The Bowie knife is a great tool for the fisherman, hunter, hiker, and even for the average worker. These knives are distinguished by a massive long blade that can withstand impressive loads. Only at the sight of this knife will the enemy begin to shiver down the back, and he will not want to have anything to do with you. Thanks to this instruction, you can easily make such a knife with your own hands. It does not have to be made of quality steel if you want to use it as a souvenir.

For good knife you need a steel that can be hardened. Typically, this type of steel is used in the manufacture of tools, springs, various cutting blades, and so on. As a blank for a Bowie knife, you will need an impressive piece sheet metal. As it, you can easily use a piece of a spring from a car. So, let's start making a knife.

Materials and tools used

List of materials:
- sheet steel (for the blade);
- brass plate (for guards);
- wooden block (for the handle);
- epoxy adhesive.

List of tools:
- forge;
- anvil with all tools for forging;
- gas-burner;
- ;
- ;
- files;
- sandpaper;
- polishing machine;
- drill;
- vice;
- .

Bowie knife making process:

Step one. Forging
To form the desired profile, the author decided to use his forge. We heat the metal red hot and work with a hammer. With this approach, you can derive the main profile of the blade. Of course, you will have to sweat here, because the workpiece will have to be heated more than once to get the desired result.

Step two. Profile refinement
After forging, we need a belt grinder. With it, we form the final desired profile of the blade. It must be sanded from all sides, both along the contour and along the planes.

Step three. Emphasis for the guard
Determine the place where the guard will be. Under it you need to focus. Now we clamp the blade with the tail up in a vice and with the help of a file we work on the stop.

Step four. We make a guard
The guard is made of two brass plates. We take the first piece of brass and grind a groove in it so that it can be put on the shank until it stops. The author first drills this groove with a drill, and then refines it using flat files.

As for the second part, it is done according to the same principle. Between the two halves of the guard are two plates of textolite or similar material.

When you have all the parts ready, glue them on the shank of the knife using epoxy glue. Then we clamp the guard in a vice, and remove the blade. We leave the whole thing to dry for a day. Then we take out the workpiece and bring it to the desired profile using files, sandpaper, a belt sander, and so on.

Step five. Let's move on to making a pen.
For the handle you will need a bar, any wood of your choice will do. In the bar, you will need to make a hole for the tail of the knife. To do this, we drill a series of holes in the workpiece, depending on the width of the shank.

Now we need a burner, hold the blade with the tail up and heat it up. As soon as the shank warms up red-hot, we put a handle on it, because of high temperature the seat in the handle will burn out. It is possible that the shank will have to be heated several times.

Now we take a jigsaw and cut out the main profile of the handle, what it will be depends on your imagination. Immediately after that, you can proceed to grinding. Either an orbital sander or a belt sander will help you here. We form the desired
handle profile.

Step six. Final work with the blade
Carefully grind the blade on a belt grinder, remove all shells and other defects. The next step is to harden the blade, for this the metal will need to be red-hot. Take a magnet with you, if it does not react to hot metal, then the workpiece is heated to the desired temperature. After that, dip the blade into the oil. You can use both mineral oil and vegetable oil. Be careful, the oil will often ignite when the metal is immersed.

Half the work is done, there is one more thing left - this is the release of metal. Thanks to this procedure, we will teach steel to spring, that is, it will not be brittle and the blade will not crumble when a knife hits a solid object. For these purposes, a household oven is usually used. We heat the blade for an hour at a temperature of 200-300 ° C, and then let it cool down with the oven. That's it, now we got the blade excellent quality. Try scratching it with a file, if there are no scratches, then the steel is properly hardened.

As a result, you will have to polish and sharpen the blade. At the end of the work, wrap it with newspapers and tape so as not to get hurt and cover the blade with glue.

Step seven. We glue the handle
We coat the tail of the knife with epoxy glue and proceed to assemble the handle. First, install the guard, make sure that the glue reliably fills all the cracks. Now pour glue into the hole in the handle and install the tail of the blade. Press the handle onto the blade with light hammer blows. We leave the glue to dry for a day, and preferably two, so as not to risk it.

