HomeMiscMiscBowie Knife Large Bowie Knife w/Sheath |
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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 54 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
77 of 83 found the following review helpful:
Good intro to big Bowies Aug 02, 2007
By Scott Burright
My wife got me this knife for my birthday because I mainly use small and mid-sized knives and have so far avoided getting a taste for the huge Bowies. She wanted to see if I liked this type without spending much. The answer is yes, I like it a lot.
It's massive and nose-heavy, with the point of balance right at the big full-finger choil in front of the guard. This weight-forward configuration makes the knife very eager to chop, and I immediately complied by destroying some lemons, potatoes, corn cobs, and an old pine 2x6. The edge was shaving-sharp right out of the box, but my abuse resulted in some bright spots where the edge was visibly dinged. I restored it in under a minute with an Accusharp carbide-V sharpening gadget.
The primary bevel is a half-flat or "saber" grind, which emphasizes strength over slicing. Still, the knife excelled at the above-named kitchen tasks, as well as slicing celery, bell peppers, and meat. It was not quite optimal, however, for dicing onions. The thick, heavy blade tended to bind in such firm material and was a bit fatiguing to use. Still, it got the job done, and I found the radically clipped point very nimble and handy for piercing. I only wished I had a coconut to split.
I have my doubts about the edge-holding ability of this knife, as it is made from obviously inexpensive 420-J2 stainless steel subjected to who-knows-what heat treatment, and I have managed to ding it up a bit initially. But it certainly isn't brittle, which would spell uselessness for a knife like this. I imagine that a few sessions with the Accusharp might re-profile the edge to a more durable angle, but only time will tell.
The package says it is made for the Winchester brand by "Carolina Knife and Tool," which I hear is a cheaper label of Gerber knives-- the Ford to Gerber's Lincoln, if you will. So I would imagine that they have some idea of how to make a good knife, even if they are doing it in China.
The handle scales are Pakkawood, an engineered wood laminate that behaves much like hardwood but is inert, which is to say that it will not move or shrink or crack. It's stained to look like rosewood and finished with a tough, glossy lacquer or polyurethane. Together with the brass guard and pins, it makes for a more attractive package than other inexpensive "survival" or "tactical" knives. My only complaint is the finger ridges, a bit of over-engineering that can only detract from the knife's versatility.
The sheath is heavy, stiff Cordura nylon with plastic reinforcement at the throat and two retaining straps with snaps. It's not too fancy, just a secure, durable, weatherproof sheath that rides nicely on the belt. It does have a few nasty bits of Hide of the Nauga around the snaps, which is no big deal.
I wouldn't hesitate to carry this knife in the woods, as long as I could also carry a sharpening gadget like the Accusharp or the Meyerco Sharpen-It to allay my reservations about the blade material. If you had to choose one do-everything backwoods knife, this really would not be a bad choice, as it is capable of heavy chopping as well as more delicate tasks like slicing vegetables. To step up at all in the Bowie market would require triple the price at the very least, and so I'd say this is a great knife for seeing if you're interested, and it'll get some work done while you're at it. It has certainly whetted my appetite for more of these big knives.
30 of 35 found the following review helpful:
 pretty, but fragile Mar 11, 2009
By John Smith
"John"
Let's get what I don't like about this knife out of the way first.
I don't like the finger grooves. The finger grooves on a knife never fit my hand, and get in the way with my preferred horizontal grip. The brass hardware was marred out of box, indicating poor quality control. The brass rivets and lanyard bushing were incompletely finished with burrs that irritated my hand, and the brass finger guard had a deep scratch.
The knife is not full tang as described, but a weaker spike tang with 2 rivets. This indicates the knife is more of a display piece than a real working bowie which should have a full tang and 3 rivets. The small tang makes the knife blade heavy, an awkward balance for cutting.
I've posted a picture of the knife balanced on my index finger. The knife balances about an inch forward of the brass finger guard.
The weak tang and front heavy balance create a conundrum. The balance is good for throwing or chopping, but the spike tang could possibly break with a missed throw or heavy chop. If you want a thrower or chopper, a better choice would be the stronger full tang Cold Steel large thrower, Perfect Balance Thrower, Composite Plastic Handle, Plain. The budget priced Cold Steel knives use a Chinese carbon steel that sharpens well, but will rust if not maintained.
Now I'll cover the good points.
The best parts of this knife are the price and the edge it takes. I gave the blade a couple licks on my butcher's steel. I expected a soft, impossible to sharpen, 420 type stainless. I was pleasantly surprised that the sharpened blade readily shaved hair off my arm. I researched the steel used in the knife online without success. My best guess is a Chinese version of 440c, an easy to sharpen stainless with a good balance between price and performance.
The flawed handle is an easy fix with emery cloth. The flimsy spike tang is a major flaw that can't be fixed. The low price and easy to sharpen blade make this knife a reasonable buy, provided you are willing to live within the restrictions of the weak tang.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Broke immediately Sep 26, 2011
By J.Carver
Knife seemed fine, decent handle and good feel. The blade snapped off at the hilt the first day I took it out and it is now a piece of junk that I will be trying to return.
14 of 18 found the following review helpful:
 Good blade for the bucks Jan 27, 2010
By D. Thornton
I have had this knife out of the package now for about 45 minutes and I have to say that I have been picking it up over and over and looking at it closely.
There are no visible defects anywhere on the knife or sheath. I do not care much for the Winchester name on the blade but it does not impact the function and
is merely cosmetic. For the $20 plus change that I paid for this knife I have to say that I am well pleased with it. So pleased in fact that I have already put
in an order for 2 more. Keeping in mind that this is not some custom made super steel alloy $300 knife I believe that the quality is very good.
So what if you have to put a stone or a steel to the blade now and then. It is well worth the money, not tax, and maybe free shipping if you buy more than one or other items.I find the finger grooves fit my hand (extra large glove size) just peachy and if your hands get wet, or bloody, you might be glad that the grooves are there.
My only possible complaint might be the thin material of the two straps which hold the knife in the sheath. The could be a little more substantial since
they will get a lot of use but they are probably tougher than they seem to be and will be adequate.
I plan to give away these extra knives to my friends when I need a cool "guy gift". Even if they have no practical use for such an knife it is
a bad to the bone blade that has real major machismo appeal. I do like knives and have quite a few including the Kabar combat knife that I was issued in Danang, Viet Nam in 1970. I am no stranger to working blades and this one fits the bill. You can use it and abuse it without worrying about damaging your expensive drawer queen custom made knife. I plan to carry mine when I go ground hog hunting or into areas where there are a lot of wild berry bushes which you might need to ease your way through. You can buy this knife and feel like you made a good deal for yourself, you could do a lot worse.
Dennis "Doc" Thornton
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 sucks Nov 21, 2010
By dave
this knife looks awesome... but it sucks it is indeed full tang but the tang is tiny and crack within the first two hours of use. i was batoning through medium hard wood and it snapped in half i do not recommend this knife if u plan on chopping or batoning with it spend ten more bucks for the jungle primitive by sog great chopper and splitter
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