That elusive Bowie knife...

[ironglow]

  How many-- knives have you seen that are supposedly "like the original" Bowie knife ? * If you are like myself, you may have seen several, most of them quite fanciful and decorative.
   Being as Bowies contemporaries most often described the knife as a "large butcher knife", I think the knife pictured in this article comes close to the original..if not being the first original itself, as stated by Edwin Forrest.  It is possible, even likely, that Jim Bowie had several blades made for himself.

   https://blademag.com/knife-history/edwin-forrest-bowie-knife

  Likely the knife Bowie carried at the Alamo..ended it's life cutting cactus for tequila...
 

  So far as the butcher knives at the time, the Russell Green River knives were very popular, showing up across  the country several years before the Alamo event, and the Forrest example is close to the Green River pattern.

  Note especially, the first  paragraph..

   https://m.facebook.com/130668753771266/photos/the-historical-bowie-knife-was-not-a-single-design-but-was-a-series-of-knives-im/207885229382951/

[Ranger99]

There's also the letters to
various newspapers of the
era from Rezin Bowie talking
about the knives after others
had written about the various
duels and fights claiming
firsthand knowledge of the
knives and the particulars
of the fights, etc.

I've always believed that the
Edwin knife was a real deal
and the Searles bowie is a
genuine article although I
think that was strictly a
Rezin bowie thing that he
had made up as gifts for
various people. Not sure if
Jim ever had one.

The Iron Mistress movie made
a big mess of the whole history
and trail of evidence because of
hollywoods practice of "artistic
license " . Same way that so many
early "kentucky" rifles and
"longrifles" are altered trapdoor
springfields when you look carefully
at the film scenes.

I go with the butcher/hunting/Edwin
Forrest knife myself. Seems more
likely of something JB would use

[Mule 11]

I like a big heavy knife “ anything a little knife can do, a big knife can do better and faster “

[ironglow]

There's also the letters to
various newspapers of the
era from Rezin Bowie talking
about the knives after others
had written about the various
duels and fights claiming
firsthand knowledge of the
knives and the particulars
of the fights, etc.

I've always believed that the
Edwin knife was a real deal
and the Searles bowie is a
genuine article although I
think that was strictly a
Rezin bowie thing that he
had made up as gifts for
various people. Not sure if
Jim ever had one.

The Iron Mistress movie made
a big mess of the whole history
and trail of evidence because of
hollywoods practice of "artistic
license " . Same way that so many
early "kentucky" rifles and
"longrifles" are altered trapdoor
springfields when you look carefully
at the film scenes.

I go with the butcher/hunting/Edwin
Forrest knife myself. Seems more
likely of something JB would use

  One thing sure, when I hear somebody talking about learning an historical "fact" from a movie..I have to regard such information  with skepticism, knowing the liberties movie makers take with truth.

[Graybeard]

Long, long ago I had a Western brand Bowie and I like that style and configuration best of all Bowie style knives for me personally.

Below is the one I now have.

[ironglow]

  That Western brand Bowie was very popular until the Western folks went out of business..  Western was a step child of Case cutlery, and was located in Colorado.
   The WR Case family settled as pioneers, in Little Valley, NY, and the first Case knives were made in Little Valley.  Several members of the family eventually started their own cutlery firms.  I own some of these brands, to include Western, Cattaraugus and Kinfolks knives, -all good brands, but all now quite moribund..except for Case.

  We have an excellent book in our local library, covering the Case knife and family history.  I found it great reading.

  H=ere's another one that looks good.   
     https://www.amazon.com/Kinfolks-Knives-History-Cutlery-Cousins/dp/1450240887/ref=pd_lpo_3?pd_rd_w=0SYqj&content-id=amzn1.sym.116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec

[Ranger99]

There's also the letters to
various newspapers of the
era from Rezin Bowie talking
about the knives after others
had written about the various
duels and fights claiming
firsthand knowledge of the
knives and the particulars
of the fights, etc.

I've always believed that the
Edwin knife was a real deal
and the Searles bowie is a
genuine article although I
think that was strictly a
Rezin bowie thing that he
had made up as gifts for
various people. Not sure if
Jim ever had one.

The Iron Mistress movie made
a big mess of the whole history
and trail of evidence because of
hollywoods practice of "artistic
license " . Same way that so many
early "kentucky" rifles and
"longrifles" are altered trapdoor
springfields when you look carefully
at the film scenes.

I go with the butcher/hunting/Edwin
Forrest knife myself. Seems more
likely of something JB would use

  One thing sure, when I hear somebody talking about learning an historical "fact" from a movie..I have to regard such information  with skepticism, knowing the liberties movie makers take with truth.

Across the wide Missouri with Clark Gable actually
had real fur trade era rifles for props. I'm told him
and Ricardo Montelban shared the same original
Hawken rifle for different scenes when they were
the only ones in the shot.
Lots of different movies used whatever they had
I'm guessing.
I still enjoy watching Alan Ladd as Jim Bowie
even though it's mostly artistic license.
Enjoyed looking at Virginia Mayo too . . .