Exists great amount various options knives. In fact, manufacturers go out of their way to make something original and unlike other products. Also functional at the same time. That's just all their creations can be reduced to a few basic profiles, on the basis of which the masters are already beginning to create. And today we are talking about these basic blade profiles for knives and talk. Just to get a little better understanding of the issue.

1. Blade with a straight butt

One of the most common models. And not only due to the fact that such profiles much easier to manufacture, but also due to versatility. Such a knife copes not only with specific tasks, but also perfectly shows itself in everyday practice. An increase in rounding is acceptable - this gives a greater cutting edge and makes things a little easier. Fits well, cuts well. Often found on ordinary kitchen knives.

2. Drop point

In this case, the tip is slightly shifted relative to the butt line. The top cleavage is either flat or slightly convex. Due to this, the efficiency of the thrusting blow increases, since the point of application of force coincides with the point. The very geometry of the blade facilitates its entry into the material, and pulling back. In addition to stabbing blows and movements, it cuts well. Often found in knives designed. The butt is usually not sharpened.

3. Trailing point

In this case, the tip, on the contrary, is raised relative to the butt. This increases the cutting edge, but stabbing becomes extremely difficult. Great for cutting soft tissue. It is often found in national knives designed exclusively for processing skins and butchering carcasses. The butt can be sharpened, which significantly increases the versatility of using a knife with such blade profile.

4. Clip Point

Also called the Bowie type, after Colonel Bowie, who is considered the inventor of this profile. The tip is even lower relative to the butt line than in drop-point profile. Due to this, the effectiveness of the thrusting blow is even more increased, since the point of application of force is located almost on the central axis of the blade. The top bevel is a concave notch that is sharpened. It can be either short or long. This significantly expands the scope of the knife, especially in skinning. Such blade profile often observed with combat knives, as it copes equally well with both stabbing and cutting blows. In the second option, you can use both a blade and a sharpened notch, causing additional damage when pulled out after a piercing blow.

5. Scramasax

Pretty specific profile. It is also called Wharncliffe Blade. It looks like they took the standard version, turned it over, and then sharpened the butt and blunted the blade. It is ideal for scraping and provides a perfectly even cut because the cutting edge is even along the entire length of the blade, without any bends. Can be used for slashing. It is not suitable for stabbing actions. Due to the nature of the application, it is rare.

6. Tanto

More precisely, "American Tanto". Classic Japanese knives with this name were blades with a straight butt. But in order to simplify manufacturing, some craftsmen began to limit themselves to two even cutting surfaces, instead of one rounded one. Due to its shape, it perfectly withstands strong piercing blows on hard material, without the risk of breaking the tip. Provides a good cut because the cutting surface is uniform. Works well with cutting blows. Often found in combat knives.

7. Spear point

Or spear-shaped profile. Ideal for stabbing, deep penetration into tissue and easy pulling out. Double-edged. Most often found in combat, either hunting knife her and daggers. Other applications are extremely limited, so this blade profile is relatively rare. However, this profile is very popular among throwing knives.

8. Spay Point

This profile most often used for hunting knives used for skinning. The shorter blade provides more control over the cut. The top bevel is not sharpened to prevent damage to the skin during work. The large curvature of the cutting edge provides a more efficient cut, and the centrally located point allows you to effectively pierce dense materials.

9. Hawkbill blade

Blade profile shaped like a key bird of prey. The tip is thin, located well below the center line of the knife, giving the blade the shape of a sickle. It is this part that is sharpened. This form is extremely ineffective in everyday life and work, but for inflicting cutting wounds - that's it. Classic karambits- that's Hawkbill.

10. Needle Point

Classic stiletto. Narrow, long, double-edged. Very specific application, for domestic and economic needs is practically useless. Only to pierce your neighbor.

