Author Topic: Do you know where your Bowie is?  (Read 22190 times)

Offline Ned Buckshot

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #20 on: January 10, 2010, 05:44:50 AM »
Dick that beading is actually a Lakota Sioux pattern, but the story still fits!

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Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #21 on: January 10, 2010, 06:37:54 AM »
Thanks Ned. BTW you must be freezing your butts off up there. It is 15 here in NC this morning. Have to go out in my workshop and load up a bunch of 44-40s and .223s. Got a 3 gun combat match on the 30th and a Cowboy match in Feb so I understand.
  I am gathering my notes and memory on two Bowies I owned and the "stories" behind them as I know it. Maybe tonight I'll post it. God I wish they had a "spell check" button on here.   :-[  Sometimes.
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Offline Ned Buckshot

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #22 on: January 10, 2010, 06:43:26 AM »
If I'm doing stuff that I know I'll need spell check on I do it in word first get it all ready then copy and paste into the reply window. Works pretty slick for me.

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #23 on: Today at 11:37:39 AM »

Offline Kid Terico

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #23 on: January 10, 2010, 08:58:51 AM »
Rebsr just saw your knives. The best way to discribe them is your work is unbelieveabke. Would love having a knive like that. Thanks for showing. KT

Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #24 on: January 10, 2010, 11:07:50 AM »
Thank you KT. And now a little side bar.
And every man was a 1/2 horse and 1/2 alligator. This theme was well sought after on many Sheffield bowies along with the Alligator and Lion coffin hilted Bowies of the 1830s and later. Acording to Fladerman's research it started long before Davie Crockett and his Almanack in which many referances were made about the men of such stature. It did not fall upon the deaf ears of the Sheffield cutlers reps here in the US, that using slogans and images on Bowies would sell, then as now. The example you see below was given to me by Robert Abels in about the 1969 to 1972 era. It was the one used to make the mold for the gold and silver 1/2H 1/2A bowie shown in a previous post. The original Sheffield pommels were made by pressing a two piece die, male and female together under great pressure. The result was a thin Nickle/silver impression of the desired image. It was then heated up slightly and molten lead was poured into the cavity. This process gave the thin sheet metal part some integrety against rough handling. On some of the knives the pommels were clamped on and the edges heated and in effect they were "soldered" on to the blades. On other knives it was obvious they were pinned on using NS pins either fore and or aft or both. If I can answer any questions please ask. At the worst all I can say is, "I don't know". I have owned about a dozen of these knives. This post will not let me submit photos, even tiny ones, so see the next post for the photos, I hope.
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Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #25 on: January 10, 2010, 11:09:23 AM »
Photos of the pommel.
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Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #26 on: January 10, 2010, 11:20:17 AM »
These are some nickle/silver ones. Two sets of large and two sets of small. The original is on the left
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Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #27 on: January 10, 2010, 04:54:31 PM »
The two Bowies shown in the photo are the only photos of these knives I have. Lets take the top one. This has to be a center piece in any collection. It is an 1830s Bowie made by Henry Schively who was located in Philadelphia Pa. It is believed that he was the cutler that Jim and Rezin bowie visited in Aug 1832 (Fladerman). It is pictured on page 316 of Norms book. I was going to talk Bob out of this knife when visiting him at his home in upper New York on a Saturday morning. I had a friend that dealt with him also and he stoped by my house on Friday before and showed me the knife he had just purchased. I told him my story and after several weeks I ended up with the knife. I had it for several years and I believe I traded it back to him. BAD MISTAKE. The unique feature of Shively's knives is that the RH side of the blade is flat and there is a sharpened "false" edge only on the LH side of the blade. The photo of the knife here is actualy reversed. I did not catch it years ago and cannot find the negative this photo was made from. Oh well. I am NOT saying it is, but this probably is the closest to seeing what Jim's knife "may" have looked like. Fun to speculate huh. Holding this knife will send shivers down your spine. It is a lethal killing machine.
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Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #28 on: January 11, 2010, 05:05:59 AM »
The second knife in the photo, bottom, is a pristine example of an 1835 Bowie imported from Sheffield by Gravely & Wreaks New York. They are listed in the NY City census, 1836, 1837, (Fladerman) as a dealer in small arms, knives etc and their advertising suggests even earlier. On my way up to the Rochester Gun show in the mid 70s I stopped at a NY State Trooper's house who had contacted me and wanted to sell some knives. Long story short, I bought them. "His" story on this knife in the cillection was, he got it out of an estate in Utica NY. The woman had it in a soc in a drawer. I met her and verified at least that part of the story. The woman was a descendant of a man named Quackenbush(spelling) who was an inventor, supposedly of a (toy) target rifle. NONE of this is "verified" thru independent sources. The knife is shown on page 45 of Norm's book. I do not know if Norm owns it but will try and verify it for my own records this spring when I hope to see him in Florida. This photo is also reversed. The blade is etched, "The Hunters Companion My Horse, Knife and Rifle". There are a few knives on the market today that flat out are forgeries with the name misspelled, usually the Wreaks. Careful out there. These knives are so "expensive" they are ripe candidates for, shall we say "reworking". Remember G & W was an "IMPORTING" agent, NOT a maker.
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Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #29 on: January 11, 2010, 05:50:21 AM »
OK Enough of me bugging you for a while. I will be at the Alifia Rendezvous from Tuesday the 12th till the following Thursday the 21st. Later
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Offline Forty Rod

