had at the Alamo, and no one knows for sure what it really looked like. Bowie had more than one knife over the years after the sand bar fight.

 

[TFoley]

Due to the popularity of Jim Bowie and his knife, and that dueling was still a problem in the South and the Appalachians, Alabama passed a Bowie knife law in 1837. Alabama passed laws imposing a $100 transfer tax on 'Bowie' knives and decreeing that anyone carrying a Bowie knife who subsequently killed a person in a fight (self defense or not) would be charged with premeditated murder. As of today, one still cannot have a Bowie knife in their vehicle, even if it is in a locked trunk or container without being charged with carrying a concealed weapon. You can only carry a Bowie knife concealed on your own property, but you can carry just about any other type knife concealed as lone as it is not classed as a Bowie knife. Even to this day it is illegal for a store or shop owner to sell a Bowie knife without a special Bowie knife license which cost $100 to $150 yearly according to the population where the business is located. The license is also required if you are selling Bowie type knives at a gunshow or flea market.

Wow, a license for a knife - in the US of A!!!!

Whoda thought?

 

[LRB]

I would have to believe a good lawyer could beat that in an honest court. There is no one unique feature on a Bowie knife, that makes it a Bowie knife, different than from any other fixed blade belt knife, and even at that, there were folding Bowies made, spear point Bowies, straight back Bowies, and curved Bowies. With the exception of some knives being stamped "BOWIE KNIFE", a Bowie knife is just another knife. Much the same as a so called "assault rifle" is just another semi auto, unless it is full auto.

 

[user 48702]

Wow, a license for a knife - in the US of A!!!!

Whoda thought?

The license is required for a dealer or business to sell Bowie Knives. It is an antiquated law, matter of fact, this law was in effect prior to a dealer or hardware store having to have a local license or FFL to sell guns. Best I can determine, the license to sell Bowie Knives has been in existence since before the 1920s. I can't find any historical evidence to back it up, but there is a story about a gent in a tavern just prior to the 1837 law being passed, that was jumped by three assailants and in fear for his life, drew his Bowie knife and killed one and maimed the other two. They say that there was such an outcry that this in addition to Jim Bowie's fame, caused the legislature to introduce and pass the Bowie Knife law in 1837, and in addition, implemented a transfer tax of $100 if you owned a Bowie Knife and selling it to another. It was said on the floor leading up to a vote, that a skilled man with a Bowie Knife could dispatch a dozen men before one man could reload his pistol, therefore, the Bowie was deemed the deadliest concealable weapon that never had to be reloaded, always at the ready.

 

[user 48702]

I would have to believe a good lawyer could beat that in an honest court. There is no one unique feature on a Bowie knife, that makes it a Bowie knife, different than from any other fixed blade belt knife, and even at that, there were folding Bowies made, spear point Bowies, straight back Bowies, and curved Bowies. With the exception of some knives being stamped "BOWIE KNIFE", a Bowie knife is just another knife. Much the same as a so called "assault rifle" is just another semi auto, unless it is full auto.

As of this year, 2021.

Alabama’s Firearms and Weapons Law Title 13A CRIMINAL CODE. Chapter 11 OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER AND SAFETY. Article 3 Offenses Relating to Firearms and Weapons. Division 1: General Provisions § 13A-11-50 Carrying concealed weapons.
Except as otherwise provided in this Code, a person who carries concealed about his person a bowie knife or knife or instrument of like kind or description or a pistol or firearm of any other kind or an air gun shall, on conviction, be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00, and may also be imprisoned in the county jail or sentenced to hard labor for the county for not more than six months. (Code 1852, § 15; Code 1867, § 3555; Code 1876, § 4109; Code 1886, § 3775; Code 1896, § 4420; Code 1907, § 6421; Code 1923, § 3485; Code 1940, T. 14, § 161; Code 1975, § 13-6-120.)

