The BOWIE KNIFE by Tyr Neilsen

At the top of a range of hills beside the Drammen fjord, I sat down and had a coffee with Norwegian knife expert Bjørn Ingebrigtsen, and talked about the Bowie knife, which has been one of the most famous knives in the world for over 100 years. “The Bowie knife is one of my favorite knives,” Bjørn said holding up a beautiful Bowie knife called the Down Under Outback.

This was no shock to me, because in all the years I have been purchasing equipment from Norway’s foremost knife specialist store, Gammelt og Nytt (Old and New), which Bjørn owns and runs, there has always been a whole section of the store dedicated to the Bowie knife.

“The Bowie knife is big and just as suitable for skinning and butchering meat as it is for general use on a camping trip,” Bjørn said with a wry smile as he cut through the air with the Bowie knife. “Some people may think that the Bowie is an outdated weapon, and that it has no place in todays modern weaponry. The truth is that the Bowie knife is considered one of the most versatile knives around and is still used by military units.”

“There is no standard size for a Bowie knife, but they are based on the custom one made in 1830 for the famous knife fighter and frontiersman Jim Bowie,” Bjørn explained. “According to legend, the original was a fixed blade knife made by Arkansas blacksmith James Black, from a design by Bowie.

After being involved in a knifefight known as the Vidalia Sandbar fight, Jim Bowie became famous and received many requests for knives of the same design as the one he used at Vidalia. Bowie, together with his brother Rezin, started to commission custom blades from various knife makers.”

Between 1830 and 1860, the Bowie knife pattern became standardized with 10 to 12 inch blades. Though it has continually improved by Blacksmiths and knife specialists in many countries, the Bowie knife is easily recognizable by its large blade with a curved ‘clipped point’ meaning that the point of the blade looks like it has been clipped off, its thick handguard made of brass, steel or silver, and handle made from hardwood, deer antler or bone.

By the middle of the 19th century, the Bowie knife was so popular that it became synonymous with the term "fighting knife" and was more reliable than the single-shot handguns of the time. Towards the end of the century however, handguns had improved dramatically, and the classic Bowie knife was gradually reduced its size and length as its purpose changed from dedicated fighting knife to a general-purpose knife that could also be used as a fighting knife in an emergency.

Jim Bowie led a very interesting life, and he played a major role in the Texas Revolution, which ended with his death at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. He is an American folk hero and his name and legacy live on with the Bowie knife.

There are Bowie knife museums, exhibitions and trade shows, and the Bowie knife dominates the work produced by members of the American Bladesmith Society. The knife is also extremely popular with collectors, with antique Bowie knives selling for up to $200,000.

Since the days of the Western dime novels, the Bowie knife has been continually present in popular culture. It was a Bowie knife that ‘killed’ Dracula in the 1897 vampire novel by Bram Stoker, and the Bowie knife has been a staple in Western movies and television, including a TV series called The Adventures of Jim Bowie. It was John Wayne’s knife of choice in the classic ‘The Searchers’, and Sylvester Stallone used custom Bowie knives in the ‘Rambo’ movies.

“This model is a copy of the Bowie knife made for the film Crocodile Dundee,” Bjørn told me as I admired the Outback Bowie knife and waved it around to see how it is balanced. “And its not simply something to hang on the wall,” he added, “this Bowie knife is devastatingly effective and can hack, slash, chop and cut as a Bowie knife should!”

I have to admit, the Outback Bowie knife is beautiful. It has an 11 inch blade (28 cm) made of 440C dual heat treated steel, a solid brass guard and pommel, and ebony and leather handle. It also has a genuine leather sheath with sharpening spike.

Now that’s a knife…….

The Bowie knife is probably the closest thing to a Viking broad seax, also called a “Viking hunting knife”, “Viking fighting knife” or “Viking war knife”. It is possible to buy a very nice hand made seax from a professional knife specialist, or pick up a decent seax at a Viking market, but these can be difficult to obtain.

For those who want a big modern high grade knife that can be bought at a store, the Bowie knife is definately a good option.

Bjørn Ingebrigtsen is the owner of Gammelt og Nytt (Old and New), Norway’s foremost knife specialist store. For many years Bjørn had his own weekly article called Ukens Knivskarpe (Sharp Knives of the Weeek) in the extremely popular Norwegian magazine Vi Menn (We Men).

Link to Gammelt og Nytt’s website Bowie knife page: https://gn.no/liste-kniver-utstyr-bowie