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| Classic Bowie |
The famed Bowie knife was originally designed by a Louisiana man named Rezin Bowie. His brother, Jim, had been in a dispute with some individuals, so Rezin lent him the knife. Despite being wounded, Jim made short work of his opponents. According to legend, James and an Arkansas smith named James Black altered the design into the knife we know today as a Bowie. On his way to Texas, Jim cut down three adversaries who tried to ambush him. Supposedly, Jim Bowie had been on his sickbed for much of the battle of the Alamo. Nonetheless, he is said to have cut down several Mexican attackers.
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| Bowie Fighting from 19th Century article |
Back in the time of single-shot pistols, men needed a backup weapon. There was no time to reload if a shot missed, or there were multiple attackers. Large knives, many of which were actually short swords, were popular with adventurers and frontiersmen. Among early knives favored were the Green River knives, manufactured in Massachusetts. Another was the Arkansas Toothpick.
The Bowie became the most popular knife because of its practical as well as combative attributes. As an all-around camp knife, it is hard to beat. The Bowie as also an excellent blade for hunters and trappers. For a man on the move on the frontier, every piece of equipment had to justify being carried. Given the choice between a specialized fighting knife and a camp knife, the smart outdoorsman always picked the camp blade. The Bowie could do both equally well.
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| Modern Bowie |
Bowies were also popular during the Civil War.
As firearms improved, blade length became less of an issue. The massive blades of the pre-Civil War era gave way to shorter, more nimble designs. This was also true of Bowie knives, with newer styles having blades of 9" or less. Even at that, it remained a premier field knife and fighter.
During World War I, troops were issued fighting knives more along the lines of traditional European daggers. The trench knives also had tee addition of knuckle guards to use in punching attacks. These knives had only one use - combat. They had little or no camp application. World War II saw two types of blade emerge. One was the Mark III Trench Knife with its straight, thrusting type blade. The others were based on Bowie. Two popular types were ( and still are ) the Army / Air Corps Survival Knife and the Marine “Kabar”. Both have the iconic clip-point.
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| Army / Air Force Survival Knife |
At 5" long and with a thick spine, the Survival knife is strong. It can punch through the skin of an aircraft. The pommel could hammer nails. Holes on its crossguard allow it to be tied to a pole as a survival spear. As camp knife, it was ideal.
The KaBar has a 7" straight blade. It has the look and balance of a Bowie, and serves well as both a combat and a camp knife.
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| "Kabar" Combat knife |
Thanks to Soldier of Fortune magazine. there was a renewed interest in combat knives in late 1970s. The book “Secrets of Modern Knife Fighting” by David Steele stoked interest in custom cutlery. The Randall custom knives of the World War II Era had long been esteemed by soldiers. More makers entered the field. So did reprints of old hand-to-hand combat manuals that showed knife use. “Kill of Get Killed” by Rex Applegate. “Get Tough” (a.k.a. All-in Fighintg by W.E. Fairbain, “Do or Die” by A. J. Drexel-Biddle and “Cold Steel” by John Styers made the rounds again. Of the three, Styers devoted his knife-work to the Bowie. He is shown with the Marine KaBar.
What followed was a spate of so-called combat knives that ranged from the over-simple to the bizarre. Custom knife-makers sprang up offering everything from tiny boot knives to massive, serrated Bowies. They looked cool. Performance-wise, the size and fancy features were wasted. Eventually, reality separated the men from the show-oafs. What remained were the practical Bowie and blades based on other time-tested designs such as the European Seax and Japanese Tanto.
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| Smatchet |
How does one fight with a Bowie? For that matter, how does one handle any combat knife? There are two approaches to fighting. Martial arts require years if study because they use specialized techniques, such as footwork, that are not natural. Hand-to-hand systems, such as the military, tend to focus more on natural body movement. There are few strange stances and little complex footwork.
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| Fairbairn's techniques for smatchet. Same techniques work with large Bowies |
The Smatchet was a British weapon similar to the Bowie. It served as a large camp knife, but had combat implications. W.E. Fairbairn gave instruction in using the Smatchet. They require no special skills or fancy footwork. The same would work with a large Bowie, machete, hatchet or a stout club.
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| More of Fairbairn's techniques for Smatchet. Also for large Bowie and stick. |
John Styers’ method was a more specialized technique. It was easy to teach, easy to learn, and used basic body movement. The right leg and hand were extended slightly forward. On the other hand, the method devised by Rex Applegate and used in Army Manuals from the late 40s to the 80s used a left-leg forward stance, something like a boxer. Applegate favored dagger-shaped blades.
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| Styers' Stance, right leg forward |
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| Styers stance, side view |
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| Styers' thrust |
Readers are warned: techniques show here are for illustration only. They can do serious bodily harm. Authors assume no responsibility for consequences of using them. Reads do so entirely at their own risk.
John Styers' book on knife, bayonet ,stick and unarmed fighting is titled Cold Steel and can be found online (Not to be confused with Hutton;'s work on fencing by the same name.
Fairbairn's books Get Tough and All-in Fighting demonstrate unarmed combat, knife, smatchet (bowie) and stick combat methods. His books can be found on the Net
If you enjoyed this article, check out some of the other articles on this blog.
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