Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 20, 2013 at 13:42

For me a Bowie (pronounced Boo- wee, not  BOW ee) is a specific type of knife.   I think most people not refer to what I think of a Bowie knife a "western bowie"   The word "bowie" has turned into a generic term for any large bladed knife, which is sad to me.

My definition of a rea-deal bowie is  "a large clip blade knife with a full tang and an “S” shaped quillion . The spine of the blade is sometimes stiffened with a brass plate.  

Today, most people call this the Classic or Western Bowie.

Permalink Reply by Howard P Reynolds on September 20, 2013 at 13:46

Thanks again, Clay for the new information.  That James Black knife looks to be very long, and even if you are skinning moose, it looks too long to be any good - for skinning; self defense would be a better use.  I like a big knife for the woods, but have much shorter knives for skinning.

Permalink Reply by Clay Strong on September 20, 2013 at 13:53

I'm with you Tobias. The Western design is the most appealing to the eye. The slightly upturned clip is useful for prying as well, A man on horse-back must be able to pry out barb-wire staples and drive them back in when he comes up on one them confounded barriers to freedom. Otherwise he has to train his horse to crawl through it or talk it into attempting a leap over it. LOL

Tobias Gibson said:

For me a Bowie (pronounced Boo- wee, not  BOW ee) is a specific type of knife.   I think most people not refer to what I think of a Bowie knife a "western bowie"   The word "bowie" has turned into a generic term for any large bladed knife, which is sad to me.

My definition of a rea-deal bowie is  "a large clip blade knife with a full tang and an “S” shaped quillion . The spine of the blade is sometimes stiffened with a brass plate.  

Today, most people call this the Classic or Western Bowie.

Permalink Reply by Howard P Reynolds on September 20, 2013 at 13:55

Hahahaha.  Tobias, I figger if it don't look like Alan Ladd's Bowie, it ain't a true Bowie.  Thank heaven for the term "Camp" or maybe even "Tactical" knife to take in all the big ole knives that wouldn't be a "Bowie" in classification.  Cold Steel's Trailmaster might be such a knife that kinda looks like a Bowie, but not quite.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 20, 2013 at 14:01

Oh I've got definitions for all types of fixed blade knives  For instance a clip blade knife with a half guard:

Hunter: Normally a fixed blade knife with a clip blade 4-7 inches long, and hand guard extending downward from the handle to prevent the hand from coming in contact with the sharp edge of the blade

Then there is Skinner, Green River Skinner, Upswept Skinner, Arkansas Toothpick, and more.

Permalink Reply by Howard P Reynolds on September 20, 2013 at 14:15

Yep, Tobias.  Definitions are good to keep on track, and an easy way to identify knives.  To my untrained mind, a skinner has a curved or upswept blade, like a butcher knife, but that's just a country boy talkin.  You and Clay, and lots of members here know more about knives than I do.

Permalink Reply by Clay Strong on September 20, 2013 at 14:38

That's nice of you to say. But, Tobias knows ten times more than I know about knives. I agree with you about the skinner with an upswept blade having the best angle of approach for skinning. If the blade drops, you'll want to choke up on the blade and drop the handle in the hand. But, then you may not have good control.

Howard P Reynolds said:

Yep, Tobias.  Definitions are good to keep on track, and an easy way to identify knives.  To my untrained mind, a skinner has a curved or upswept blade, like a butcher knife, but that's just a country boy talkin.  You and Clay, and lots of members here know more about knives than I do.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 20, 2013 at 16:21

Seriously, I think I'm just one step in front of anyone else on the list.

The Traditional skinning blade was a relatively wide straight blade The spine is straight and un-sharpened and the sharpened edge runs parallel to the spine until curving upward to meet the spine.  Bascially an un-clipped buther knife It is one of the oldest patterned knives and is the basis for most kitchen cutlery. Chef's call it a slicing knife.

