Knives?

ZVP · April 15, 2011, 07:57 PM

What length and style of knife do you carry on your Holster outfit?
I have a 8" Stainless Bowie that I really like! Overall it is a rather large knife.
I know that Stainless is not the proper steel to carry but high Carbon steel blades are very costly these days...
I have seen highly polished steel blades on some custom knives but again costs are prohibitive.
I understand a green River skinner is close to what many Cowboys carried. From what I have found out, handles were rather plain back in the 1870-80's. Knives such as the Bowie had also shrunk to more pratical sizes too.
Just curious, what do you carry?
ZVP

Razor740 · April 15, 2011, 10:42 PM

Marine K-BAR
I know, it ain't correct either... but I love it.

Bill Akins · April 16, 2011, 02:05 AM

It depends on where I'm at, where I'm going, and what I'm going to do.

As the director of the warbird recovery team for the Florida Aviation Historical Society (F.A.H.S.), if I'm going out in the swamps looking for a WW2 aircraft wreck that crashed in training, then I'm going to strap on my machete.

If I'm just shooting my CVA 50 cal mountain rifle at the range, I'll usually just strap on a small swiss army style knife or carry my butterfly knife in my back pocket, for cutting rags for barrel cleaning patches.

If I'm diving, I'll strap on my dive knife.

If I'm camping out I'll usually strap on my big swiss army style knife that has a full size fork and spoon on it along with all kinds of other things on it like scissors, corkscrew, screwdriver, knife, etc. (I mostly find I just use the knife, fork and spoon with that one when camping out). Along with that very usefull knife, when camping, I'll usually also strap on my western bowie or my survival bowie.

If I'm cleaning a batch of mullet or any kind of fish, I use my western bowie. It hacks their heads off really fast and even though its a big wide knife, it is so sharp it also filets the fish out real quick and nice too. Just cleaned a big batch of mullet with my cousin about a week ago and used it then. He was amazed how fast I could cut the heads off and filet them with a knife that big and wide. With its big handle and strong wide blade, you can cut those fish heads off real easy. Much easier to use it than a filet knife believe it or not. It also doubles as a cleaver and even as a small hatchet.

I would say my favorite knife is my Western Bowie that I've had for about 25 years.

Here's most of my knifes below. (I have a few more in my dive bag and one on my BCD that are not pictured).

1. Top, inexpensive $8.00 machete with nice grip rubberized handle from Harbor Freight. Gets the job done on brush.
From left to right...
2. stainless throwing knife.
3. An old black handled buck folder.
4. My big swiss army style everything knife with fork, spoon, knife and everything else in tan scabbard that I've had since a small boy.
5. Three small swiss army pocket knives.
6. A stainless folder (just below the three swiss army knives).
7. my butterfly knife which I have used a lot. Very handy.
8. To the right of my butterfly knife is my main dive knife. It's a lot like a marine k-bar. It's stainless but from use in salt water it has a few pits anyway.
9. My all time fav...my cherished full tang Western Bowie that I've had for around 25 years that holds an incredible edge. I have the top drop point section sharpened razor sharp too. Being carbon steel in the white it used to want to rust. So I steel wool'd it and blued it and keep petroleum jelly (vaseline) on the blade when I clean it and put it away. (I do that with all my knives to preserve them).
10. My double edge'd trench knife dagger with "brass knuckles".
11. My stainless survival bowie knife from Harbor Freight. It only costs $8.00 on sale and it isn't full tang because it can't be and still have a hollow handle which holds matches, fish hooks and line, razor blade, compass, safety pins, and anything else useful I can stuff in the handle. If I unscrew the top and take everything out, I can also jam a long stick in the hollow handle and make a spear out of it for spearing fish if necessary.
12. A neat mid size knife a friend gave me that I use for a variety of things like when I skinned out a hog a couple of months ago.

Closeup of my bigger belt knives.

Closeup of some of my smaller knives.

Closeups of my well used, reliable, razor sharp, full tang, cherished, Western Bowie. (My fav knife of all the ones I own).

.

Bill Akins · April 16, 2011, 02:45 AM

My Western Bowie went for $60.00 25 years ago, (although I got it on sale for half price $30.00 when a store was going out of business). So it is a top of the line steel full tang blade. But there are some other really good deals on big bowies out there that I've been looking at lately and they are very reasonably priced.
They may not be the knife my Western Bowie is, and their steel may not be quite as good, but I'll bet they will be good enough and outlast any of us.
Here's a few links to the ones I like. They would look good with any western gunbelt rig and they are VERY inexpensive. Although I need another knife like a hole in the head, I've been thinking of picking up a few of them....just because

. A man can never have too many guns nor too many knives.

