Hello Everyone,
In the early 19th century, many of the large Bowie fighting knives employed a brass strip along the back spine of the knife. Some have opined that its purpose was to catch an opponent's knife so that a disarm could be employed.
After some research, I have begun to subscribe to an opposing view that suggests the brass strip was for parrying weapons longer than the knife itself (e.g., swords). This makes sense to me given that a blow to a flat brass surface would spread the impact force of the the longer weapon. Especially given that the greater leverage afforded by the additional length would increase said impact force significantly. This seems especially true given the large guards on most of the Bowies of this era. Also, it would spare the Bowie's blade from damage and given the sword's continued use for dueling in the South in the 1830s and 1840s it makes sense. Finally, the trend toward deleting the brass strip from Bowie designs roughly equates the decreasing use of the sword in this country with the rise of repeating handguns.
To me, if one plans on ordering a custom Bowie as a pure fighter today, it only makes sense to order one with the brass strip and a generous guard given that it does not add appreciably to the bulk of the knife and gives you an unconventional capability against longer implements that might be used to attack you (e.g., length of pipe, clubs, machettes, etc.).
What do my fellow High Roaders think?
- Anthony
In the early 19th century, many of the large Bowie fighting knives employed a brass strip along the back spine of the knife. Some have opined that its purpose was to catch an opponent's knife so that a disarm could be employed.
After some research, I have begun to subscribe to an opposing view that suggests the brass strip was for parrying weapons longer than the knife itself (e.g., swords). This makes sense to me given that a blow to a flat brass surface would spread the impact force of the the longer weapon. Especially given that the greater leverage afforded by the additional length would increase said impact force significantly. This seems especially true given the large guards on most of the Bowies of this era. Also, it would spare the Bowie's blade from damage and given the sword's continued use for dueling in the South in the 1830s and 1840s it makes sense. Finally, the trend toward deleting the brass strip from Bowie designs roughly equates the decreasing use of the sword in this country with the rise of repeating handguns.
To me, if one plans on ordering a custom Bowie as a pure fighter today, it only makes sense to order one with the brass strip and a generous guard given that it does not add appreciably to the bulk of the knife and gives you an unconventional capability against longer implements that might be used to attack you (e.g., length of pipe, clubs, machettes, etc.).
What do my fellow High Roaders think?
- Anthony