Bowie? Get Ya Some!

I had every intention of getting up early and hitting the woods in search of more mushrooms. I ended up sleeping in a little and woke to a very painful morning. I skipped mushrooming and spent the morning reading and surfing. What am I reading now? Bill Bagwell's "Bowies, Big Knives And The Best Of Battle Blades". It makes for some interesting reading concerning the history, use, carry, making and science behind bowie knives and other big fighting knives. Most chapters are repeats of his articles from when he wrote for Soldier Of Fortune magazine. In this treatise he compares the lethality of the bowie against the venerable K-BAR, the AK bayonet, daggers and other knives. In doing so he makes some very valid points as to the effectiveness of bowie knives for their versatility and deadly use.
  I did not know that by 1837 three states had made it a felony to kill a man with a bowie. The killing wasn't illegal, the use of a bowie to do it was. He makes the point that New Orleans was a gentrified city but steeped in the European tradition of dueling. But by  the early 1800 one of the favorite dueling weapons was the bowie knife. Using the traditional sword dueling tactics and inventing new ones specifically for this big blade it became a fearsome weapon in the hands of a trained user. And there were plenty of places in New Orleans to get that training. Sword trainers from around the world opened shop in that port city and rough men of the seas were always in the ports and bars. The trainers from Spain had the most influence on the specialty of fighting with a bowie.
   There are some trees in NOLA that are known as the Dueling Oaks. These tree's witnessed over 900 duels a year from 1834 to the Civil War.
     Any self respecting man from the South dared not arrive in battle without a huge knife. As a matter of fact may Northern soldiers were terrified of the Southern man with his giant knife.
By the way, the man this type of knife is named after is a true American Badass. Wandered, explorer, duelist, investor, he was known to rope and ride wild deer as well as alligators too! He was shot and stabbed many times in his life and kept coming back for more.
If you have an interest in bowies, get a copy of this book and find out how awesome this decidedly American blade is.

Techniques
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bowie+knife+fighting&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=BEAE54A1A4ACA30546E3BEAE54A1A4ACA30546E3

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bowie+knife+fighting&qpvt=bowie+knife+fighting&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=76CB3D3FEDF9C82D78C776CB3D3FEDF9C82D78C7

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bowie+knife+fighting&qpvt=bowie+knife+fighting&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=E30953862C804AFB01AEE30953862C804AFB01AE

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=James+keating+bowie+knife+fighting&qs=n&form=QBVR&pq=james+keating+bowie+knife+fighting&sc=0-20&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&mid=DD7A9A097D7922A64276DD7A9A097D7922A64276

Bill Bagwell: The Deadly Back Cut with a Bowie Knife. Clipped Point Lead...

                                                                                                                                                Bill Bagwell shows what it looks like coming at you.

The King of Bowie Knives

Bill Bagwell has been making Bowie knives for well over 35 years. He knows a thing or two about them and even used to teach classes on fighting with a Bowie. He has written a book about bowies and other big blades which I have ordered. His creations are highly prized by those who can afford them, me, I'll have to settle for Cold Steel products.

Sharp Stuff

I have always liked my knives to be sharp. Very sharp. I started collecting knives when I was a young boy and have most of them today. I usually found the factory edged to be lacking. So, I explored the art of sharpening knives. A common whetstone was my first tool for this. It was my fathers and using it I learned to get my knives shaving sharp. My dad gave me my first quality sharpening device, a Case Moon Stone. It's a slab of white fine grade ceramic that Case marketed back in the 70' and 80's. These are nearly impossible to find anymore.  Even on EBay.

 I kept using Arkansas whetstones for all my sharpening needs and found them quite satisfactory. After I got married, had a decent job and had a family started I invested in a triple stone oil bath stone set that I acquired at a gun show. It is in a plastic case that acts as the oil reservoir and has course, medium and fines stones. I have used it for over 20 years and is just now needing the stones turned over.

Then I discovered the Lansky sharpening system. WOW! I was astonished at the ease in which I could get a polished razor sharp edge in no time. I do need to replace some of the softer stones but the two final stones, ceramics, are as good as the first day I got the set. I gave sets to two of my friends and they love them.

Those items fill my every day sharpening needs. Until I started getting big knives. The Lansky does not work good for big blades and I have grown to depend on that one for most sharpening and lesser on the traditional stones.

 Now with big blades to sharpen I am returning to traditional stones. I am using the 3 stone with success and have ordered some others as well.
 I found this Case hard Arkansas at Smokey Mountain Knife Works. It's a tiny little thing but puts a really fine edge on my standard size pocket knives.

 

 

I also got from them these, a Washita  stone and a hard black Arkansas stone. The black one really did a job on a couple of my pocket knives.

 

 

This brings us to my latest system. In my tiny house I have lost my Chefs electric knife sharpener. Can't find it anywhere. So I looked around and had a system in mind (the EdgePro) and found it to be very expensive. Then I found someone who thought so too. They took that idea little further a created an alternative. The Gizmo sharpening system. It uses stones in a  similar manner to the Lansky but they are Japanese water stones but the whole system and process is different. And this device does get a knife extremely sharp if you follow the directions. (link to come)

 

 

 

I also ordered an India stone based on a Bill Bagwell video I watched that covered sharpening big bowies. I can't find the black India stone that bill and one of my grandfathers favored. This is what I found. And it seems to work pretty good on my Cold Steel Natchez bowie along with a leather strop

If you own a cutting tool of any sort you need to be able to sharpen it. Get a stone and try it. You'll be glad you did as a sharp knife is far superior to a dull one.