# Fighting Blades of the Frontier



## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

Good read for some history on knives enjoy!

Fighting Blades of the Frontier
Since the introduction of Jim Bowie's knife in the 1820s, the bowie has become the knife supreme of the American West.



> "They say my bowie knife is keen to sliver into halves
> The carcass of my enemy, as butchers slay their calves."
> 
> These two bloodthirsty lines satirized American society in the "American Ballads" section that introduced the 1845 British Book of Ballads. Nine rhymes in this section mentioned the Yankee fondness for the bowie knife, then considered a necessary part of dress in America's early 19th-century frontier.
> ...


 https://truewestmagazine.com/bowie-knife-fighting-blades-of-the-frontier/


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## RubberDuck (May 27, 2016)

What is this ?
A useful entertaining post about a knife well all be damn I am just flabbergasted 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

RubberDuck said:


> What is this ?
> A useful entertaining post about a knife well all be damn I am just flabbergasted
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


Rubberduck Quacks me up LOLOLOL!


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Ummmm!!!
Knives!!!!!
Just as in some other areas, when it comes to blades, size matters.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

rice paddy daddy said:


> Ummmm!!!
> Knives!!!!!


Yes sir and like you my heart belongs to the old carbon steel variety's with wood, bone or brass


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Actually, from what I’ve read on the subject, the most common fighting knife on the frontier was the everyday butcher knife.
I would wear my KaBar USMC Fighting Knife everywhere, but it is just to awkward getting in and out of my pickup. That’s why I prefer 5” or at the max 6” fixed blades.
And yes, they can be worn in my area without so much as a second glance from people.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

Yup I prefer a fixed blade for work and play. I also have a real fondness for pocket knives of old.

Like this old yellow peanut.










I have both an old antique yellow peanut and my current carry new Case yellow peanut


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

This is a picture of the Green River knife I mentioned in another thread, circa 1840's. From the research I've done, it was the most popular knife on the frontier for both settlers and Indians.

If a fight started, having this wouldn't be a bad option.

I made the case for it. Maple with ebony inlay. There is a rare-earth magnet installed in the middle of the case to keep the knife secure.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

Robie said:


> This is a picture of the Green River knife I mentioned in another thread, circa 1840's. From the research I've done, it was the most popular knife on the frontier for both settlers and Indians.
> 
> If a fight started, having this wouldn't be a bad option.
> 
> ...


What a keeper right there! That's slicker than snot on a door knob!

One of my German boning knives needs some wood handle work. One of these days I need to grab some walnut or maybe some oak and carve up some wood grips for it.

Very nice sheath you built for it! Robie


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

My Dad's Ka-Bar I inherited. Beautiful condition.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Robie said:


> My Dad's Ka-Bar I inherited. Beautiful condition.
> 
> View attachment 102795


Speaking of KA-BARs, always use a KA-BAR when cutting BACON! You never know when you'll have to gut a jihadist!


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

I swear I've seen that same knife and pound of bacon at least a half dozen times today! I think if you look close you can see the reflection of the bacon on the edge.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Robie said:


> My Dad's Ka-Bar I inherited. Beautiful condition.
> 
> View attachment 102795


Very nice!!!

I left my "real" one behind with a buddy when I came home from Nam.

I bought a modern one 15 or 20 years ago.
And then, 10 years ago in the "junk box" of my local gun store, I spotted a WWII one, complete with a marked USN MK 2 scabbard. The owner was a fellow vet and liked me, so the price was $35, total.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Robie said:


> This is a picture of the Green River knife I mentioned in another thread, circa 1840's. From the research I've done, it was the most popular knife on the frontier for both settlers and Indians.
> 
> If a fight started, having this wouldn't be a bad option.
> 
> ...


Beautiful.
That is a classic butcher knife.
The reason they were popular is at a time when disposable income was unheard of, men made good use of common tools. A butcher knife was indispensable at a time when the house wife didn't run down to the supermarket and buy a steak.

Ontario Knife has been making the Old Hickory brand kitchen knives for over 100 years. They use 1095 carbon steel, no stainless junk, and their 10" butcher goes for $19.95 plus shipping. I just checked them out at Smoky Mountain Knife Works, www.smkw.com. That place is like Victoria's Secret, but for men.


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

One I gave away a few years ago. I don't remember the manufacturer. I don't think it was that old but probably from the early 1900's.


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## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

Robie said:


> My Dad's Ka-Bar I inherited. Beautiful condition.
> 
> View attachment 102795


You have a treasure, . . . enjoy it. Wish I had my uncle's from WW2, . . . heaven only knows what ever happened to it.

May God bless,
Dwight


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

hawgrider said:


> Yes sir and like you my heart belongs to the old carbon steel variety's with wood, bone or brass


The trend in the last 30 years to stainless steel is due to pure laziness on the part of manufacturers, and ignorance on knife buyers who think that stainless is superior.

There are a number of good carbon steels for blade making. D-2 tool steel comes to mind.
But, I tend to look for 1095. That is what the US military has used for a hundred years for bayonets, trench knives, etc. The civilian makers who cater to Soldiers and Marines use this heavily in both fixed blades and folders.

Two major blade crafters in America whose customers are military are Tops and Esse. They both use 1095.
www.topsknives.com
I have a serious desire for this one - https://www.eseeknives.com/product/esee-pr4


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

This is my grandma's favorite butcher knife. It was obviously loved and well used.









This one is an interesting one.









This knife goes back in my family at least 4 generations but nobody ever really gave me the story why it is important. But they DID impart on me that it IS important. The handle is antler and there are no stamps or marks of who made it. The blade is VERY thin but based on its marks, it is also exceedingly hard. (I have never tried to sharpen it, nor did my father or grandfather.) We all (grandfather, father and me) oil it every couple years to keep it rust free, but it was always assumed that making any change to it was an offense to our blood. Obviously, the tip is broke off, there are also a couple more pretty good chunks taken out of the edge.

My grandparents all came over to These United States just after the Norwegians threw the damn Swedes out of Norway. I am thinking this knife might have had a part in that.

And this one is just for my good buddy Hawg who HATES modern folders (especially the pussy brand, plastic screw crap, that some try to sharpen to a razors edge that lasts about 2 inches when skinning a rattler).









That is my Benchmade Osborne that Mrs Inor bought for my birthday a few years ago. That is my EDC, has built a house and a "She Shack" and is the same knife I have been asking your opinions on over on the orange site. Thanks to ya'll, I think we have the angles figured out on this; she is wicked sharp!


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