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #30 on: January 11, 2010, 11:00:19 AM »
The woman was a descendant of a man named Quackenbush(spelling) who was an inventor, supposedly of a (toy) target rifle.

Quakenbush was a manufacturer of a number of spring, air, and small cartridge rifles from 1871 until after WWI.

See Flayderman's  Guide 9th Edition, page 777 for pictures and details
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Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #31 on: January 11, 2010, 02:11:57 PM »
Thank you Forty Rod, Wish I had taken the time to have her write that stuff down. Well you know, hindsight.
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Offline Forty Rod

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #32 on: January 11, 2010, 03:50:03 PM »
Thank you Forty Rod, Wish I had taken the time to have her write that stuff down. Well you know, hindsight.

If I could cash in all of those "if only"s, I would be wealthy and have more guns than most third world countries.
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Offline GunClick Rick

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #33 on: January 14, 2010, 07:16:34 PM »
Crud,i just got back over here.Gosh o mighty those are way cool...What a story on the lost wax mold making.Who'd a thought of havein a dentist for a friend ;) :D Anytime you wanna get shed of that one just let me know..Keep postin pics though,the only way i'll be able to admire them..Very nice indeed :)
Bunch a ole scudders!

Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #34 on: January 22, 2010, 05:57:53 PM »
Just got back from Rendezvous the other day and thought I would bug you again. I made the Guardless coffin hilted bowie, shown below, in 1976. It was another one made for display at the knife show in Chicago. It is 13 inches long with an 8 inch blade. The scales are burl wallnut and the mounts are sterling silver. The sheath is Nickle silver with a leather insert. The frog "may" be replaced as it will only accomodate a 2 1/2 inch belt and my gun belt is 3 inches wide. . I will probably ware this knife with my "Cowboy" outfit. The original of this knife was a bit smaller. The sheath was coin silver and had an embossed Federal eagle on the sheath. It now resides in N. J. I believe. The collector wishes to remain anonymas. The original Bowie was one I acquired in a trade with Norm F.
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Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #35 on: January 22, 2010, 06:07:46 PM »
Here are a couple more shots of the hilt.
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Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #36 on: January 25, 2010, 10:39:36 AM »
The knife shown below is one I made years ago. It is my make on a Searles/Fowler Bowie in the Alamo museum. It is 14 inches overall and has a 9 3/8 inch blade. I deviated from the norm of their designs by adding a sharp false edge about 4 ½ inches long. The hilt is ebony and the mounts are sterling where the original was coin silver. I carried this knife at rendezvous off and on for about 30 years. It makes a good all around camp knife if a bit large. The blade is SS. Each of the panels on the hilt is suppose to be checkered and in each checkered diamond, a small silver pin was imbedded. You cannot see this on most photos of the original and I guess I will get to it some day---I hope.
  BTW as we do not "know" what knife Jim had with him at the Alame, this knife without the sharp false edge is "most probably" the style knife Jim used to kill Norris Wright at the sand bar. Man I would not like to be impaled on that thing.
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Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #37 on: January 25, 2010, 10:45:39 AM »
Here are a couple more of my copy of the Searles/Fowler bowie. Notice the small guard. I got the dimensions off the original.
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Offline Will Ketchum

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #38 on: January 25, 2010, 07:16:03 PM »
Very nice Dick!  The Searles Bowie has always facinated me.  The shape is very much like my Persian knife that is about 200 years old.  If I can figure out how to post a picture here maybe I will.

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Offline rebsr52339

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Re: Do you know where your Bowie is?
« Reply #39 on: January 25, 2010, 08:09:17 PM »
Will, would very much like to see it.
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