Bowie knife
Pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife
布伊刀 · ボウイナイフ · 부이 나이프
- Type
- fighting knife
- Place of origin
- United States
- Period of origin
- 1830
- Length
- 53 cm (20.9 in)
A Bowie knife ( BOO-ee) is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knives created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother James Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight.
Since its first incarnation, the Bowie knife has incorporated several recognizable and characteristic design features. However, in common usage, the term refers to any large sheath knife with a crossguard and a clip point, although there are exceptions and special cases. The knife pattern is still popular with collectors; in addition to various knife manufacturing companies, hundreds of custom knifemakers produce Bowie knives with different types of steel and variations in style.
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q178664 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.