Winchester Bowie Knife

It doesn't look too bad. Presumably it's made in China to have that low a price tag. I'm not a fan of finger grooves on Bowies, I prefer coffin-shaped handles.

For other alternatives, you might consider Atlanta Cutlery, they sell a selection of well-made India-made Bowies, some of which are historical patterns. Cold Steel sells Bowies, varying in quality from fair to excellent, and priced accordingly. Not to be neglected is Case's old Bowie pattern from WWII, which can be had for around $100.00 and is USA-made.

Not to be neglected is Case's old Bowie pattern from WWII, which can be had for around $100.00 and is USA-made.

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Another $25~ will get you a hand crafted Case. Don't buy that deceiving ChiCom crap when you can get an American knife that will last many lifetimes.

http://yourcornerstore.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=106_123

$52.30 for the 6". Here it is being made:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5BAE7RRWDQ

So, HSO, your saying the $10 Coleman fixed blade knife I bought from walmart is no good as a day to day use tool?

Wow, Ive been using it for tasks every day from cleaning fish to carving wood and just about everything else! I had no idea it wasn't a real knife, thanks for the heads-up!

Cheap Bowie is just that a Cheap Bowie. Facts are good steel costs money. A good Bowie should cut a 2x4 four times and you should be able to shave with it.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Fixed-Blade-Knife/13848673

Its not exactly a bowie, I was using it as an example of a super cheap knife that I've found to be more than serviceable. Blade length is 4.5" and the thickness is about 1/8th so you wont be hacking trees down with it but its certainly a real blade.

I do understand the difference between something that's meant for display and something that's meant for use, but price and brand name alone aren't fair indicators.

As I said, day to day tasks like opening boxes, nothing extraneous. The cleaning fish was the thing that mostly impressed me. I used the knife to cut a ton of frozen mullet for the actual fishing, then later i used the knife to fillet about 10 bluefish. It went through bone easy, and remained as sharp as when new, which admittedly Isn't quite sharp enough to shave with, but sharp enough to slice paper and cardboard cleanly with a light touch (A long used measure of sharpness if I'm not mistaken?).

How about this one ...

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=233011

I have one of these winchester bowies, here's my observations on it:

handle: it is wood, pretty decently figured, smooth enough to not get blisters or anything, but it's got chips and the like.
blades: unknown steel, concave ground.. it does take a reasonable dge though. Edge holding is decent for such a cheap piece of steel.
Tang: It's marketed as full tang, but is more of a hybrid between full tang and pocket tang. It is a pocket tang, but there's two good sized brass rivets going through the tang.
Sheath: nylon with hard plastic insert, redundant clasps are redundant, remove whichever one you don't like.....I removed the handle clasp and left the handguard clasp intact.


So far, it's been of some use chopping down crap in the backyard...it takes it well. I'll know how well it puts up a year from now, but so far it seems worth the $20 I paid for it at wally-world.

It was well worth the cash to see the look on this one guy's face when I asked the sporting goods clerk to get me "that huge knife behind you"

My take: it's a good cheap beater knife for those that will use such a blade occaisionally.

if you have twenty five bucks burning a hole in your pocket, i frankly doubt you will ever have more fun than with this knife.

the sheath is crap.
the design is obsolete.
it just goes on.

however it will shave right out of the blister pack. if you strop it it really will cut one inch hemp, once anyway.

mine came with a laminated rosewood handle. i ground off all but the first finger groove, took a little off the top and some more off the butt, polished out all of the sanding marks, perfect.

it was way too blade heavy in use. so i ground a line from the W to the tip, then cut a swege a third of the way back up the blade.

it's a sharp knife that stays sharp. even in it's original configuration it wasn't horrible looking. it's reasonably durable.

i guess the point is for twenty five bucks...go for it, buy two!

So far, it's been of some use chopping down crap in the backyard...it takes it well. I'll know how well it puts up a year from now, but so far it seems worth the $20 I paid for it at wally-world.

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Not trying to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't buy, but I have my own guidelines I follow on matters like these.

Basically, it boils down to this: It might take it now, but 6 months down the road, you hit the wrong log or whatever the right way and it breaks, you stand a good chance of getting hurt. The severity of said wound might be minor or an eye, but either way, it ain't worth twenty bucks to me.

Cheap steel is cheap steel. The only knife I have ever broke was some cruddy Chinese knife back when I was in the USMC, and sure as the sun will rise, it broke and stuck me. No big deal, barely broke the skin after it went through my cammie blouse, but it taught me a lesson. Not to split hairs, but there is inexpensive and there is cheap. I won't buy cheap, but I frequently buy inexpensive.

Nothing against Chinese knives, either. A friend recently gave me a Spyderco Tenacious, and it is obviously a well made piece of kit that has been equal to all my other Spydercos as regards quality and construction.. As Hso mentioned, Rough Rider knives, despite being under 15 bucks or so, are generally considered to be excellent bargains. My buddy has some Kershaw that he bought for 10 bucks from Knife Center, and while it isn't as up to par as some of his other knives (mainly because of the cheapo plastic handles), it is satisfactory enough that it is his daily carry knife for work and has been for some time now.

Specific to the quoted comment, I personally do not believe in cheap beater knives. This is entirely a matter of logic for me. By my definition, a beater knife is one that gets, you know, beat up. Why would I want the cheapest POS in the world to do the worst work? Hey, in theory I would carry a S&W knife to work because I generally don't do anything more than open an envelope or cut up an apple. Under no circumstances will I personally use one to do anything more strenuous than that. I am an outspoken fan of the Spyderco Endura, and it is my go-to knife for any task, rough and tough or otherwise. Not "cheap", but at 65 bucks or so, it's hardly going to break the bank. There are a ton of really good knives right around that price, too.

Anyway, that's just my own personal guideline and opinion. I ain't spending your guys' money, so take it with a grain of salt.