I have been into what I call "true bowies" since I first heard of the late Mr Bagwell, comtech, and looked into historical examples of bowies that are more than just the big smatchets with clipped points that laypeople visualize. Your practical application of the many concepts found within this subject that youve documented and shared has yielded the best information thats easily excessable without either tracking down out of print literature or seeking elusive schooling. I dont have acsess to thick steel or tools to make distil tapers and full length grinds, but I did manage to make my first bowie-style pigsticker last year using an old machete and grinder. youre absolutely right about properly done hidden tangs without huge stress-risers being great, for a hunk of junk that knife is pretty much indestructable. I agree that the pistols of earlier eras were correlated directly to the nature of other tools like knuckle dusters and bowie knives, which were overbuilt with many secrets to their use that are largely lost today in order to compensate for low capacity, inreliability, and often anemic power. With the advent of the pepperbox and 1849/51 pocket, then subsequent developments, other weapons were forced out of near-primary roles and became nuetered and streamlined to make them more convinient alternatives to better guns since they were less likely to see any action. looking forward to what you have to share.
