Bowie Knives

The bowie is the American big knife: a broad blade with a clip point, a guard, and enough length to do the work of a hatchet and the work of a paring knife on the same trip. It takes its name from Jim Bowie and the sandbar fight of 1827, and it has been the frontier, hunting and military knife of choice ever since. Every bowie here is hand-forged with a full tang in pattern-welded Damascus, 1095 high carbon or stainless steel, from a 10-inch hunter to the 20-inch military bowie, and each ships with a sheath.

Choosing a bowie knife

Patterns

The classic bowie is the 12 to 16 inch Damascus knife with the clip point and brass guard, the bulk of this collection and the shape most people picture. The Texas bowie and the classic 1095 bowie at 18 inches are the larger frontier patterns. The clip point bowie in 1095 at 15 inches is the plain working version. The military bowies, the 15.5-inch Marine pattern, the 16-inch military-grade and the 20-inch copper Damascus, follow the twentieth-century fighting-knife line. The tanto bowies swap the clip for an angular tanto point; the gut hook bowie adds the hook for field dressing; the woodsman and the survival bowie are the camp knives; and the ridged bowie and the bone handle bowie are the display pieces. There is also a bowie blank for anyone fitting their own handle, and the military bundle pairs a bowie with a sharpener and cleaning kit.

Length

10 to 12 inches overall is a belt knife and the right size for hunting and camp work. 13 to 16 inches is the classic bowie, big enough to chop and still carry. 17 to 20 inches is a short sword in all but name, a wall piece or a machete substitute. Overall length is on every product page; blade length is roughly five inches less.

Steel and handle

Damascus is layered high carbon steel with a visible pattern, forged from 1095 and a lower-carbon partner; 1095 alone is the plain high carbon steel, harder and simpler to maintain; stainless is the low-maintenance display option. Handles are hardwood, bone, antler or micarta and are photographed on each listing, with the steel, the edge finish and the sheath type. Keep carbon steel clean, dry and lightly oiled; the cleaning kit is made for it. A bowie can also be built to your own length, steel and handle in the custom knife builder.

Related

The bowie sits between the hunting knife and the machete in size, and beside the kukri as the other big camp blade. The Damascus knives collection holds every pattern-welded knife in the catalogue, and the bowie versus hunting versus survival knife guide settles which of the three you need. Every knife type starts at knives.

Frequently asked questions

What is a bowie knife?
A large fixed-blade knife with a clip point, a crossguard and a blade usually between six and twelve inches, named for Jim Bowie, who carried one in the 1827 sandbar fight in Mississippi. It became the standard American frontier and hunting knife of the nineteenth century.

What is a clip point?
The shape of the tip: the spine is cut away, or clipped, in a straight or concave line near the point, which gives a finer, lower tip for piercing while keeping a broad belly behind it.

What size bowie should I buy?
10 to 12 inches for a belt and hunting knife, 13 to 16 for the classic bowie that chops and carves, 17 and over for a display piece or a machete substitute.

Damascus or 1095?
Both are high carbon steels that hold an edge. 1095 is the simpler, harder working steel; Damascus adds the layered pattern and costs a little more. Stainless is for display with minimal care.

Do they come sharp?
Most Damascus and 1095 bowies are supplied with an edge and can be ordered dull for display. The product page states which finish a given knife carries and what sheath it ships with.