subject: What Differentiates A Hunting Knife And A Bowie Knife? [print this page] Bowie knives and hunting knives have some characteristic differences, though many hunting knives owe much to the Bowie design. A Bowie knife, really, is a type of hunting knife. The knife was originally designed as an all-purpose survival tool that was equally suited for chopping kindling, cleaning a deer or defending oneself against attacks. Its designer, Jim Bowie, proved its versatility in all these regards.
Bowie knives of a smaller length are excellent hunting knives. In fact, many modern hunting knives are patterned after Bowies. It's interesting that many of these designs have come and gone while the basic Bowie pattern has remained popular for nearly 200 years. A hunting-suitable Bowie should have a blade of no more than 10 inches and be made of some variant of high-carbon steel to ensure a sharp cutting edge. The blade should also be not too thick, as this can make very precise cuts difficult.
Bowie knives with small blades make excellent hunting knives. Between quality steel, a sharp edge and the blade's distinctive clipped point, one could hardly ask for a better tool. In fact, many hunting knives emulate the design of Bowies. Hunting knives, however, come in many more specialized blade designs. These designs are sometimes a combination of a high-end kitchen knife and an outdoor knife. A Bowie, by contrast, is a pure outdoors knife.
Bowie knives were designed to enable the owner to survive in the outdoors. This means that they are multi-purpose tools in every regard. Large Bowies can handle brush and firewood as easily as they can chop vegetables. While they won't chop wood as well as a hatchet, cut brush as well as a machete or chop vegetables as well as a chef's knife, they can perform all of these tasks, something few other knives can boast. The materials and size will determine whether or not a Bowie will be good for hunting, among its other abilities.
A Bowie knife, really, is a hunting knife and much more rather than simply being a one-trick-pony of a blade. A Bowie's legendary durability and solid heft make it useful in emergency situations. The hand guard ensures that one's fingers don't slide up the blade when performing tough work and the clipped point adds a great deal of versatility to the blade. A Bowie is a hunting knife, a fighting knife, a survival tool and, oftentimes, also becomes an heirloom.