"Antique" Bowie for $9.85

http://www.amazon.com/Bud-K-Antique-...806000&sr=1-56

Timber rattler western bowie outlaw for $19.99

http://www.amazon.com/Timber-Rattler...ef=pd_sim_sg_1

Brass and stainless "primitive bowie". $30.97 (This one would look really good on a black powder gunbelt.)

http://www.amazon.com/Trademark-Bras...ef=pd_sim_sg_5

Want the chopping power of a Hindu Ghurka knife with a western bowie flair?
Here's the "Jungle bowie" from Budd K knives for $17.99

http://budk.com/Knives/Jungle-Bowie-Knife

Here's a copy styled like my Western Bowie for $15.99
http://budk.com/Knives/Classic-Bowie...dby=cross-sell

Engraved brass hilt and pommel bowie. $31.99
http://www.amazon.com/Trademark-Clas...ef=pd_sbs_sg_5

Timber rattler "El Paso" bowie from Budd K knives. Only $14.99

http://budk.com/Knives/Timber-Rattle...so-Bowie-Knife
I like the design and style of this one. Full tang, thick blade, would look good on any holster belt, and for $14.99 you can't beat the price. I doubt it will ever break, but if for any reason it wore out, at the low price of $14.99 who cares? Just get another one. I'm ordering this one myself.
There is a guy on gunbroker that sells this exact same Budd K El Paso bowie for almost twice the price that Budd K sells them for. He buys them from Budd K and then puts them on gunbroker Lol.

Look at the top left of the page on the above link and put your cursor on "knives" and there is a large selection there of bowie's and other knives at Budd K knives. Are they the best steel and best knives you can get? No. But they are very inexpensive and they are "good enough" and I doubt you will ever wear them out. Even if you did after 20 years, at prices that cheap, just order another one. You'll notice also that on Amazon.com and also at Budd K's, if you order two or more you get a further discount and get them even cheaper.

.

ZVP · April 16, 2011, 01:50 PM

Bill,
Thanks for the links I am always buying knives, like you said ya can never have enough guns or knives. I'll enjoy cruising through the site!
I looked up some information on the Bowie's and it seems there was an entire fighting style developed and taught especally for the Bowie.
The Bowie isw a chopping tool thus the style was devised to chop and partially or completely remove limbs rather than to stab or slice. The Bowie came in various regionaly defined shapes however the famous clip remains the same but the hilt varies. The Handle appears to be in 3 basic shapes, the "Coffin" being the most asthetically pleasing. The guard is always full and the proper handle material has no spacers between as I have read.
Once the revolver became dependable (say with the Navy Model) the big fighting knife took a second seat in priority and on the gunbelt. Sizes of the blade reduced to around 6" and this looks to be the most pratical for working and defense.
Though I like the look and strength of the big Bowie, on a CAS Belt/Holster rig a 6" knife works out well. You're already carring enough weight with two Pistols, bullets or an ammo pouch and/or BP shooting accessories. A lighter, smaller, fixed blade is enough Knife for CAS.
ZVP.

bighead46 · April 16, 2011, 02:46 PM

ZVP- I'd say part of your choice would depend on what years you are mostly interested in because the styles changed with time, I think copper culter rivets are late 1880's or maybe 1890's- before that nails or iron pins were used to attach the handles. During the 1880's I think- I'm not sure- that a 6" Sheffield made Bowie with a clip point was the most common knife carried. Stag or jigged bone to look like stag would be an appropriate choice. The guard can be plain oval.

Hawg · April 16, 2011, 05:14 PM

I carry this hand made Green river skinner some. The wood is oak burl and the copper rivets aren't pc but it's a good working knife.

Sometimes I carry this unknown knife. I dug it up several years ago metal detecting and put an aged deer antler and a brass guard on it.

Then I have this old boot knife I refurbished with elk antler and a poured pewter butt cap.

I have other more modern knives but very few stainless knives. I don't like stainless blades.

