Bowie knife help!

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Wow! I love the Damascus & Stag “Southern Bowie”!

Still leaning towards the Svord VTB. If only the handle had more grip to it!
 
You could always change the handle of that Svord. All you need is to get some bowie slabs about 2" wide and 3/8"- 1/2" thick. All you do is inlet the straight tang so it fits inside the two slabs. The slabs have to be sanded to perfectly fit together with no visible glue line. You will also pin the handle just like it is now but you will basically wind up with a heavy hidden tang inside the wood. This will allow you to shape the end any way you want as well as the rest of the handle. You might have to narrow the tang slightly to get the shape you want.
 
I agree.

You're liking the Von Tempsky so you could get it and play with it and decide if you want to have someone mount a bird's head butt on it if you thought there was a need.
 
hso said:
I agree.

You're liking the Von Tempsky so you could get it and play with it and decide if you want to have someone mount a bird's head butt on it if you thought there was a need.
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YES! This sounds like a good plan!

I'm limited on both tools and knowledge for reshaping/modifying the handles but I will probably be ordering this knife soon and might seek help from other if I find the handles need changing!

Thanks for the help everyone! Can't wait to get my very own Svord VTB soon!
 
Sounds like a plan!

***

For those liking the idea of hacking a BK into a frontier bowie -
DSCN0722.jpg
BK-501_zpsfcf94a70.jpg
knife.jpg
2012-07-26171155.jpg
 
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Just in time for this thread to peter out, True West magazine's September issue has a well-illustrated, well-written 7-page article on "Fighting Blades of the Frontier,'' by Phil Spangenberger. Trouble is, most of the knives pictured are sheathed, so the pics are of fighting knife HANDLES of the frontier; coffin handles were really popular. Of interest to this thread is the image of a knife said to be one of Jim Bowie's own weapons.

Just look for the picture of Billy the Kid on the front cover....... wait, no...... every other issue of True West has Billy on the cover....
 
Norm Flayderman’s book “The Bowie Knife” will destroy any idea that a Bowie knife follows any exact pattern. The history of bowie knives is shown in the pictures, they follow patterns, or types, depending on the decade, but they change just like any other fashion accessory. Everything I have heard or read indicates the original Bowie knife was as HSO says in post 5 http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=9550406&postcount=5, a big butcher type knife.

One of the earliest types has been duplicated by Bark River:

DSCN2090BarkRiverRougeleftbonegrip_zpsc5fc2844.jpg

I own this Bark River Rouge and it makes for a surprisingly good utility knife for a fighting knife. It is big, but not so big, and the lack of a guard and the belly on the blade make for a good slicing knife. The bone stag knives allow a better grip when wet than the other grips Bark River offers.

If you want something oversized to chop trees, a Cold Steel Trail master is within your price range. Maybe not this one, but there are less costly, rubber handled versions.

Cold Steel Trail Master
90sColdsteetStagtrailmaster2.jpg

I did find a bowie in Norm’s book that was close in profile to a Trail Master, so it is not too far off from what was available prior to 1900.

Personally, I like the looks of the San Francisco Bowies of Micheal Price and Will & Finck above all the historical bowies.
 
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