Bowie Illustrations

I just got an email from Clayton Blanchard, who is related to the Blanchards who participated in the Sandbar Fight. He forwarded to me two excellent illustrations that I thought I'd post.

The moment when Bowie plunged his knife into Major Norris Wright.

An excellent visualization of James Bowie.

Alamo Memorabilia Donated by Phil Collins

The above photo is from a press conference discussing the singer Phil Collins' donation of collection of Alamo memorabilia to the museum at that San Antonio landmark. It was captioned, "Phil Collins holds a Bowie knife that belonged to Jesse Robinson who fought under Jim Bowie at the Battle of Concepcion and the Siege of Bexar on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014 in San Antonio."

The video attached to the news article linked below starts with Collins holding the knife and saying it was probably made by James Black in Arkansas. At first I thought he was joking. The knife shown is typical of those made and sold around the time of the movie "The Iron Mistress" (1952) and "The Alamo" (1960) and is not authentic to the 1830s. I hope the other articles in Collins' collection have a better provenance!

Here is what bowie knife expert Bernard Levine wrote about this style of knife: "The earliest positively dated example of this type bowie is the one on the cover of Harold Peterson's 1958 book, American Knives. That knife was made in 1955. Since then, hundreds of these knives have been made. Actually thousands. One maker, Allan Hitchen of Southport, England, has made 100s since the late 1950s -- all unmarked, all 'aged' with acid and soot. . . . No antique knife (bowie or otherwise) looks like this. . . . If you like this style of "knife," check out the Carvel Hall versions. They are cheap and well made."

Phil Collins remembers the Alamo with donation of artifacts

By CHRISTY HOPPE choppe@dallasnews.com
Austin Bureau
Published: 28 October 2014 10:54 PM
Updated: 29 October 2014 06:41 AM

SAN ANTONIO — British rocker Phil Collins watched from a few feet beyond the north wall of the Alamo as wooden crates the size of large amps were hydraulically lowered from a truck.

The songwriter of “Against All Odds” believed he had struck the perfect note by bringing home historical artifacts once owned by the defenders of the Alamo.

“I’m not sad,” he said Tuesday as the largest collection of Alamo memorabilia in the world was delivered. The 200-piece collection is worth between $10 million and $15 million. It took him two decades to assemble.

“I’m really happy that it’s going here, because this is the place where it should be,” said Collins, who gained worldwide fame in the band Genesis and as a solo performer. “This completes a journey for me.”

The collection will eventually be a key component to a museum. Some pieces returned to the Alamo for the first time in 178 years. They were scattered on March 6, 1836, when the garrison’s remaining force of 200 men fell to the overwhelming army of Mexican Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna after a 13-day standoff.

Collins said his fascination with the battle and the legends who fought it — Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, William B. Travis — began when he was about 6 years old, growing up in England but watching the American TV show Davy Crockett.

“From that moment, I was hooked on this story. It just stayed with me all the way through the music years,” he said.

It seemed a worthwhile obsession. “I decided to spend my money on that instead of Ferraris,” he said.

His collection also includes mementos from the Battle of San Jacinto, where Texas secured its independence, and a trove of historical documents.

There is Jim Bowie’s legendary knife and one of four existing rifles known to have belonged to Crockett, as well as his fringed leather musket ball pouch. There are letters from Alamo commander Travis, Santa Anna’s sword, the hats of Mexican officers and cannonballs.

Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, whose office oversees the historical mission and who formalized the agreement with Collins, said the artifacts will be publicly displayed only a few at a time for the near future.

A foundation has been created to help raise $100 million toward a museum and visitors center to display the complete collection and present the story of the Alamo. Patterson estimated the project could take another five years.

Collins, 63, said finding a permanent home for his collection became important to him within the last year as he began organizing his estate.

Last February, he was visiting San Antonio, as he does frequently, looking for a museum that might be suitable. His friend Jim Guimarin, who owns the History Shop next to the Alamo, arranged for him to meet Kaye Tucker, the point person for the Alamo in Patterson’s office.

