Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-09-21
BOWIE KNIVES AND DIRKs.
The sale Diminished by ProhibitOry
Laws in Southern States.


NelO York Sun.
"The bowie knife of to-day is we'll made,
! both in blade and handle" said one of the
! prOprietOrs of a wholesale cutlery house
! in Nassau street. Fine steel is used
\ and care is taken with the finish. The
/ handles are usually of buckhOrn. Some
/ are slIyer-mOunted and engraved, and
| some have ivory handles. We have them
4 with handles of deer's feet. The more
fancy ones are generally bought by anna
teur hunters who can afford to paw the
price, as they often come as high as Sl2 or
/ $l0 each. The buckhOrn handled knives
nave the greatest sale, as they are the
/ cheapest, and at the same time the most
/ SerYiceable."
Where are bowie knives manufac-
tured?"
mostly in England. They are import
ed to this country in considerable num-
bers, although at present there is not the
SAFE lor them That there was several years
! ago. There are several firms in this CITY
who import them. Some. however. are
made IN Connecticut. These are as good
as the imported knives, but there are not
great many manufactured"
TO what part of the country are bowie
knives mostly sent?"
TO the West and South. There are not
as many sent South as there used to be,
owing to the laws in some of the Southern
States which prohibit the carving of
them. More bowie knives were formerly
sent TO Texas than to all the other States
put together almost. NOWADAYS very few
indeed go there, as law prohibiting them
exists. The carrying of bowie knives as
weapons or offenSe and defense is going
out OF fashion IN many places, and for
THIS reason their sale is falling off i'm
measure. A good many are sent to South
America and Cuba, although the machete
winch is larger and heavier than the
bowie knife, is more favored in those cOun-
tries. Bowie knives are sold mostly for
hunting purposes. There is not a great
deal of capital invested in bowie knives.
and no firm can afford to deal in them ex-
cluslvely They are manufactured by
! general cutlery establishments.
is the present bowie knife the same
shape as the earlier One?'
There is not much variation in the
shape of the real bowie. Many persons
call almost any broad bladed hunting
knife bowie knife. The real bowie
knife has clip point. There is knife
when mas a spear point, and which is
similar to the bowie knife in every other
respect. Nine people out of ten will tell
you that it is a bowie knife. Formerly
bowie knives had blades from ten to iii
teen inches in length, and were two inches
broad, and pr0pOrtionately thick. Now
the blades are often made as short as five
inches, and rarely are longer than twelve
inches. a five-lnch bowie blade is one
inch wide and quarter of an inch thick.
The bowie knife has a single edge. The
point Is sharp and strong. The clip eX-
| tends about one-third the length of the
blade, and gives the knife a wicked APP
/ pearance."
Are dirk knives as extensively made
as bowie knives%'
"NO. There are few made. Dirk knives
are merely weapons, while the bowie
knife is also used tor hunting, skinning
! game, and eating. The dirk knife has
/ double edge, and tapers to a point from
both sides. We have no dirk knives in
stock. They are in little demand. Like
the ponlard, they are not generally car
rled for any good purpose. We would not
/ sell dirk knife or pOniard to a stranger
Machetes are manufactured next in num-
| Der to the bowie knife. They have short
handles. blades from fifteen to eighteen
/ inches long, and are broad and heavy,
They are used as weapons, and, also. to
cut underbrush and clear pathways.
They are exclusively manufactured in
! Connecticut, and go for the most part to
/ South America"
What do bowie knives costY,
''IhOse with fiye-inch blades are sold at
| wholesale for Sl3 q dozen, and retail at
/ 81 80 apiece. Those with ten-inch blades
retail for So 30 each, and are $29 a dozen
| wholesale. The intermediate sizes have
| intermediate prices. This quality of
| bowie knife is made of good STEEL and
has buckhOrn handle. OF course there
are more expensive varities"
''DO these prices include the sheaths ?"
eyes. The sheaths are made of stout
leather tipped with thin metal. They
have leather loops by which they can be
attached to belt, or by means of button
/ holes in these looms they can he fastened
in the bootleg or under the coat at the
back of the shoulder. Bowie knives not
used for hunting purposes are generally
worn at the shoulder, 50 that the wearer,
with one motion, draws the knife and is
! ready to attack or guard.''