Jim Bowie and the Bowie knife have almost become synonymous. In the
early 1800's it was common place for men to carry a knife as a sidearm but it
wasn't until 1830 that the famous Bowie knife was made that forever carved a
niche in history for Jim Bowie
The actual making of the Bowie knife was a progression of knife
designs. The first knife was claimed to be designed by his brother Rezin in
Avoyelles Parish in Louisiana and made by a blacksmith Jesse Clift in order to
protect his younger brother from some of the company he was keeping
This knife was referred to by many as Bowie's butcher knife that was
used at the Sandbar Fight. Another rendition of the story according to Jim's
older brother John was that a blacksmith named Snowden, made a hunting knife
for Jim which was used during the duel. Either way the prototype and the
legend had begun
In 1827 the famous duel occurred across from Natchez, Mississippi on a
Mississippi River sandbar. As a second in the duel, Bowie found himself in
the middle of the ruckus armed with a butcher knife. In the events that
followed Bowie found himself badly beaten, shot and stabbed but before him
laid one man cut to ribbons and another one disemboweled
In 1830 in Texas, Jim Bowie armed with the famous Bowie knife made by
James Black, was attacked by three men hired to kill him. The stories
flourished as Bowie wielded the heavy knife against his attackers. In the
end, one man was almost beheaded, another was disemboweled and the third had
his skull split open
The original Bowie knife was two inches wide and a quarter inch thick
with the blade being about 12 inches long. The back of the blade had a soft
metal inlaid to catch the opponent's blade during a scrape. Razor sharp was
the top edge of the clip point. In order to protect the hand a brass quillon
was in place
At the
Alamo, Jim Bowie had his trusted Bowie knife. As the Alamo was overrun
by the Mexican army, Jim Bowie laid on a cot in the Low Barracks with his
Bowie knife and pistol at hand. Tales exist that before he was killed that
he took out nine of the oncoming soldiers
In the end, the bowie knife lost the capital B but its' fame has
continued to grow. The original Bowie knife was never found