“Jim asked if I wanted to go to dinner with Phil Collins. I wasn’t going to pass on that,” she said.

Tucker said that over a meal of tacos and enchiladas, Guimarin told Collins there was something that Tucker wanted to ask. And so she ventured that the Alamo would love to have his collection.

“I was gobsmacked,” Collins recalled. “The idea of it coming back home…”

Arrangements were quickly made. Collins oversaw the shipping and delivery from his home in Switzerland.

Collins said holding little pieces of history — hats, guns, spurs of the Alamo fighters — connects him with the frailties and courage of the people who owned them.

“I would have some sadness and maybe thinking it was a mistake if it were going to a museum that didn’t have any emotional contact … with the Alamo,” he said. “This is the best thing that could happen to it.”

Collins, who has sold more than 100 million records, said that he has kept the passion of collecting and music separate in his life. The Alamo did not consciously color any of his songs.

“They’re all about my ex-wives,” he said with a laugh.

But maybe, he said, one song title came subliminally to him: “Do You Remember.”

Bronze of James Bowie by Michael Trcic

I am very impressed with this magnificent bronze bust of James Bowie created by sculptor Michael Trcic, for sale at his website. He really caught the spirit as well as the likeness of the man. Beneath the bust are scenes from the Sandbar Fight.

Trcic's other sculptures on Western themes are also quite striking.

Knife-Fighting Classes in New York City in 1842!

One of the subjects that intrigued me when I was researching my bowie knife book was whether there actually was any organized knife-fighting instruction available in 19th-century America. I did come across a few references, and just today was informed of another. The following advertisement, which was published in the New York Herald in 1842,  offers among other things instruction in the "hunting knife." This advertisement was uncovered by Maestro Jeanette Accosta-Martinez of the Martinez Academy of Arms in New York City and passed along to me by Phil Crawley.

 The Fencing Saloon & Shooting Gallery was run by a "K. Mees," on whom I have been unable to discover anything more. He offered instruction in "Fencing; also in the use of the straight, crooked, and Turkish sword, hunting knife, musket and bayonet, staff, and every species of weapons."

The facility was located at 413 Broadway, just below Canal Street in lower Manhattan. The "210 yards" shooting range seems like a misprint, especially as the focus is on pistol shooting. Perhaps 20 yards was intended.

World's Largest Bowie Knife Exhibit

Coming Soon! World's Largest Bowie Knife Exhibit 

A Sure Defense: The Bowie Knife in America 

December 13, 2013 through June 22, 2014 

Horace C. Cabe Gallery 

“This exhibit is the largest and most important ever done on America’s iconic contribution to the world of blades,” said Historic Arkansas Museum Director Bill Worthen. A Sure Defense: The Bowie Knife in America will trace the history of this country’s most famous knife from just before its birth in a rough melee on a sandbar above Natchez, Mississippi in 1827, to the skilled craftsmen who keep the classic blade alive to this day in the form of hand crafted reproductions and modernized versions.

Visitors to the public exhibit will have the opportunity to see knife designs associated with Alamo martyr James Bowie and his less famous brother Rezin, and to examine bowie knives once owned by such historic figures as Davy Crockett, Theodore Roosevelt, General Winfield Scott and John Fox “Bowie Knife” Potter. The role of the bowie knife in the Antebellum era is explored along with the Civil War and the opening of the west, and there’s a special focus on the role bowie knives played in the events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Among the 19th century knives featured will be those attributed to Arkansas’s own James Black, known knifemakers to the Bowie brothers Henry Schively and Daniel Searles, master silversmith of Texas and Tennessee Samuel Bell, and the highly skilled makers of the California school including Michael Price and Will & Finck. Fine English Bowies are also well represented with knives by such makers as Samuel Wragg, W. & S. Butcher, J. Walters and Charles Congreve; as are some of the finest known Northern and Southern blades from the Civil War. Visitors can also expect to see a superb group of folding bowie knives, and a variety of other knives that served as backup weapons during the Bowie knife era, such as push daggers and dirk knives.

