I love your videos! I'm quite a patriot and hand made a Bowie knife, just for the same purpose as a woods man's knife. a chopper and heavy duty cutting tool. I carry a smaller knife as well but it replaced my hatchet and will be passed down to my son 8). Very cool history in not know it was used as a wood craft knife BUT I thought it would definitely fill that spot. finding out that's what it's designed for was very entertaining thank you for such a great video!!

I third this proposal

Too late to second the motion, but I wholeheartedly agree!

@@dick_richards You're a gentleman and a scholar sir.

Yes

Yes! Seems like it would be excellent to rotate through different weapon's period accounts: sword, musket, rifle, pistol, knife, tomahawk.

Don’t mind me as I take this to note for the making of a future DND campaign.

Even after the Colts productions the Bowie Knife remained the primary back up weapon to being out of ammo.

@@gungriffen Very true. Prior to the patent revolver, you had one shot (possibly two, if carrying a pair) before having to resort to a knife or 'hawk. Even after the patent revolver, you had five or six, and a lengthy reloading process to recharge the pistol, prior to the advent of the metallic cartridge.

@@bartonbrevis3831 While the Cartridge did change everything I think the Knife remained the back up weapon of choice till we got the first reliable magazine for autoloader. Being out of ammo is your chance to rush in or be rushed, and a Combat knife of shorts may be the best weapon or maybe even deterrent.

I might go with the tomahawk being the older and preferred sidearm.

Not sure that is true at all. Whilst the Arkansas Toothpick was certainly a style of knife that was popular at the time there is NO literature that describes Bowie carrying anything other then a large ‘butchers ‘ like blade that he had commissioned. Subsequently referred to as the Bowie knife. Interesting to note though that what we currently perceive as being the original Bowie knife actually pre dates Bowie. In short whilst he may well have carried an Arkansas Toothpick this is mere speculation

@@owb4937 The original Bowie knife, which was verified when returned to Arkansas in 2020, was specifically made for James Bowie by my family just prior to James Bowie went to the Alamo. James Bowie was the person who designed it to best fit his fighting style. The Arkansas Toothpick being used prior to that is documented in Arkansas history.

@@juliawatts1866 "documented in Arkansas history" Ok, so give us a source, I would like to read it.

@@-Zevin- Those documents are in the Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock, Arkansas. I would be happy to contact the state archive for you if you would like.

@@juliawatts1866 That would honestly be fantastic. This has been a topic I have seen debated numerous times online, to have some solid indisputable evidence would be be great. With a direct source we could even update the Wikipedia on Bowie.

It's hard not to like the clip point style of bowie. Broad belly and single edged blade geometry mean great chopping through brush or bone, and clipped point both adds curve to slicing belly, and is one the best points for penetration where single edged blades are concerned.

Almost every killing that has been blamed on Doc Holliday are pure BS.

@@jasondelong1683 Well, I read that account some time ago and no longer recall the source or the details of who, what, where and when. The fight occurred over a poker game. Doc's opponent kept trying to look at the deadwood, and the second time Doc called him on the offense, he claimed the pot. His adversary objects, jumps to his feet and starts to draw. According to Earp, who claimed to have witnessed the affair as a city marshall, Doc drew his knife and gutted the fellow before his pistol had cleared the holster. Earp said he had never seen a man with faster reactions. True? Who knows?

@@jackrice2770 This would have taken place in Dodge City then and if it did happen it is not mentioned in any of the surviving papers or court cases from then.

So Doc Holiday took a knife to a gun fight and won!? Sounds far fetched to me.

Keating?

Any Texan today will likely pronounce it Boo-ie.

It's like car-by-ne and car-bee-ne, neither sound even remotely close to the French "carabine", which would be ker-ahh-bin. As long as the person understands you, you pronounced it correctly lol

Wikipedia says boo ee so idk. English is dumb.

It’s a persons name so it’s boo-ee

@@austinatherton6577 Yeah, kind of like David Bowie.

Knives don't run out of ammunition, besides firearms were all muzzle loaders.

Had made for himself 9 in half inch hunting knife resemble ordinary butcher knife of the time . He loaned Jim

Did you by any chance dig up any more bowie?

U carry a bowie and Hawk all over the world?

@@wadetaylor1299 Strangely, the "free western countries" make up most of the exceptions to carrying them. So no, not all over the world. Most places however, yes. Without issue I might add.

Shortest gladius was 18 inches long. It's a sword a Bowie knife is a knife plus marketing. Its fine but just a knife.

You can find such strange weapon laws everywhere: In the country i am from, thanks to a bankrobber at the end of the 80's, pump action shotguns are a prohibited item, and can only be bought by law enforcement and military entities. Those that were in private ownership when the law came into effect, had to be registered, and can't be sold. So if the person want's to get rid of it, the authorites will collect it. If the person dies, same thing. But and here is the strange part: it is legal to own a semiautomatic shotgun. (but like for anything else semiauto, you need a license). And pump action rifles aren't prhibited either.

@@nirfz may i ask which country? that is a fascinating factoid

@@beepboop204 🇦🇹 austria

I believe this, fencing schools were still very popular in the 19th century in the South. Dueling was considered relevant to American southern gentlemen of the period, with schools training these young men in various forms for swordplay, pistol, and yes the Bowie or knife. Dueling became so prevalent that local magistrates finally had to step in and make it illegal in GA, and soon afterwards most of the South. Considering that dueling was largely made illegal in most of Europe long before, the French and English fencing masters found work were their skills would still be valued, in the American South.

Case XX 1836 model. Brass guard and Bakelite grip with three brass pins. Also has an etching that appears to be Davy Crockett in his coonskin cap, with the knife.

The idea is that the brass will catch the edge of the enemies knife. Iron mistres is a famous example.

Yes, in the antique world, 6 or 7 inch blades are much more common than 8+ inch blades. Though in fairness, most of these knives were seen as hunting and general purpose field knives, rather than specifically fighting knives.

@@scholagladiatoria I think that's because most frontiersmen were sane rational people. However, you do read many accounts of people (rationally or otherwise) in the muzzleloading era ordering massively large knives or even hunting swords, with the mindset of "I may be under threat and have to defend myself therefore I need the longest sharpened iron bare I can carry comfortably." The correlation I noticed was the more effective the firearms got, generally the smaller the bladed weapons got. Also, Maturity probably has something to do with it. I served as an infantryman in the army for 2 hitches, when I was a young private I had a KABAR I always carried, by the time I got out as a Staff sergeant I had a case trapper pocket knife. A book you may enjoy about personal weapons of American frontiersmen is "Gunsmoke and saddle leather. Which covers the end of the American colonial period to the introduction of smokeless powder and deals almost exclusively with private citizens rather than military-issued weapons.

Good choice, I knew some Canadian Forces who carried various types of blade in Afghanistan, Bowies and Kukri's among them. The Afghans themselves have a very old and prominent 'blade culture'.

The Ka-bar is pretty much a Bowie. Very serviceable for all kinds of chores. Combat, too, but soldiering is mostly being ready, occasionally fighting and fighting mostly with firearms and munitions. Knives keep you alive in all kinds of ways.

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