The purpose and function of James Bowie using the James Black fighting knife was that James Black was renown for forging unbreakable steel blades. This allowed the spine to be used to break the blade of an adversary in melee combat , holding the knife with spine facing downward & blade facing upward , essentially defanging the snake by simply breaking the opponent's blade with a strike from the thick spine of the James Black / Bowie knife, before going in for the kill.
It is horse shit to think you are going to break a blade that way. Someone blew smoke up your ass. Nobody knows what the original Black blade was. It was likely little more than a butcher's knife.
Not sure what you mean by unbreakable. No such thing exists, and in fact soft steel would be very resistant to breaking and chipping. From my experience with tools of the golden era (axes, draw knives, chisels), the more expensive lines/models would have a much harder piece of steel from say Sheffield England, forge welded in between two softer pieces of iron. And, of course differential temper would be used as well. The resulting structure is remarkably strong, as i have experienced. No powder metallurgy , but oh boy. It holds an edge very well, and is practically unbreakable as a whole. For example , such axes are on par with any GB axe of today and actually hold an edge much longer then the modern ones. I would not be surprised to find higher-priced knives would use a similar construction. Hope this helps. There's nothing magical those aren't Excalibur swords. But, the old world blacksmiths were very skilled at using what materials they had to the full potential.
The folks at Immersion Labs are working on an in depth history on the subject which should be out soon. Check out there website for more on the group: www.theimmersionlabs.com/
I think bowie was just a very big, tough guy who wasn't afraid to use a big knife. I a fight, I don't think there is much skill used where knives are concerned.
@@eugenevictortooms4174with Bowie their is skill. The Bowie style is called the flow or Bowie flow. Their are some that have been trained by generations like my cousin.
I have 2 books I would recommend if you want that direct source of knowledge. One is Bowie and Big-Knife Fighting System by Dwight McLemore. Thats a text and Drawing but starts with some history and solid background notes on Bowie. But unless you plan on practicing techniques, I'd take the one called Bowie Knife Fights,Fighters,And Fughting Techniques by Paul Kirchner. That one speaks heavily of any event,debate of knowledge or stories(including ones that may have never happened) surrounding Bowie and his brother. Crockett and many more including an unnamed hispanic man who could be known as "the greatest knife fighter known to the world". Things of that. The techniques section speaks of the techniques used by certain people or people of other regions of the world at the time. Its full of good knowledge and well written and covers fact to rumors and some points cover possibilities as well.
Bill Bagwell (one of the finest bowie makers to ever live) has demonstrated in several videos on here why the quick draw frog stud sheath (inside waistband carry) is the absolute best and most versatile way to carry a large fighting bowie. Check out some of his videos. It completely coneals large bowie knives yet also allows the wearer to quickly draw his blade. There is also a guy on Etsy that makes customizable leather frog stud sheaths for large bowies.
@@BigDaddySwingingMeat Little late, but wondering if you know the name of the Etsy seller selling these sheaths? Would love to acquire one. Also, got links to the Bagwell videos?
@@God-mb8wi Unfortunately, TH-cam blocks all links anytime I try and post one. Also I have to use this backup profile to reply since TH-cam won't let me reply with my main profile anymore. But I can tell you the name of his Etsy page (Frontier Specialties). He is currently selling them for 75 bucks. His work is excellent.
FINALLY!! A man that uses logical thought in his knife technique videos! Thank you, Sir!!
Bravo!
as a doce pares practitioner delving into bowie techniques, this is an amazing video. thank you for sharing guro.
Edge up is a tactic used in some ancient Japanese arts as well and provides some interesting advantages
The purpose and function of James Bowie using the James Black fighting knife was that James Black was renown for forging unbreakable steel blades.
This allowed the spine to be used to break the blade of an adversary in melee combat , holding the knife with spine facing downward & blade facing upward , essentially defanging the snake by simply breaking the opponent's blade with a strike from the thick spine of the James Black / Bowie knife, before going in for the kill.
It is horse shit to think you are going to break a blade that way. Someone blew smoke up your ass. Nobody knows what the original Black blade was. It was likely little more than a butcher's knife.
Not sure what you mean by unbreakable. No such thing exists, and in fact soft steel would be very resistant to breaking and chipping. From my experience with tools of the golden era (axes, draw knives, chisels), the more expensive lines/models would have a much harder piece of steel from say Sheffield England, forge welded in between two softer pieces of iron. And, of course differential temper would be used as well. The resulting structure is remarkably strong, as i have experienced. No powder metallurgy , but oh boy. It holds an edge very well, and is practically unbreakable as a whole. For example , such axes are on par with any GB axe of today and actually hold an edge much longer then the modern ones. I would not be surprised to find higher-priced knives would use a similar construction.
Hope this helps. There's nothing magical those aren't Excalibur swords. But, the old world blacksmiths were very skilled at using what materials they had to the full potential.
I've often wondered how much skill guys like Bowie actually had with the knife, did they train? Or was he just a big stabhappy dude?
The folks at Immersion Labs are working on an in depth history on the subject which should be out soon. Check out there website for more on the group: www.theimmersionlabs.com/
I think bowie was just a very big, tough guy who wasn't afraid to use a big knife.
I a fight, I don't think there is much skill used where knives are concerned.
@@eugenevictortooms4174with Bowie their is skill. The Bowie style is called the flow or Bowie flow. Their are some that have been trained by generations like my cousin.
I have 2 books I would recommend if you want that direct source of knowledge. One is Bowie and Big-Knife Fighting System by Dwight McLemore. Thats a text and Drawing but starts with some history and solid background notes on Bowie. But unless you plan on practicing techniques, I'd take the one called Bowie Knife Fights,Fighters,And Fughting Techniques by Paul Kirchner. That one speaks heavily of any event,debate of knowledge or stories(including ones that may have never happened) surrounding Bowie and his brother. Crockett and many more including an unnamed hispanic man who could be known as "the greatest knife fighter known to the world". Things of that. The techniques section speaks of the techniques used by certain people or people of other regions of the world at the time. Its full of good knowledge and well written and covers fact to rumors and some points cover possibilities as well.
Most gentlemen of the period were trained in fencing, so i would assume he did as well
... awesome!
Where do I buy that beautiful...TRAINING KNIFE YOU HAVE!!!!
www.vulpestraining.com/
Will admit I'm that guy walking around with a bowie. Its legal in ohio as well
Bill Bagwell (one of the finest bowie makers to ever live) has demonstrated in several videos on here why the quick draw frog stud sheath (inside waistband carry) is the absolute best and most versatile way to carry a large fighting bowie. Check out some of his videos. It completely coneals large bowie knives yet also allows the wearer to quickly draw his blade. There is also a guy on Etsy that makes customizable leather frog stud sheaths for large bowies.
How do you conceal it?
You can carry one anywhere, if you don't give a shit about asking for permission.
@@BigDaddySwingingMeat Little late, but wondering if you know the name of the Etsy seller selling these sheaths? Would love to acquire one. Also, got links to the Bagwell videos?
@@God-mb8wi Unfortunately, TH-cam blocks all links anytime I try and post one. Also I have to use this backup profile to reply since TH-cam won't let me reply with my main profile anymore. But I can tell you the name of his Etsy page (Frontier Specialties). He is currently selling them for 75 bucks. His work is excellent.
Ohio made the long knife carry legal .
🤣