Fishing Frenzy

Bowie knives are renowned for their versatility and their durability. However, if you're in the market to purchase a new blade, you'll likely want to know what bowie knives can and can't cut. What limitations are there to these knives? Actually, the limitations are created by the knife itself - its size, construction material and even the keenness of the edge will play a role in what you can and can't cut (or what you want to cut and don't want to cut). What does all that mean?

Why is there such a great disparity where the bowie knife is concerned? Actually, it boils down to the several different types of bowie knife out there. For instance, you will find smaller versions, as well as very large versions and everything in between.

Now, what do these factors have to do with your knife? Why can't a single bowie knife be used to cut through brush and then used to gut and clean that freshly caught fish? Why can't you slice a tomato into paper-thin pieces and then use that same knife to cut up kindling for the night's fire? Well, actually, you can. However, why would you want to? You will find that some bowie knife types are better suited to specific cutting tasks than are others. As an example, a larger bowie knife might be heavy enough and resilient enough to be used as a hatchet, allowing you to clear brush and even chop up small to moderate trees for the night's fire.

You'll find that knives made out of high carbon steel offer a better edge, which is ideal for areas where you need a very precise cut - say when skinning an animal, or butterflying chicken breasts. However, if you were to take that same knife and use it for hacking wood for the fire, you'll find that, while it works, your edge is dulled very rapidly. Therefore, the longer the blade is, the more ideal it is for cutting things like wood, bone or heavy muscle. Thinner, shorter blades are better suited to cutting things like skin, fat or for use in areas where precision is required.

How do you know what your bowie knife can cut? The trick is to buy a knife that is suited to your purpose. Knife blades that run in the middle ground can be used to cut a wider variety of materials, but you'll find that, while they are good "jacks-of-all-trades," they're not good for very specific tasks where a long or short blade should be used. So, the first trick is to buy a bowie knife that fits your needs. This will require that you know what those needs are. Of course, buying more than one knife to fill those needs is always an option, as well.