Old Hickory Slicing (Skinning) knife. The knife is really designed to do it all so it does everything "OK" but nothing "great"

The blade on the your Case Sodbuster or similar knife is a classic skinning blade. I've even heard the large Sodbusters referred to as "Mule Skinners"

Rough Rider Tortoiseshell Workknife (Mule Skinner)

The Green River Skinner was a type of skinner that headed west with the Mountain Men ad Buffalo Hunters out of St. Louis Mo. These men found that  a curving blade made quick work when it came to removing pelt from a variety of game. So they started to ask knife makers to curve the blade.   It wasn't good for stabbing but was okay for a hacking self-defense knife.  This knife is often called just a skinner or an upswept skinner.  I call it a Green River Skinner because the story goes the mountain men called them Green River knives because the knife makers in the Green River Forge in Greenfield Mass made them for them.  In reality most were hand forged by the local blacksmith or imported from Sheffield, England.   I've also heard them called Mountain Man Skinners. (I often get confused and call them Green Mountain Skinners!)

Old Hickory Green River Skinner.

You will note,  I showed two Old Hickory (Ontario) knives that are sold as kitchen cutlery!  They are both dirt cheap (under $15) and are about as traditional as you can get. These are closer to what the original frontiers men used when hunting!

For me the classic Up-swept Skinner is the Schrade Sharpfinger. But it is really the neo-classic as the true classic up-swept with the Green Mountain above.  The Camillus 1013 is my Favorite Up-Swept, but plenty of people make some type of Up-swept skinner. ( ishowed that earlier in this thread)  

What defines it is the up-swept skinner is the blade that has tapered cutting edged the gently curves to a sharp point as it meets the curved spine.

BW Celtic Clover Up Swept Skinner

Bear and Son Up Swept Skinner.

I think the newest version of the Skinner is the Ulu Skinner which is a derivative of the Alaskan Ulu.  These tend to have a three - tour inch long wide belly skinning style blade with or without an finger hole and a very short handle.

Rough Rider's Ulu Skinner

There are others, such as wide belly skinner, Spanish Skinner, etc. but I think this 'll do for now.

Permalink Reply by Howard P Reynolds on September 20, 2013 at 17:04

Tobias, here's the skinner I keep in my hunting bag (Coleman-Western).  Truth be told, it stays in the bag because any more I just take the deer to a processing station to have it cut up, and they remove the hide.

Permalink Reply by Clay Strong on September 20, 2013 at 17:24

The Old Hickory Green River Skinner is probably in every slaughter house and butcher shop. They must be good steel. I've owned a Green River Works brand that was produced in recent years. I snapped the blade by putting it under a door and pulling up. It should have bent instead. I don't own a pre-1936 Green River. Wish I did. A knife maker friend of mine owns a ranch in Wyoming that was once a Rendezvous site for mountain men. The adjoining property is where the yearly Rendezvous is held now. He said the old Green River Works knives are highly prized by those men who attend the event. Many of them hunt for a living still. Last year I saw in Riverton, WY a pickup with at least 40 sets of fresh elk horn racks. They weren't trying to hide anything. Must have been legal. 

Edit:

I must have replied in the wrong place. I didn't mean to cause a duplication of Tobias' post. How do I delete my post and not leave a trace of my boo boo ??

Tobias Gibson said:

Seriously, I think I'm just one step in front of anyone else on the list.

The Traditional skinning blade was a relatively wide straight blade The spine is straight and un-sharpened and the sharpened edge runs parallel to the spine until curving upward to meet the spine.  Bascially an un-clipped buther knife It is one of the oldest patterned knives and is the basis for most kitchen cutlery. Chef's call it a slicing knife.