11. Gut-hook

If in drop point profile make a small hook on the upper bevel, sharpen the inner part of it - we get gat hook profile ideal for butchering game. With it, it is very convenient to cut the skins and gut the prey. And the rest - efficiency as in drop point profile. It is better not to use it only for hard stabbing blows - the hook significantly reduces the strength of the blade when exposed to the center.

These are the main and most common blade profiles. In addition, there are more narrowly specific options, for example: sheepfoot, dagger point, shark tooth but more about all this sometime next time. Moreover, many simply consider them varieties of the main options.

Be able to trade or just buy with your own money. But what if you don't feel like spending your money? That's right, you can print yourself a knife using the drawings.
Naturally, this knife will not be in the game, but at least somehow you can rejoice.

Drawings of knives

If you want to print a knife, and then draw it with high quality or make a knife out of corrugated cardboard, then we have attached screenshots for this, and with the help of them you can first print the knives, and then do what you want. I will say right away that making a real copy of a knife is not so easy, so set yourself up for the fact that you will sweat well. Having made a knife, throw links to photos in the comments and I will publish the best ones in the article.

Butterfly knife drawing

This knife will be the hardest to make. Therefore, I advise you to first make some simple knife, for example, a hunting knife. Butterfly will be the most difficult to make, because you will need to come up with something in order for it to spin. And to do this will not be so easy.

The screenshot is made in real size, so that you do not look for unnecessary sizes. By printing the knife, you yourself can measure what you need.

Hunting knife CS:GO

The drawing of a hunting knife is simpler, so it will be easier to make it. However, you will have to sweat a little with the handle and, ideally, make it out of wood.

Bayonet knife CS:GO

It is also not very difficult to make it, so in a couple of hours you can make beauty that you can admire for days.

Karambit knife drawing

By the way, this knife is very simple to make, although it might seem otherwise. In 2-3 hours of work, you can make it and paint it in the desired color.

Bayonet knife M9 blueprint

Just as easy to make as karambit.

I could not place the actual dimensions of the drawings due to heavy weight. Therefore, I uploaded all the drawings to Yandex Disk, from which you will download pictures in a few minutes.

If you really make some kind of knife according to these drawings, then be sure to drop the links in the comments.

Knife with hook blade

The drawing of this knife is shown below.

Bonded knives

You can also print this drawing and make it from plywood.

Falchion

The drawing for the falchion, by the way, is also quite complicated.
Photos small size in order to make it convenient for you to watch them from mobile phone. To view and print the actual dimensions of the drawings, you need to download the archive from Yandex Disk.

The existence of edged weapons is always accompanied by beautiful legends. Sometimes they displace the very image of a sword, knife or axe, live own life and even give rise to entire weapons science schools. Well, who will now say exactly what King Arthur's Excalibur looked like? But we all remember that with this sword they pierced a stone, where he was waiting for a contender for the throne. However, the weapon legend can be found, not only raking in hoary antiquity.

Take, for example, the history of the famous Bowie knife. If you haven't even heard of the Bowie knife, you've definitely seen it. Well, at least in the latest Tarantino masterpiece " Inglourious Basterds". Here, a huge creepy-looking knife acts as a full-fledged hero of the picture. It is he who is taken with him by Brad Pitt on last Stand. It is to them that bloody swastikas are carved on the foreheads of the hated Nazis. And no wonder, because the Bowie knife has long become a real weapon symbol of America. As well as the Colt revolver, the Thompson submachine gun and the Winchester rifle.

Although this species The knife became widespread all over the world, and was elevated to the rank of a pop idol by the Americans themselves, a lot of sometimes completely crazy legends have developed around it. And although serious American researchers periodically try to reason with the myth-makers, the voice of reason is drowned in the streams of novels and epics.

But now we will try to figure out what the real Bowie knife was.

