Knives for Classic Cowboy?

[Sleepy Floyd]

Will a fixed blade 8"  Buck knife work?  If not what?

[St. George]

You might want to try for something from the era - with a Stag or Wood handle and maybe a brass hilt - and not so obviously modern-made.

Take a look in both 'The Cutting Edge' and 'The Leather Shop' forums - you'll see what I'm talking about.

Scouts Out!

[MJN77]

Or you could get a green river knife. These were probably one of the more common type of knife from the "old west" era. They are good knives too. I own a couple that I use for hunting/butchering.

http://www.crazycrow.com/green-river-knives

[Sleepy Floyd]

Thanks guys,

That helps.

[St. George]

Those homely old skinners were 'the' knife of the era - far more than any other.

They could be purchased pretty much everywhere, and were solid working tools.

Scouts Out!

[Sleepy Floyd]

Thank you.

Talking to my next door neighbor today he mentioned that he recently purchased a Bowie knife, his wife did not want it in the house.  It's mine now.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Hi,

there a lot of good/"cheap" knives on the market right now ...times are hard and prices are good ... in addition to what St Greorge mentioned, you might look at http://www.crazycrow.com/knives-and-knife-making

A couple of Caveats though:

Most sheaths cost half the price (or more) of a new knife. Before you buy that perfect knife, you must know if the safety strap is gonna cost you an arm and a leg to replace.

If you Absolutely have to have that knife shape in the Catalog, there are people like BigT, who will  make the grips if you don't feel up to it.

Remember too that stag is a late comer into knives ... you might think about pearl (very expensive when available) Synthetic plastic pearl. Wood (walnut comes to mind), horn or even bone ... it really depends on your character and what he had to spend on knives ....

Here is Big T's website ... http://www.tbarkcustomknives.com/Send him an email...

[MJN77]

Remember too that stag is a late comer into knives

Not really. While not real common back then, stag was still seen. I have seen a few stag handle knives (mainly eastern longhunter and dagger style knives) that date to the Revolutionary war and the early fur trade era. But wood or bone would be a much more common handle material.

[Cliff Fendley]

Something like a green river knife would be an accurate example of what a common man would have as a working tool.

The most historically accurate knife for a "Cowboy" to carry was a pocket knife. I'm not sure who wrote the rules for that category but they need a history lesson. Based on the clothing requirements a more accurate title for the category would be "Hollywood Cowboy Gunfighter Lawman Dandy".

For fun I once looked through the time life book on Cowboys and through all the pictures in the entire book I could not pick out a single working cowboy that would meet the clothing requirements of Classic Cowboy.

[Sacramento Johnson]

Howdy Cliff,

SASS's  Classis Cowboy is a joke. Initially, it was called Classic Shootist or something of the sort, if I recall correctly. That lasted maybe a year, then (with a alot of East Coast imput, if I recall), it was changed to Classic Cowboy and the emphasis was placed on having a "cowboy" appearance or as you put it so well, "Hollywood Cowboy Gunfighter Lawman Dandy" appearance. (I wouldn't mind it if they did a decent Hollywood outfit, but most of what I've seen the last 5 years+, wouldn't even pass for that.) What was meant to be a big bore category turned into 45 colt, 165 grainer category and there were some outrageous "interpretations" on how to wear the mandatory gear which caused further rules to be added regarding the gear.  I left participation in it a long time ago and prefer the black powder categories now.

As for knives; there are lots of knives out there that can fit for SASS; look for 6-8 inch blades (fairly comfortable to carry; bigger gets a bit un-wieldly).  SASS isn't period correct so there's plenty of lee-way.  Your Buck knife  (even though not period correct) would be fine at a SASS match. (NCOWs does strive for period correct, so be aware, knives for SASS use may not comply.)

[jimbobborg]

Would this be legal?  http://www.bugei.com/shobu-zukuri-tanto-1168-prd1.htm  BTW, I have an 18th Century blade I need to get cleaned up and mounted properly.  I might have to go with that.

[St. George]

What part of the American West doesn't explain itself?

If you're going to carry a sheath knife, look at what you'll see in the Russell and Remington prints and at least try to pick something that looks correct.

Scouts Out!