Customer Reviews

Bowies, Big Knives, And The Best Of Battle Blades

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bill Bagwell was the author of the `Battle Blades" column in `Soldier of Fortune' magazine from 1983 to 1987. During that time he wrote many articles about a wide variety of knife related topics. In his book "Bowies, Big Knives and The Best of Battle Blades" Mr. Bagwell reprints many of these articles.

Mr. Bagwell begins his book with a closer look at the Bowie knife, which he advocates as the deadliest knife on earth. He advocates carrying a knife of at least 9.25 inches, and in Bowies, Big Knives and The Best of Battle Blades he explains how to effectively carry a large knife in modern society without drawing unwanted attention. (I can personally attest to the effectiveness of Mr. Bagwell's instructions on the use and carry of the Bowie knife, as I have done so for years using the method he suggests.)

Because much of the book is reprints of `Battle Blades' articles we also are treated to Mr. Bagwell's opinion on a number of other knives, such as the K-Bar, saw-toothed blades, daggers, the Kukri, the Japanese tanto knife, throwing stars (shuriken), and the AK bayonet. Mr. Bagwell's opinions on these knives can be controversial, but his opinions are well reasoned in each case ~ whether one agrees with him or not.

While "Bowies, Big Knives and The Best of Battle Blades" gives much insight into the idea and concept of knife fighting, it isn't a manual intended to teach knife fighting techniques. For that Mr. Bagwell recommends the training material produced by James Keating at Comtech, here in Washington State (again a recommendation I can personally attest to having much merit).

If there is any criticism about "Bowies, Big Knives and The Best of Battle Blades" it's that because many of the book's chapters are reprints of the `Battle Blade' articles they are limited in length imposed by a magazine (Soldier of Fortune). Still this is only a very a minor criticism, as the quality of the book as a whole is excellent.

For anyone interested in carrying large knives (especially Bowie knives), "Bowies, Big Knives and The Best of Battle Blades" is worth adding to your personal library.

The other positive reviews pretty well sum up my thoughts on this text. A must for people who carry a knife with the idea that they may have to use it someday to save their skin. I also recommend Cold Steel by Steyers and Everybody's Knife Bible by Paul. Put together, you will not need any other texts on blade usage.

This is an excellent book for the uninitiated and a "must have" book for the serious student of the Bowie knife. Mr. Bagwell's knowledge of the history, proper construction and use of the Bowie knife reflects an obvious lifetime of research and application of that knowledge.

Mr. Bagwell's column "Battle Blades" was followed faithfully in Soldier of Fortune magazine by this writer and it was a pleasure to re-read some of his articles which are included in this book.

Having personally met Mr. Bagwell and being personally acquainted with many other custom knife makers, my personal observation is that Mr. Bagwell has a much firmer grasp of what constitutes a true fighting/using knife.

When you are interested in the bowie knife, this book is a must.
Bill Bagwell clearly outlines the pros of this (his)knifedesign.
The down to earth way of writing gives much information and stuff to think about.
One negative point: for the better part this book is a compilation of artikels written in Soldier of Fortune. Therefor a few topics are repeated.

Overall a great buy!

It is an interesting book. Bagwell's repeated condemnation of knives less than 9 inches long wears pretty thin though. And on this point he doesn't know what he's talking about - there are situations (fighting a large animal,eg,) where a blade longer than 7 inches will rapidly become a liability.

Also his pronouncements on the absence of effective short blade fighting tradition in Japan is just wrong.

And would anyone really choose that U-shaped Chilean military knife over a Kbar in combat???

Let me start by saying that I have a respect and love for a well constructed Bowie knife. It really does combine the best features one looks for in a combat blade. Chopping, slicing, cleaving and piercing. A well made Bowie does it all. And with enough reach that hopefully its wielder can stay out of reach of his opponent. I have trained for many years in a combat martial art of Japanese origin, but have not been blinded by "my" art to the point that I cannot appreciate a great fighting knife design when I see one. Also, as an aspiring Bladesmith, I look to greats like Bagwell for inspiration. Ergo, my love of a well made Bowie.

I really wanted to love this book. Bill Bagwell has created some beautiful and deadly Bowies over the years. Any of which I would stake my life on. However, this book leaves much to be desired. The first bit of the book, and the last bit are by far the best. That is where almost all "bowie talk" is located. The rest are reprints of Bagwells "Battle Blades" columns published in Soldier of Fortune in the 1980's. As such, they talk much about other knives and how they don't stack up to the well designed Bowie. And I agree completely, most don't. But I think most people buying this book are choir members, fully immersed in the church of Bowie. As such, I find the bulk of the book detracts from the premise of the book. I honestly wanted to know more about what goes into great bowie design, why it was engineered the way it was, how it was used, etc. But those portions of the book are few and far between.

To be fair, the description of the book indicates that the book contains reprints of Bagwells articles published in SOF. But, seeing how I didn't subscribe to SOF in the 80's, there is no way to know what those articles consisted of. From chapter 4 on, all we get is reprints. Each chapter is short, as necessitated by a magazine article. And so many of these articles/chapters consist of "Look here at this knife. This is why it isn't very good."

Chapters 1-3 are outstanding, consisting of exactly what I was hoping for; design, engineering, history and use. But the rest of the book seriously felt like filler.

I don't regret buying the book, but would've been satisfied with a booklet without the reprints at 1/4th the price.

Very interesting book on knife fighting and on big knives in general: history and technical examination of the pros and cons of every type of knife used in battle.
The author is one of the best bladesmiths of all times and also an authority in knife fighting.

If anyone knows about Bowie knives it is Bill Bagwell. There are some chapters in the book that could have been left out and others that could use expansion. It could use a whole lot more pictures as well but overall it is a great book for the knife enthusiast.

It is clear from this book why Bagwell is called the "King of the Bowies". His applied science to the art of knife making is insightful and classic. His passion is contagious and I believe in years to come the "bowie" may in fact be defined by the "Bagwell", ie, the "Hells' Belle".

A classic by a master blade smith and acknowledged king of Bowie knife makers. For anyone interested in the Bowie and large fighting knives in general, it is a valuable read.