Texas Militia Colonel James Bowie

The history of the most legendary edged weapons of the United States of America began in the 20s of the XIX century. The legend of this knife is closely connected with the biography of its "creator" Jim Bowie. Born in 1796, this man was a true son of his era. Resold land and livestock. He traded in "ebony", as African slaves were then called. Fought with the sheriffs. Fought with the Indians. Chatted with pirates. Received the rank of colonel. Participated in the Texas Revolution, during which the cowboy state won its independence from Mexico. He said goodbye to life, defending the famous Fort Alamo. Along with Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy, Buffalo Bill and other notorious scumbags, he took his place in the pantheon of heroes of the Wild West.

But it was the knife named after him that made Jim Bowie famous. This is where the legends begin. Many are sure that it was the future colonel who invented and made his monstrous cleaver. And here it is not. Actually it was.

The eldest of the brothers Reason Bowie somehow, after a hunt, he butchered a carcass (according to another version, it was at a slaughterhouse), a very unpleasant incident occurred, the knife with which he worked stumbled on a bone, and his fingers slipped from the handle onto the blade, it almost cost Rizon four fingers right hand. After this incident, Rizon thought about a new knife that would be securely held in his hand, but at the same time would be an excellent hunting assistant.

Having developed it myself appearance knife, he turned to a blacksmith living and working on the plantation of the Bowie family - Jesse Clifft, who made the blade, following the instructions of Rizon. The basis for the blade was an old hoof rasp (a special large file used to prepare horse hooves for shoeing), and the handle was made of wood (in American legends, the knife was made from a piece of meteorite steel found either by a blacksmith or Rizon) .

From a modern point of view, it seems very impractical and stupid to make a hunting cleaver from an old rasp, but at that time such a tool as a file was made of high quality steel, and it was valued much more than many other tools. For example, when a file fell into disrepair, it was released, cut again and hardened. For most blades, local blacksmiths used various metal fragments as a basis: wheel and barrel rims, fragments of scythes, old horseshoes.

All these things were made of mild steel, and the knife made from them had a very unstable cutting edge and was generally quite brittle. On the other hand, in the American newspapers of that time, frequent advertisements were for the sale of high-quality steel, both domestic and imported (sheffield steel was imported from the UK in the form of bars). Based on all this, Rizon's choice becomes clear. Unfortunately, not a single drawing or sketch of this knife has survived, only a description made by Rhizon Bowie himself for the American newspaper Planters Advocate: “the length of the blade was nine and a quarter inches (23.5 cm), the width was one and a half inches (3.8 cm), one blade, the blade is not curved (the butt line was straight), metal guard. In fact, it was a simple hunting cleaver of rather impressive size, equipped with a metal guard to protect the fingers. Most likely, the "Bowie knife" would have remained nameless, a simple "hunter", if not for Rizon's younger brother - James Bowie.

One of the first knives copied from a James Bowie knife

From childhood, James was "break your head" and got involved in various adventures, not always legal. The younger Bowie hunted in the swamps of Louisiana, was engaged in smuggling and slave trading with the pirate Lafitte, was engaged in the sale and resale of land and livestock, traveled a lot, fought with the Indians and eventually received the rank of colonel. But fame James Bowie began after a conflict with Major Norris Wright. Norris Wright was president of the bank, and he refused to give James a loan he needed for a very lucrative land resale deal. The deal fell through, Bowie suffered tangible financial losses. The situation was worsened by the fact that Wright, using bribery and slander, wins the election for the post of sheriff (Bowie supported Wright's opponent). In 1826, the first skirmish took place between James and Wright.

During a chance meeting in the city of Alexandria (Louisiana), Wright shoots James Bowie, but the bullet hits a gold watch in his vest pocket (according to another version, a silver medallion) and does not harm him. Bowie's pistol misfires when fired and opponents grapple in hand-to-hand combat. A stronger James knocks Wright down and tries to finish him off with a folding knife (the only weapon Bowie had at hand), but he fails to hold Wright with one hand and open the knife with the other, and, throwing away the useless knife, begins to choke him. If passers-by had not separated them at that moment, then James would most likely have killed his enemy with bare hands. It was after this skirmish that the older brother Reason gave his younger brother James his hunting cleaver, so that the youngest always had a decent weapon for close combat. In 1827, another skirmish with James took place, this time fatal for Major Noris. The younger Bowie was called by his friend Samuel Wells as one of the seconds in the duel, it so happened that Norris Wright was the second of the opponent.

