by: Cole3388
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According to historians, the Bowie Knife has a long and rich history that began in the fall of 1827 at a duel on a Mississippi sandbar just above Natchez. The gentlemen involved were holding an 'interview' to settle an 'affair of honor' - what later became known as a duel. In the Old South, 'interviews' were common place, but this particular one became a fight of massive proportions. Although the two original fighters walked away unharmed, two others were killed and two were wounded. One of the wounded was none other than James Bowie, shot in the thigh and knocked to the ground. According to published accounts by Mr. Samuel Wells, one of the original 'interviewers', Bowie was attacked by a member of the conflicting party, Major Norris Wright, who attempted to stab Bowie with a cane sword. Bowie had emptied his single-shot pistol and now needed something to defend himself. He quickly removed the large hunting knife his brother, Rezin Bowie, had given him just in case he needed more protection and struggled to a sitting position, and with one single blow, killed Major Wright. The Sandbar Fight - The 'Sandbar Fight' as it was known from then on, attracted intense, popular and journalistic interest. His empty gun was of no use; picture the image of a wounded young man lying on the ground, struggling to sit up. And yet he manages to slay his opponent who was attacking him with a sword cane with one blow of his knife. This caught the fancy of a nation. The Bowie Knife Legend - In America's mind, Bowie's feat was attributed not so much to the pluck and desperation of the man as to some special, undefined virtue of his knife. 'Bowie Knives' quickly became a fad, a fashion, and then a fundamental fixture of the American scene. Young men of Bowie's class in the South came to be called the 'bowie-knife-and-pistol gentry.' Then in 1836, Bowie's dramatic defense of the Alamo in Texas guaranteed that his name would be forever linked to the knife that bore his name. After the 'Sandbar Fight' men all over the country wanted to own a 'Bowie Knife' and at that time there were no photographs or drawings, just written descriptions from journalist who weren't even there. So men had to do their best to make their own 'Bowie Knives'. They knew they made them in all sorts of ways - long and short, heavy and lightweight, single and double edged, straight-backed and curved backed, clip point and spear point, plain and decorated, fixed blade and folding blade. A few of them probably looked like Bowie's knife, but the men didn't care, all they knew is that they wanted a bowie knife for protection. Although shape, size and decoration varied through the first two decades of the bowie knife era, one thing they all had in common, that the knives were made as weapons. The coffin shaped hilt on many of the early designs of bowie knives might have been symbolic. A sense of respectability prompted Rezin Bowie to call them 'hunting knives'. Using the Bowie Knife - Many of the later bowie knives were fixed-blade knives and sold with a sheath fitted to be suspended from a belt. That way one's bowie knife would always be handy for attack or defense. Many American's wore their bowie knives all the time, unlike the European gentleman who only wore his hunting knife while on the chase. Gun and Knife - In the late 1840's the "Colt's cap-and-ball revolvers" were joined by the bowie knives as one of America's favorite sidearm's. The revolvers might hold 10 to 12 rounds, but the percussion system never was reliable enough for a man to stake his life on it, but come snow, sleet, rain, gloom of night, a bowie knife was always loaded and never failed to fire. The only thing about the bowie knife was the courage of the man holding it. Could he use it on another human being or an animal attacking him? The answer was yes more often then not. The Legend Continues - There is some question as to who mass produced the first bowie knives. Edwin Forrest, James Black, Raymond Thorp and countless others have claimed to be the first to produce the Bowie knife for Rezin Bowie and then began mass producing them for other's around the country. Since there are no photographs and only written accounts of what was said back then, there is no way of knowing who is telling the truth. Rezin's granddaughter and grandson both agree that Rezin had a neighbor build the hunting knife he gave to his brother James Bowie on the fateful day of the 'Sandbar Fight'.

About the Author

William "Cole" Doggett is a knife expert and owns an Internet knife shop, Knife & Supply Company, LLC at http://www.KnifeSupplyCompany.com. His website is devoted to all things pocket knives, swords, kitchen cutlery, sharpeners, machetes and a wealth of information. Stop by!

