Off Topic Bowie knife

[trevorwarren]

I got this bowie knife at a flea market and I can't find anything about it other than it saying "original bowie" and "made in Pakistan" I did find one just like this one on ebay but the seller isn't really descriptive about it, does anyone know about it

 

[oldmanwilly]

Welcome to BladeForums! It looks like a loose copy of a Western W49, information regarding which you can find here:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/what-was-the-western-w49-bowie-based-on.1905079/#post-21634176

It also looks like typically low quality work from Pakistan, meaning there likely isn't any available information regarding the manufacturer. The good news is that you don't have to worry about destroying a collector piece. At best, you've got a beater with a 50+ RC temper. Regardless, use it as you see fit.

 

[Mark MacIver]

That's the name, "original Bowie" that many European countries, especially Germany, gave their version of the "original" Bowie. Thing is, none of these look remotely to the knife that made Bowie famous at the Sandbar Dune battle. That is based on the Western W49 Bowie. Curious about the "Original Bowie"? Do a web search for, "Edwin Forest Bowie", you may be as surprised as I was.

 

[Alberta Ed]

"Bowie" is pretty well a generic term by now. Jim Bowie probably used a butcher knife or something similar in the famous fight, and got cut up pretty badly, too.

 

[Choctaw Dan]

"Bowie" is pretty well a generic term by now.

Yup, just like aspirin, xerox, and several others.

 

[eveled]

As an avid reader history buff and knife nut. My childhood was somewhat of a quest. I learned about the KA-BAR fighting knife and could buy one. I learned about Kephart, and bought a representation of his knife.

My quest for a real Bowie knife was a disappointment. The Bowie is our Excaliber, yet we really know so little about it. The result is anything that is marketed as a Bowie makes me a little sick to my stomach.