In total, more than 200 knives are included in the exhibit. A full color catalog documenting this historic exhibit is planned, and will be available from the museum’s gift shop and online store.

Historic Arkansas Museum 

200 E. Third Street, 

Little Rock, AR 72201 

Ph: 501-324-9351 - Fax: 501-324-9345 

info@historicarkansas.org

Is It Pronounced "Bow-ie" or "Boo-ie"?

One of 22 maps featured in Business Insider showing the way words are pronounced differently in different parts of the United States.

Below the map there is this update from a Texan: "It's pronounced Boo-wie because it's named after Jim Bowie (pronounced Boo-wie), who played a major roll in the Texas revolution. That explains why we're the only ones who pronounce it correctly."

The Texan is correct. The name Bowie--referring to either the man or the knife--have always properly been pronounced to rhyme with Louie, not Joey. It's a Scottish name and that's the correct pronunciation. The 1950s TV program "The Adventures of Jim Bowie" got it right in its theme song.

I suspect the other pronunciation arose when the singer David Jones changed his name to David Bowie so as not to be confused with the lead singer of the Monkees.

A Collection of Interesting Knives

My friend Charles Riggs (whom I know mostly from email, having met him only once) recently sent me a heavily insured package containing five knives from his collection.

He wrote, "You'll have something to occupy your martial mind for awhile with these, I think. All but the Crowell/Barker are FIGHTING knives, but very different expressions of very different techniques and philosophies. The Steele knife is suited to a soldier, the Mamba to someone fighting Filipino style, the Hissatsu excellent against heavy clothing and armor and the Bowie? Well, it can be any damn thing it pleases at that size!"

Alas, they are not mine to keep, but only to fondle for a while and return. I am an honorable man and Charles is a formidable one so of course I will do so.

Charles is very knowledgeable about knives and I am reprinting his comments from his cover letter. I don't have much to add, but I put my impressions in italics.

1. Hissatu
Weight: 8 oz
Blade Type: Trailing point
Length Overall: 12 inches
Blade Length: 7.25 inches

The Hissatsu is based on what is most likely the most ancient design, being the brainchild of the owner of the Bugei Trading company, James Williams and taken from Japanese traditions. If you haven't already looked at his bio and web site it's worth a reading. The knife features a blade made for slashing, but the tip is very strong for thrusting against hard surfaces because of the manner in which the spine reinforces it. This version is an inexpensive one made by CRKT, but usable nonetheless.

The appeal of a knife is totally subjective. This is a practical knife but it just doesn’t excite me.

2. Crowell/Barker Competition Knife
Weight: 1 lb, 1.6 oz
Blade Style: Hollow ground, drop point
Length Overall: 15 inches
Blade Length: 9 inches

The Crowell/Barker Competition Knife is expressly made for slashing bundles of manila/sisal rope in cutting competitions. You can see demos of these cuttings on the Cold Steel web site. These competitions haven't really taken off or attracted too much public attention, but the knives are interesting. The guys who designed this are two champions who collaborated on it for Browning. While it might not be the best fighting knife of the bunch, it allows the user to focus great cutting power and might be likened to an American Kukri. I sent it because it's another unique expression of the large knives that have been used in the USA since the 18th century. Like many well-designed large knives, its size makes it fearful but it's far quicker than you'd think.

It doesn’t have much personality, but it’s well balanced, well made, and packs a lot of power. Considering that it's available from Amazon for under $100, it's well-worth consideration for anyone in the market for a heavy duty chopper.