If you search, there are also cases in Alabama where persons have been arrested and convicted for carrying a butcher knife with a blade 8" inches or longer, or a machete, both of which the court deemed that these weapons met the State's definition of a Bowie Knife, as in having all the characteristics described under law, therefore a concealed weapon under the statute. Only one municipality, the City of Montgomery, has a 3" blade rule, other than that, you can carry just about any other knife concealed, you just can't carry a Bowie Knife. If you notice in the Codes above, it is still referencing laws passed in 1852, 1867,1876,1886,1896, 1907, 1923, 1940, and 1975.

 

[LRB]

Well, the 2nd amendment would clearly nullify such a law in any state that recognizes the 2A.

 

[andy52]

The Musso Bowie could almost be a Falchion!!

Possibly, or a Messer, even a late style clip point cutlass except for the handguard.

 

[andy52]

Well, the 2nd amendment would clearly nullify such a law in any state that recognizes the 2A.

Here in Missouri, we are a constitutional carry state but there is an archaic law still on the books that states you can't carry a double-edged knife (dagger) concealed, go figure.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

The one in that picture was made for Rezin to be a gift to a Dragoon captain by the name of Fowler

That is the bowie in the Alamo. They had Searles make two to them. One James had one Rezin had.
There are 100 articles on the Searles bowie, and they all show the one on the picture.
Even you tube has some blade smiths that copy that design, which was the first in 1830s.

I think I know a George Searles and got the first names mixed up, sorry.

 

[Bill Rowe]

One of the most famous and controversial Bowie knives is the "MUSSO" bowie knife, purchased from Joe Musso by Phil Collins a few years ago. Below is a picture of it on the now defunct ALAMO JOURNAL, with my version laying on the magazine.

View attachment 110473View attachment 110473

Blade is 13 3/4" long, but it is not a heavy, nor awkward knife to wield. 2lb 12oz. I made this knife to the exact blueprint that Joe Musso drew. View attachment 110473

What type of steel did you use, very nice . Thank you, Bill

 

[LRB]

I used 01. The original knife was 7/32" thick at the guard, so I bought a bar of precision ground 7/32" 01. The blade tapers to 3/16" about midway. It also starts out with a slight but noticeable hollow grind for a couple of inches, then transitions to a slightly convex cross section. That was an interesting procedure to pull off.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I did not intend to disparage the original poster or his post. I just wanted to comment on how incredibly confused and controversial this subject is. I once read a small book in our local library written by a neighbor of the Bowie's. He described the events leading up to the making of the first Bowie knife. It was for Rezin, not Jim. BTW, I have seen, at least, three knives purported to be THE first and original Bowie knife.

 

[LRB]

Just three?? There's a hundred or so out there.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I need to fact-check myself on this to be sure, but I believe Noah Smithwick also claimed he made a knife for James Bowie.

I'm reminded of the story of Sitting Bull's buttons. When he was touring with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, he would cut buttons of his coat and sell them to souvenir-seekers. Every night, he would stitch some more cheap buttons on his coat. James Bowie was notorious in his own lifetime. We wonder just how many of those knives he might have owned... and maybe distributed, for favors or profit.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[Jim Wag]

I need to fact-check myself on this to be sure, but I believe Noah Smithwick also claimed he made a knife for James Bowie.

I'm reminded of the story of Sitting Bull's buttons. When he was touring with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, he would cut buttons of his coat and sell them to souvenir-seekers. Every night, he would stitch some more cheap buttons on his coat. James Bowie was notorious in his own lifetime. We wonder just how many of those knives he might have owned... and maybe distributed, for favors or profit.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

Like the story of the
Santurio de Chimayo
The blessed dirt in the cuartito
Never runs out

Jim in La Luz

 

[cornstalk]

Like the story of the
Santurio de Chimayo
The blessed dirt in the cuartito
Never runs out

Jim in La Luz

I have been to that little Church many times. And purchased salsa spices from a little stand near it.

 

[Jim Wag]

Not to
Hijack the
Conversation
But . . .

The Rancho de Chimayo is
I believe
The longest continually occupied
Building in New Mexico

Lots of history

Jim in La Luz