Old Hickory Slicing (Skinning) knife. The knife is really designed to do it all so it does everything "OK" but nothing "great"

The blade on the your Case Sodbuster or similar knife is a classic skinning blade. I've even heard the large Sodbusters referred to as "Mule Skinners"

Rough Rider Tortoiseshell Workknife (Mule Skinner)

The Green River Skinner was a type of skinner that headed west with the Mountain Men ad Buffalo Hunters out of St. Louis Mo. These men found that  a curving blade made quick work when it came to removing pelt from a variety of game. So they started to ask knife makers to curve the blade.   It wasn't good for stabbing but was okay for a hacking self-defense knife.  This knife is often called just a skinner or an upswept skinner.  I call it a Green River Skinner because the story goes the mountain men called them Green River knives because the knife makers in the Green River Forge in Greenfield Mass made them for them.  In reality most were hand forged by the local blacksmith or imported from Sheffield, England.   I've also heard them called Mountain Man Skinners. (I often get confused and call them Green Mountain Skinners!)

Old Hickory Green River Skinner.

You will note,  I showed two Old Hickory (Ontario) knives that are sold as kitchen cutlery!  They are both dirt cheap (under $15) and are about as traditional as you can get. These are closer to what the original frontiers men used when hunting!

For me the classic Up-swept Skinner is the Schrade Sharpfinger. But it is really the neo-classic as the true classic up-swept with the Green Mountain above.  The Camillus 1013 is my Favorite Up-Swept, but plenty of people make some type of Up-swept skinner. ( ishowed that earlier in this thread)  

What defines it is the up-swept skinner is the blade that has tapered cutting edged the gently curves to a sharp point as it meets the curved spine.

BW Celtic Clover Up Swept Skinner

Bear and Son Up Swept Skinner.

I think the newest version of the Skinner is the Ulu Skinner which is a derivative of the Alaskan Ulu.  These tend to have a three - tour inch long wide belly skinning style blade with or without an finger hole and a very short handle.

Rough Rider's Ulu Skinner

There are others, such as wide belly skinner, Spanish Skinner, etc. but I think this 'll do for now.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 20, 2013 at 17:56

Clay, pretty sure it is 1095 Carbon steel, 1/8 inc thick making it strong yet flexible. When you consider iy is just $14 it is hard to pass up if you want a good, reliable knife.  It ain't made for collecting, it is a user. (and it is 100% USA made!)

Clay Strong said:

The Old Hickory Green River Skinner is probably in every slaughter house and butcher shop. They must be good steel. I've owned a Green River Works brand that was produced in recent years. I snapped the blade by putting it under a door and pulling up. It should have bent instead. I don't own a pre-1936 Green River. Wish I did. A knife maker friend of mine owns a ranch in Wyoming that was once a Rendezvous site for mountain men. The adjoining property is where the yearly Rendezvous is held now. He said the old Green River Works knives are highly prized by those men who attend the event. Many of them hunt for a living still. Last year I saw in Riverton, WY a pickup with at least 40 sets of fresh elk horn racks. They weren't trying to hide anything. Must have been legal. 

E

Permalink Reply by Clay Strong on September 20, 2013 at 18:47

When I lived close to the Everglades in south Florida, I talked to older men, who once hunted alligators for a living, about the knives they carried in the swamps. I was surprised that medium and larger knives were not popular. Most of them would simply walk into the swamps with no more gear than would fit in a backpack or sack, and a small caliber rifle. After locating their hidden boat, they traveled for many miles, staying on the move in a circuitous route for a couple of weeks, sleeping in the boat under netting and tarps, and usually not seeing anyone else. Their provisions were salt, and lard. They fished and ate gator meat, and about everything else out there. When it was time to go see Mama, they hid the boat again and packed their skins, in stages, to the nearest road to hitch a ride home. Skins were worth 80 cents each during the Great Depression. The preferred knife was a two blade folder of the highest quality they could buy. The skinning was a tedious thing, because a puncture or improper job would reduce the value. Speed was not a concern. Some who were fortunate enough to have a vehicle would disable a vehicle in some way, hide the parts and cover it with brush. But, the lifestyle being what it was, a thief was literally taking his life in his own hands to steal anything from a swamp man. 

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