SZCO Supplies 15-Inch Bowie Knife with Carbon Steel Clip-Point Blade, Wooden Handle, and Leather Sheath – Hunting, Camping, Survival, and Outdoor Knife

I can see whay a lot of people have left less than five star reviews on this knife. I bought it anyway because I was looking for another "project" to finish. If you view this as a pretty much 95% finished "kit knife" you will certainly not be disappointed. When it arrived it was quite sharp, but with a lot of prominent grind marks in the edge, very much like a sharp but cheap machete. It was a pretty simple thing to get a nice smooth and razor sharp edge by just using my diamond sharpener followed by about ten minutes on my ceramic sticks. And then a light few swipes again with the diamond sharpener to smooth out the grind. Then I turned to the grip scales. They were covered in what I can only assume is some sort of polyurethane finish and were fairly rough. I just used some 220 grit sandpaper to smooth them out followed by 400 and then 600 grit paper. Some stain and a boiled linseed oil/pine tar combo that I make up and voila' -a very pretty set of hand filling scales that look for all the world like walnut. It was a very simple task to get the wood to fit the tang properly since they were pretty close in the first place. Next I put a patina on the carbon steel blade and tang, using some Birchwood Casey Perma Blue and a wash of the same company's Super Blue. The color came out a pleasing blue/gray after carding with oil and 0000 steel wool. The patina is very similar to my 1930s era ROMO Solingen bowie knife. When I get time this weekend I plan to also use some of their Plum Brown solution on it so it will appear to be a much older patina. This is about the heaviest 10 inch bladed Bowie that I currently own. The reaction to my sharpening was very similar to 1095 high carbon steel in some of my other knives. SO in my case at least, it seems well heat treated and tempered. The blade is right at 4.95 mm thick at the spine. So it's a nice heavy Bowie knife with a bent towards chopping. Spend some time (which I find to be fun) in actually finishing this knife. You will find it rewarding and can end up with a knife that will last you a lifetime. (Oh the "Pakistan" tag on mine was a simple piece of tape thoughtfully placed on one of the grip scale. It peels off so easily!) Next up - the sheath. The one I received is actually quite nice and fits snugly. It is much better than the one pictured in the listing. I am going to remove the belt loop and snap on this one. In place of the snap on the mouth of the sheath I'll be putting in a Sam Brown type stud for carrying it tucked inside my belt. The positioning of the snap and the snug fit of the knife will make this a five minute conversion. This knife can easily be made into one that looks the part of an 1840-1870 Bowie knife. It doesn't take much skill. Just a willingness to have some fun and expend a little elbow grease. If this is what you are looking for, then I HIGHLY recommend it. If you want a fancy Bowie knife for under eighteen bucks - well that just ain't going to happen. So get this eighteen dollar knife and turn it into what looks like a $100 knife. It will take you a couple of hours and will be well worth it.

So there I was drunk and off another red dead redemption kick looking for a Bowie knife that was decent looking and cheap. Drunk me and carbon steel are basically married at this point but I digress. When I got the knife the next day I almost rushed to check my checking statement to see how much of a fool I was, thankfully I wasn’t much of one at all at 20 bucks. I took a look a the edge and the majority of it had a pretty good bevel to it and a reasonably sharp edge, however the last inch or so of the point was dull as pig iron. That was annoying yes but easily cared for with a bastard file and a 1000 grit stone and she was then incredibly sharp given her size. Fast forward a few months and I’m beating on the thing just to see if I could break it. Full force throws into trees, often dirt, and bounces off rocks on all parts of the knife and the only thing that gave was the brass pins in the handle. Which honestly was gonna happen sooner than later given they’re just under an 1/8 of an inch thick. I’ll be remedying that soon with 1/4 inch brass rods soon and possibly new handle material but for now it’s a pretty tough knife. Did I mention I tried to snap it and it didn’t even budge? Great buy for the price all the way around. Treat it like hell and it’ll just keep coming back for more.

It sounds like it's a bit of a crap-shoot with this one based upon reading other reviews. I ordered the carbon steel version of this SZCO Western 49 pattern Bowie knife, and that is exactly what I got. Note that SZCO makes a stainless steel version as well. Same code, but that one ends in SS instead of CS like this one. What kind of carbon steel used is anyone's guess though. There are zero markings on my blade/guard/handle, and the beautiful box only indicates "carbon steel blade." Came extremely well packed with a large tip guard, inner plastic sleeve, bubble wrapped, and then inside another heavy plastic bag. The blade came heavily oiled too, which is common with carbon steel blades because they rust easily without a coat of oil.Fit and finish is definitely rustic, but you have to know that going in. I feel the rustic finish gives the knife a more authentic old west feel and look, and it does not affect its capabilities whatsoever. The blade grinds are close to perfect. Primary bevel upper line is very good with only one slight waver near the ricasso on one side. The secondary bevel is absolutely perfect and hair shaving sharp out of the box. It easily and cleanly sliced up a SMKW catalog page too, and you know how thin those are.The blade is exactly 10" long with a 9.25" cutting edge. it is 3/16" thick at the spine with a very solid and beautiful brass S-guard at 1/8". Note that the guard did loosen up after handling the knife a few times. Doesn't affect it's usability, just a bit annoying with the rattling sound. I don't exactly know what type of wood was used for the handle scales, but they are beautiful and rustic looking with a rich grain. The sanding done on the scales at the bottom of the handle are a bit uneven giving it that homemade look haha. The sclaes are held on to the full tang via 3 1/8" wide brass pins per side. There are a few imperfections or minor marks in the wood - again, rustic!You never know exactly what sheath, or even what color leather, you will get with this knife. I did not get the one pictured in the Amazon ad. Mine is black with a blade side guard strap and no tooled lines near the top, just smooth. It is a decent sheath with good solid stitching and secure snap with a large belt loop. The leather smells wonderful too! I think the back side, strap, and belt loop are all man-made material with the show side being real leather. This sheath does not have a welt, but looks like it will still give me years of service before I have to replace it. The blade fits in the sheath perfectly too, which I always appreciate. I am very happy with this purchase and can highly recommend this knife. It is the king of useable budget Bowie blades!

I bought this knife as a complement to my collection and I was surprised at how well made and great it is. It is quite large, something that is to be expected in Bowie and the cover is made of leather with a fantastic design. I recommend this option for anyone looking for a Bowie knife, original and well made. It's quite robust I must add.