April 15, 2011, 07:57 PM	#1
ZVP Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2009 Posts: 1,102	Knives? What length and style of knife do you carry on your Holster outfit? I have a 8" Stainless Bowie that I really like! Overall it is a rather large knife. I know that Stainless is not the proper steel to carry but high Carbon steel blades are very costly these days... I have seen highly polished steel blades on some custom knives but again costs are prohibitive. I understand a green River skinner is close to what many Cowboys carried. From what I have found out, handles were rather plain back in the 1870-80's. Knives such as the Bowie had also shrunk to more pratical sizes too. Just curious, what do you carry? ZVP

April 16, 2011, 02:05 AM	#3
Bill Akins Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2007 Location: Hudson, Florida Posts: 1,135	It depends on where I'm at, where I'm going, and what I'm going to do. As the director of the warbird recovery team for the Florida Aviation Historical Society (F.A.H.S.), if I'm going out in the swamps looking for a WW2 aircraft wreck that crashed in training, then I'm going to strap on my machete. If I'm just shooting my CVA 50 cal mountain rifle at the range, I'll usually just strap on a small swiss army style knife or carry my butterfly knife in my back pocket, for cutting rags for barrel cleaning patches. If I'm diving, I'll strap on my dive knife. If I'm camping out I'll usually strap on my big swiss army style knife that has a full size fork and spoon on it along with all kinds of other things on it like scissors, corkscrew, screwdriver, knife, etc. (I mostly find I just use the knife, fork and spoon with that one when camping out). Along with that very usefull knife, when camping, I'll usually also strap on my western bowie or my survival bowie. If I'm cleaning a batch of mullet or any kind of fish, I use my western bowie. It hacks their heads off really fast and even though its a big wide knife, it is so sharp it also filets the fish out real quick and nice too. Just cleaned a big batch of mullet with my cousin about a week ago and used it then. He was amazed how fast I could cut the heads off and filet them with a knife that big and wide. With its big handle and strong wide blade, you can cut those fish heads off real easy. Much easier to use it than a filet knife believe it or not. It also doubles as a cleaver and even as a small hatchet. I would say my favorite knife is my Western Bowie that I've had for about 25 years. Here's most of my knifes below. (I have a few more in my dive bag and one on my BCD that are not pictured). 1. Top, inexpensive $8.00 machete with nice grip rubberized handle from Harbor Freight. Gets the job done on brush. From left to right... 2. stainless throwing knife. 3. An old black handled buck folder. 4. My big swiss army style everything knife with fork, spoon, knife and everything else in tan scabbard that I've had since a small boy. 5. Three small swiss army pocket knives. 6. A stainless folder (just below the three swiss army knives). 7. my butterfly knife which I have used a lot. Very handy. 8. To the right of my butterfly knife is my main dive knife. It's a lot like a marine k-bar. It's stainless but from use in salt water it has a few pits anyway. 9. My all time fav...my cherished full tang Western Bowie that I've had for around 25 years that holds an incredible edge. I have the top drop point section sharpened razor sharp too. Being carbon steel in the white it used to want to rust. So I steel wool'd it and blued it and keep petroleum jelly (vaseline) on the blade when I clean it and put it away. (I do that with all my knives to preserve them). 10. My double edge'd trench knife dagger with "brass knuckles". 11. My stainless survival bowie knife from Harbor Freight. It only costs $8.00 on sale and it isn't full tang because it can't be and still have a hollow handle which holds matches, fish hooks and line, razor blade, compass, safety pins, and anything else useful I can stuff in the handle. If I unscrew the top and take everything out, I can also jam a long stick in the hollow handle and make a spear out of it for spearing fish if necessary. 12. A neat mid size knife a friend gave me that I use for a variety of things like when I skinned out a hog a couple of months ago. Closeup of my bigger belt knives. Closeup of some of my smaller knives. Closeups of my well used, reliable, razor sharp, full tang, cherished, Western Bowie. (My fav knife of all the ones I own). . __________________ "This is my Remy and this is my Colt. Remy loads easy and topstrap strong, Colt balances better and never feels wrong. A repro black powder revolver gun, they smoke and shoot lead and give me much fun. I can't figure out which one I like better, they're both fine revolvers that fit in my leather". "To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target". Last edited by Bill Akins; April 16, 2011 at 04:03 AM.