The duelists, after exchanging shots and both missed, decided to settle the matter amicably, and Wells apologized to his opponent and went to drink the “peace”. Immediately after the peaceful end of this duel, Wells' second second, Samuel Cani, challenges Robert Crane (another second of Wells' opponent) to a duel. Crane, without hesitation, draws two pistols and shoots at Kani and James Bowie, Norris Wright also unloads his pistol at James. As a result, Kani is killed by the first bullet, Bowie is slightly wounded twice in the thigh and left hand shoots back, but misses, and, pulling out a gift cleaver, rushes at the enemies. Crane intercepts his pistol by the barrel and hits Bowie in the head, knocking him to the ground, and Norris Wright grabs a sword hidden in a cane and inflicts two blows on the fallen James in the chest, on the second blow the thin blade of the sword breaks, bumping into a bone. At this moment, Bowie abruptly takes a sitting position, catches Wright by the arm and pulls him towards him, at the same time inflicting a strong ripping blow to his stomach. Bowie's second adversary, seeing the death of Major Norris, also draws his sword and rushes at him. James manages to hit the first and with a secant horizontal blow rips open his enemy's stomach. In two blows terrible cleaver James Bowie wiggles with both enemies.

Photo 2.

The day after the duel, Bowie becomes famous with his cleaver. The news of a terrible duel, which turned into a massacre, during which one man armed with only a knife dealt with two opponents armed with pistols and swords, was instantly spread by local newspapers. Newspapermen do not skimp on the details and colorful details in the description of the battle, and more and more embellish the events. Pistols of that time were predominantly single-shot and often misfired, and as the example showed James Bowie A good melee knife is a reliable weapon. People across the country are starting to come with the newspaper to the blacksmiths and ask to make a "combat knife like Bowie." So a purely peaceful hunting knife one day becomes a combat cleaver.

After James healed his wounds, he and his brother travel a lot, in many places where they appear from the "legendary" knife, local craftsmen make copies. The brothers order copies of knives, simple and richly decorated. The older brother always carries a knife adorned with silver, and from time to time he gives it to either one of his friends or some important person. All this, as well as the participation of the younger brother in countless bloody knife duels, from which he always emerged victorious without serious injuries, made the Bowie brothers popular personalities at that time. Of the most famous duels, this is a duel with "Bloody Jack" Stedivant, the fight took place in a 12-foot circle, and the opponents were tied together with a three-meter rope. Soon, James became interested in searching for the lost Los Elmegres silver mine (Los-Almagres). He collects an expedition of volunteers, and in search of a mine he goes to the territory of the Comanche Indian tribe. On November 19, 1831, a battle took place between a Bowie detachment consisting of 10 people and several hundred Indians. As a result of the battle, which lasted about thirteen hours, the Comanche left the Bowie detachment alone, having lost about a hundred people killed and wounded. In the detachment of James, one person died and several were injured. Although Bowie did not find the mine, this battle glorified him even more and he received the rank of colonel in the Texas militia.

James Bowie last fight

Last Stand James Bowie and his death is also shrouded in legends and myths. In 1836, he participated in the heroic defense of the Texas Fort Alamo from Mexican troops (during the Texas War for Independence from Mexico, 1835-1836). During the last stage of the battle for Fort Allamo, Colonel Bowie was bedridden in his room, he had tuberculosis (according to another version, a severe form of pneumonia). After the Mexican soldiers, embittered by heavy fighting and serious losses, broke through the defenses and infiltrated the fort, they killed everyone in their path. James Bowie, as soon as the Mexicans burst into his room, emptied both pistols into them, killing two, and drew his faithful knife, was shot at close range and finished off with bayonets of a dozen soldiers.

