Cheap Bowie knife

From time to time I post about weapons I have personally owned or have, at the least, used enough to have more than just some familiarity with them. One might ask, "Why does a writer post about weapons?"

Two reasons:

1.) I write fiction. A lot of fiction has weapons. I like to know what I'm writing about. Unfortunately, I've run across too many writers who don't know anything about weapons, and often enough it shows through in their work.

2.) I enjoy studying, reading about and using practically ... weapons, of all types and all cultures and historical eras. That simple.

Today, I'm writing about my favorite knife. It's a cheap stainless steel Bowie knife I think I paid something like $20 for. This is actually my second of such knives, the first one having been given to a friend some years ago.

Anyway, I can't tell you what company makes this knife. There was no manufacturer name on the box nor on the knife itself nor on the leather sheath.

By all reasoning, this should be a crap knife. First, it's only stainless steel instead of high carbon steel (aka. battle-ready steel). The blade is made in Pakistan, which in my experience is not a great place for making sharp instruments. And it's rough all the way around, obviously almost home-made, though more likely slapped together in some sweatshop.

Still, I love this knife. It's a good, solid piece of metal. No, I wouldn't want to take on a grizzly bear with it, even if it is 15 inches long, but for around the camp site or just out in the woods, it serves its purposes. And what are its purposes? 1.) As a tool for whatever purposes I need it for, and 2.) to make me feel just a tad better about being in the woods without a firearm (and for any gun haters who think I'm a nut for wanting to pack along a firearm when I'm out in the woods ... all I can say is, you apparently haven't had the same experiences back in the woods that I've had).

So, yeah, it's just a cheap knife of not-so-great quality. But the price was right and it does what I need it to. And again, I'm not hunting boar with it (though, now that I think about it ... hmm, it might make a good spear head), and it's not as if I'm storming the beaches of Iwo Jima or something.

Another reason I like this knife is for its simplicity. No fancy clips. No artsy engravings. Just a big, long blade, a wooden handle and a brass cross-guard.