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A Bowie knife, technically, is a type of hunting knife. What makes Bowie knives different is that they are also camping tools, cooking utensils and fearsome fighting weapons. These knives were designed to fit several different roles in the life of the user. Ultimately, what differentiates Bowies from other hunting knives is their size, the materials from which they are made and the features included on the blade.

Every Bowie knife has a clipped point, which is a feature emulated by myriad other hunting knives. This clipped point makes the knife more agile and makes it well-suited to cleaning game, provided that the knife isn’t too large. Small knives are usually preferred for cleaning game as the smaller blade ensures that organs which could ruin the meat aren’t accidently pierced or cut open. Smaller blades are more agile, as well, and therefore safer when working with game.

One of the major differences between hunting knives and Bowie knives is further observed in the different parts of the blade. On a hunting knife, there may be places on the blade designed to aid in skinning, cutting sinew and hacking bone. All of these adaptations are made for one purpose, however, hunting. On a Bowie knife, the Spanish notch is strong enough to cut sinew or rope. The back of the knife oftentimes has a serration which can cut bone as easily as it can cut small firewood.

The larger Bowie knife designs were intended to be used for all manner of purposes, and their blades reflect as much. The blades on a hunting knife oftentimes have different features, but they will universally be intended for use in cleaning game. On Bowie designs, there may be a saw on the back of the blade, a Spanish notch at the base and many more very versatile adaptations. Not all of these will be for hunting, though they can serve such purposes. A Spanish notch, for instance, is useful for cutting sinew.

Bowie knives purchased for hunting oftentimes have very expensive blades. Buy a separate Bowie for rough work. One of the real wonders of this blade design is that, where other blades have to be changed completely to perform different tasks, a Bowie only needs to be increased or reduced in size to change its wide range of applications. For an all-purpose knife in addition to a hunting tool, one would be hard pressed to do better than a Bowie knife.

Blake is a business consultant for an online bowie knives store featuring SOG bowie knives.

Tags: bowie knife, bowie knives, camping, Fishing, hobbies, hunting, hunting knives, outdoors, recreation, Survival