The fate of the very first Rhizon knife, donated to James Bowie, is not completely known: according to one version, it was destroyed by Mexican soldiers, according to another, it was lost while crossing the river. American scientists have repeatedly organized an expedition to search for the first of the Bowie knives, but not one of them has achieved results.

Life James Bowie and his exploits made him a real American legend, several films were made about him, dozens of books were written. And his knife became truly "American Excalibur"

Colonel James Bowie knife, myths and legends:

The very first James Bowie knife was made from a meteorite and hardened seven times in jaguar blood and fat.
The knife was designed by Reason Bowie after seeing a medieval falchion in a museum or private collection.
James Bowie, armed only with his knife, fought five assassins armed with pistols and knives and killed them all, receiving a couple of minor wounds in the process.
In his last fight, James Bowie, while bedridden with illness, shot and stabbed ten Mexican soldiers before being shot.

The very first copy, unfortunately, was not documented and sketched. But eyewitness accounts suggest that at the beginning of his career, the Bowie knife bore little resemblance to its current version. The blade Rhizon ordered was just a big butcher's cleaver. Without intricate guards. Without coffin handle. Without its famous bevel butt. Everyone who saw the first Bowie knife in action noted not its shape, but its size. Yes, and Jim did not demonstrate especially tricky ways to use this tool - he took it out, poked it, slashed it. But the legend needed more, especially since people were already willing to pay real dollars for it.

Bowie knives were also made in Shefeld.

This is how the “Bowie knife” was born. The funny thing is that such blades in America itself were then produced not very well. in large numbers. They were mainly imported from the British metalworking center in Shefeld. It was from there that all these monsters were massively supplied with inscriptions like "American Patriot" and "Ranger's Hope". English marketers (or whatever they were called then) very accurately caught market trends and managed to promote the “Bowie knife” not just as a weapon or tool, but as national symbol. So much so that very quickly and forever forced out the authentic form of the colonel's knife from the market.

These Bowie knives were popular with Confederate soldiers.

Of course, the patriotic inscriptions, the intricate shape of the blade and the silver finish were all very attractive to potential buyers. But the reason for the popularity of the Bowie knife as a weapon lay elsewhere. The reason for this was the extreme imperfection firearms those years. Only one shot could be fired from a pistol or rifle - the process of loading the weapon was long, and the range was small and the enemy had time to get closer to the distance hand-to-hand combat. That is why a large heavy knife was so in demand. Which, moreover, unlike a sword or saber, could also be used for household purposes. Yes, and such a subject did not require long training.

However, it was precisely as an army weapon that the Bowie knife did not prove itself. They were mainly armed with Confederate soldiers from the southern states. But as the inexorable statistics of the war showed, they used it not to shred the northerners, but purely in internal squabbles and drunken fights. The final verdict to the “big knife” was made by the appearance in the troops of a new effective firearm. For example, Colt revolvers.

The film "Iron Lady" raised a new wave of interest in the Bowie knife.

The Bowie knife would have remained a vague memory if in 1951 Paul Wellman's book The Iron Mistress had not been published. In it, the author described in bright colors a fairly mythologized life path Jim Bowie, with special emphasis on his famous knife. Moreover, with Wellman, he was originally the way we know him today. The book became wildly popular and was soon made into a movie. Thus began a new page in the history of the legendary knife. Many companies began to produce their own types of Bowie. Numerous "teachers" appeared who claimed to have secret techniques for using these weapons. Thus the cult was born.

On the wave of popularity, entire schools and directions of fighting with Bowie knives appeared.

Its result was the emergence of a whole trend in the knife industry. And today Bowie knives are produced in America, and in Europe, and even here. A blade of just this form was adopted by the US Army and flew into space with astronauts.

All in all, american legend alive and not going to leave the market.

Photo 3.