3. Blackjack Mamba
Weight: 9.9 oz
Blade type: Hollow ground, swaged, spear point
Length Overall: 13 inches
Blade Length: 7.25 inches

The Blackjack Mamba is a classic collectible, made when the company was still in the USA and turning out high quality knives. The design's features are obvious, especially the belly of the blade that allows the knife to dig in as it's drawn back or across in a slashing attack. It's very light, almost too light, but that makes it fast in the hand and dangerous if the user has the reflexes to guide it quickly. Both it and the David Steele knife came out when Soldier of Fortune was pushing a new surge of interest in edged weapons in the 1970s. The sheaths aren't much, but I'm going to get Kydex made for them someday. I would also tell you that there are some new US-made Blackjack knives being sold at gun shows now, but the quality control of the knives I've handled is only so-so and I wouldn't bother with one.

I agree with Charles that this knife seems too light for its design. The original version was two inches longer and probably heavier.

4. Fer-de-Lance
Weight: 9.9 oz.
Blade type: Double-edged hollow-ground spear point
Length Overall: 12 inches
Blade Length: 6.25 inches (5.5 inches sharpened)

The David E. Steele-designed and Balisong-produced Fer-de-Lance is a pure fighting knife, much in the same vein as the Applegate-Fairbairn dagger of WW2. It's a utilitarian design cut and ground from bar stock, but the handle scales are nicely shaped and when you spend time holding and working with it, its attributes become apparent. It's also very collectible, so don't let it out of your hands. It's another knife made by a company that's shifted around their production, this one being from the higher quality stuff coming out of Japan in their early years.

The designer, David E. Steele, has written a lot of articles on knives as well as the book Secrets of Modern Knife Fighting (1975).  I like the look and feel of this knife a lot—it’s my favorite of the bunch. It’s light and lively in the hand. If it were mine I’d want to dehorn the sharp edges of the quillions.

5. Hell’s Belle
Weight: 1 pound, 0.4 oz
Blade Type: Hollow ground, clip point with sharpened false edge
Length Overall: 17 inches
Blade Length: 11 inches

The last knife is for you to compare to your Cold Steel Bowies. It's a "Hell's Belle" made to stringent specs by Ontario and no longer in production, carried in a "Southern Comfort" Kydex sheath made by River City Sheaths. The Bowie knives designed by bladesmith Bill Bagwell are meant solely for fighting, based on the research that he did in New Orleans in the archives of old fighting schools from the French tradition of the 18th and 19th centuries in that era when a gentleman was expected to know how to duel. They're not camp or utility Bowies, and they have blades that appear much more slender than most of the commercial designs that one finds turned out these days. But when you see the thickness of the spine you'll appreciate that these knives have great power when wielded strongly, and the tips aren't fragile. The sharpened 'false' or top edge allows you to make the snap cut which is part of the Bagwell Bowie repertoire, and that works, believe me. The hilt allows you to trap an opponent's blade, and if you're really good the Spanish notch allows you to break a blade or wrest it from him. The long haft allows for a sabre grip that can be shifted to place the butt in the base of the wielder's palm to allow a thrust that gives the fighter an extra 2-4 inches of reach when done properly in the classic fencing style. The coffin shape gives a good hold without being abrasive to the hand. It's almost more of a short sword in some ways, but it can be carried concealed quite handily in that sheath by simply slipping it into your waistband, and letting the stud keep it from slipping down too far. I'll be interested to see what you think of it versus the Natchez or Laredo Bowies. I have a shorter 9 1/2 inch "Gambler" Bagwell/Ontario Bowie that's expressly intended for concealment, but I thought you might get more of a kick out of this one.

This is an excellent bowie and the sheath too is top quality. Of the bowies I own, my favorite is the Cold Steel Laredo, but I have to admit this feels livelier in the hand. I’m skeptical about the utility of the hooked quillions, though they might prove of some use in a knife duel. (I’m doing my best to stay out of knife duels.) As far as the Natchez, that's just too heavy for me to wield comfortably. I should have done more weight lifting in my youth.

Thank you, Charles!