April 16, 2011, 02:45 AM	#4
Bill Akins Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2007 Location: Hudson, Florida Posts: 1,135	My Western Bowie went for $60.00 25 years ago, (although I got it on sale for half price $30.00 when a store was going out of business). So it is a top of the line steel full tang blade. But there are some other really good deals on big bowies out there that I've been looking at lately and they are very reasonably priced. They may not be the knife my Western Bowie is, and their steel may not be quite as good, but I'll bet they will be good enough and outlast any of us. Here's a few links to the ones I like. They would look good with any western gunbelt rig and they are VERY inexpensive. Although I need another knife like a hole in the head, I've been thinking of picking up a few of them....just because . A man can never have too many guns nor too many knives. "Antique" Bowie for $9.85 http://www.amazon.com/Bud-K-Antique-...806000&sr=1-56 Timber rattler western bowie outlaw for $19.99 http://www.amazon.com/Timber-Rattler...ef=pd_sim_sg_1 Brass and stainless "primitive bowie". $30.97 (This one would look really good on a black powder gunbelt.) http://www.amazon.com/Trademark-Bras...ef=pd_sim_sg_5 Want the chopping power of a Hindu Ghurka knife with a western bowie flair? Here's the "Jungle bowie" from Budd K knives for $17.99 http://budk.com/Knives/Jungle-Bowie-Knife Here's a copy styled like my Western Bowie for $15.99 http://budk.com/Knives/Classic-Bowie...dby=cross-sell Engraved brass hilt and pommel bowie. $31.99 http://www.amazon.com/Trademark-Clas...ef=pd_sbs_sg_5 Timber rattler "El Paso" bowie from Budd K knives. Only $14.99 http://budk.com/Knives/Timber-Rattle...so-Bowie-Knife I like the design and style of this one. Full tang, thick blade, would look good on any holster belt, and for $14.99 you can't beat the price. I doubt it will ever break, but if for any reason it wore out, at the low price of $14.99 who cares? Just get another one. I'm ordering this one myself. There is a guy on gunbroker that sells this exact same Budd K El Paso bowie for almost twice the price that Budd K sells them for. He buys them from Budd K and then puts them on gunbroker Lol. Look at the top left of the page on the above link and put your cursor on "knives" and there is a large selection there of bowie's and other knives at Budd K knives. Are they the best steel and best knives you can get? No. But they are very inexpensive and they are "good enough" and I doubt you will ever wear them out. Even if you did after 20 years, at prices that cheap, just order another one. You'll notice also that on Amazon.com and also at Budd K's, if you order two or more you get a further discount and get them even cheaper. . __________________ "This is my Remy and this is my Colt. Remy loads easy and topstrap strong, Colt balances better and never feels wrong. A repro black powder revolver gun, they smoke and shoot lead and give me much fun. I can't figure out which one I like better, they're both fine revolvers that fit in my leather". "To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target". Last edited by Bill Akins; April 16, 2011 at 04:29 AM.

April 15, 2011, 10:42 PM	#2
Razor740 Member Join Date: August 11, 2010 Location: Hoquiam, WA Posts: 36	Marine K-BAR I know, it ain't correct either... but I love it.

April 16, 2011, 01:50 PM	#5
ZVP Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2009 Posts: 1,102	Bill, Thanks for the links I am always buying knives, like you said ya can never have enough guns or knives. I'll enjoy cruising through the site! I looked up some information on the Bowie's and it seems there was an entire fighting style developed and taught especally for the Bowie. The Bowie isw a chopping tool thus the style was devised to chop and partially or completely remove limbs rather than to stab or slice. The Bowie came in various regionaly defined shapes however the famous clip remains the same but the hilt varies. The Handle appears to be in 3 basic shapes, the "Coffin" being the most asthetically pleasing. The guard is always full and the proper handle material has no spacers between as I have read. Once the revolver became dependable (say with the Navy Model) the big fighting knife took a second seat in priority and on the gunbelt. Sizes of the blade reduced to around 6" and this looks to be the most pratical for working and defense. Though I like the look and strength of the big Bowie, on a CAS Belt/Holster rig a 6" knife works out well. You're already carring enough weight with two Pistols, bullets or an ammo pouch and/or BP shooting accessories. A lighter, smaller, fixed blade is enough Knife for CAS. ZVP.

April 16, 2011, 02:46 PM	#6
bighead46 Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2010 Posts: 140	ZVP- I'd say part of your choice would depend on what years you are mostly interested in because the styles changed with time, I think copper culter rivets are late 1880's or maybe 1890's- before that nails or iron pins were used to attach the handles. During the 1880's I think- I'm not sure- that a 6" Sheffield made Bowie with a clip point was the most common knife carried. Stag or jigged bone to look like stag would be an appropriate choice. The guard can be plain oval.

April 16, 2011, 05:14 PM	#7
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,189	I carry this hand made Green river skinner some. The wood is oak burl and the copper rivets aren't pc but it's a good working knife. Sometimes I carry this unknown knife. I dug it up several years ago metal detecting and put an aged deer antler and a brass guard on it. Then I have this old boot knife I refurbished with elk antler and a poured pewter butt cap. I have other more modern knives but very few stainless knives. I don't like stainless blades.