Love your collection of bowie knives just freakin badass 😎 have you checked out knives by hand frank gonzalez his bowies are awesome thanks for sharing 👏
Another good video Rolando, and yes I do have tiny scars on my forearms!! The RMK model 14 is more of a heavy duty general purpose knife, designed in the mid 1950s. I sanded the finger grooves for a better feel in my hand. Have you seen the Dawson Knives Mountain Man bowie? It has a 9 inch blade with classic lines, I'm looking at buying one.
The longer bowies are definitely a European fencing invention. Using my Laredo and Natchez bowies are very comfortable if you’re already familiar with those combat systems. Epee and Saber fencers respectively are the most likely to easily transition into bowie combatives IMO. A side note, the cable tang design is interesting, and adds a different grip for control. It’s more of a machete one or two finger grip instead of a full four finger grip. This makes both knives more responsive in the hand when it comes to transitions and flows.
I use machetes for agricultural work once every couple of months or so, and practice machete fencing. So it was a natural transition for me using the Laredo and Natchez bowies. By leaving the bottom two fingers open? It allows the cable tang to do its job. Closing the hand completely kinda negates the benefits of the design, and distributes the vibrational force to the weaker part of the handle. This is where some people have experienced breaking because they have an improper grip. One more observation though, the Natchez is more of a cut and thrust weapon. The curvature lends itself to thrusting with the natural movement of the arms. It’s also better to use snap cuts for quick strikes, and you really need to emphasize the entire body when doing anything really. Both very interesting designs. Anyhow, thanks for the video!!
@user-wy5wh7pt4w 4 months ago Do you have a Searles Bowie in your collection? I have one made by Legacy Arms in 1060 steel in the Philipines. This is an excellent copy of the original in the Alamo museum from the 1830s. My understanding is they often used the bowie with the main edge up at that time. The knife feel quite good in the hand in this position, and with the blade edge down also. It would be very interesting to see you give an objective review of it. I've looked at a lot of your videos, and really enjoy them. Thanks! Update today: I didn't see a reply to this comment I made on one of your earlier videos. This latest video of yours reminded me to ask about your opinion of the Searles Bowie. Thanks again!
@@RolandoEstocada I tried twice to reply to you yesterday. Here we go again. The Searles Bowie has not been made by Legacy Arms for many years. They were taken over by CAS iberia. The Bowie is still listed on their website with a good write up, but not available. Other companies/knifemakers have their own version, but I can't say how they compare. The Searles Bowie is considered to be perhaps representative of the knife that Jim Bowie made famous at the Sandbar fight, which was described as a single edged blade, amongst other details like size. The design probably predates the earliest bowies made with that name. It has a Spanish feel to it, so it could go back hundreds of years. Maybe there is some Filipino influence even in the design that you can identify??