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<h1>The History of the Bowie Knife</h1><br><br> <br><br> According to historians, the Bowie Knife has a long and rich history that began in the fall of 1827 at a duel on a Mississippi sandbar just above Natchez. The gentlemen involved were holding an 'interview' to settle an 'affair of honor' - what later became known as a duel. In the Old South, 'interviews' were common place, but this particular one became a fight of massive proportions. Although the two original fighters walked away unharmed, two others were killed and two were wounded. One of the wounded was none other than James Bowie, shot in the thigh and knocked to the ground. According to published accounts by Mr. Samuel Wells, one of the original 'interviewers', Bowie was attacked by a member of the conflicting party, Major Norris Wright, who attempted to stab Bowie with a cane sword. Bowie had emptied his single-shot pistol and now needed something to defend himself. He quickly removed the large hunting knife his brother, Rezin Bowie, had given him just in case he needed more protection and struggled to a sitting position, and with one single blow, killed Major Wright. The Sandbar Fight - The 'Sandbar Fight' as it was known from then on, attracted intense, popular and journalistic interest. His empty gun was of no use; picture the image of a wounded young man lying on the ground, struggling to sit up. And yet he manages to slay his opponent who was attacking him with a sword cane with one blow of his knife. This caught the fancy of a nation. The Bowie Knife Legend - In America's mind, Bowie's feat was attributed not so much to the pluck and desperation of the man as to some special, undefined virtue of his knife. 'Bowie Knives' quickly became a fad, a fashion, and then a fundamental fixture of the American scene. Young men of Bowie's class in the South came to be called the 'bowie-knife-and-pistol gentry.' Then in 1836, Bowie's dramatic defense of the Alamo in Texas guaranteed that his name would be forever linked to the knife that bore his name. After the 'Sandbar Fight' men all over the country wanted to own a 'Bowie Knife' and at that time there were no photographs or drawings, just written descriptions from journalist who weren't even there. So men had to do their best to make their own 'Bowie Knives'. They knew they made them in all sorts of ways - long and short, heavy and lightweight, single and double edged, straight-backed and curved backed, clip point and spear point, plain and decorated, fixed blade and folding blade. A few of them probably looked like Bowie's knife, but the men didn't care, all they knew is that they wanted a bowie knife for protection. Although shape, size and decoration varied through the first two decades of the bowie knife era, one thing they all had in common, that the knives were made as weapons. The coffin shaped hilt on many of the early designs of bowie knives might have been symbolic. A sense of respectability prompted Rezin Bowie to call them 'hunting knives'. Using the Bowie Knife - Many of the later bowie knives were fixed-blade knives and sold with a sheath fitted to be suspended from a belt. That way one's bowie knife would always be handy for attack or defense. Many American's wore their bowie knives all the time, unlike the European gentleman who only wore his hunting knife while on the chase. Gun and Knife - In the late 1840's the "Colt's cap-and-ball revolvers" were joined by the bowie knives as one of America's favorite sidearm's. The revolvers might hold 10 to 12 rounds, but the percussion system never was reliable enough for a man to stake his life on it, but come snow, sleet, rain, gloom of night, a bowie knife was always loaded and never failed to fire. The only thing about the bowie knife was the courage of the man holding it. Could he use it on another human being or an animal attacking him? The answer was yes more often then not. The Legend Continues - There is some question as to who mass produced the first bowie knives. Edwin Forrest, James Black, Raymond Thorp and countless others have claimed to be the first to produce the Bowie knife for Rezin Bowie and then began mass producing them for other's around the country. Since there are no photographs and only written accounts of what was said back then, there is no way of knowing who is telling the truth. Rezin's granddaughter and grandson both agree that Rezin had a neighbor build the hunting knife he gave to his brother James Bowie on the fateful day of the 'Sandbar Fight'.<br><br> <h3>About The Author</h3> William "Cole" Doggett is a knife expert and owns an Internet knife shop, Knife & Supply Company, LLC at http://www.KnifeSupplyCompany.com. His website is devoted to all things pocket knives, swords, kitchen cutlery, sharpeners, machetes and a wealth of information. Stop by!<br><br> Keywords: <b>bowie knife, bowie knives</b> <br><br>Article Source : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles"><b>Articles Directory</b></a></br> Article URL : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/hobbies/collecting/the-history-of-the-bowie-knife.html" target=_blank>The History of the Bowie Knife</a></br> Article Category : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/hobbies/collecting/">Collecting</a></br> Article Author : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/profile/cole3388-56.html">Cole3388</a>

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Article URL : The History of the Bowie Knife
Article Category : Collecting
Article Author : Cole3388