Full Tang Bowie Knife, Damascus with Stacked Leather Handle

This is the leather handled bowie, a pattern that has been on belts for well over a century. It measures 14 inches overall with a 9 inch clip point blade in hand forged Damascus, a polished steel cross guard at the front and a steel cap closing the butt. Buyers choose it when they want a large knife for camp and game work but would sooner have leather in the palm.

Specification

The blade

Damascus is pattern welded over a core of high carbon steel, then etched until the layers separate into light and dark bands, while the bevel comes up to a mirror. Nine inches is mid range for a bowie, long enough for camp work yet easy to control on finer cuts. Grinding the clip from the spine sets the point lower and closer to the line of your arm, which is what lets a blade this long track a cut. In return you get a carbon core that colors and wants drying.

The handle

Leather makes the grip. Discs are cut, driven down the tang one behind another, clamped hard, then shaped by hand until the surface comes up smooth and only faint rings show where one washer meets the next. It stays sure in the hand when wet, which is why the old shops used it. A steel cross guard closes the front of the stack and a steel cap closes the rear, over a tang that runs whole from tip to butt.

The leather sheath

Each sheath is built around the knife it carries, so this one is patterned to a 9 inch blade and holds it without slop. Vegetable tanned leather throughout. On the back a broad loop is stitched down for your belt, over the top a snap strap secures the handle, and a welt runs inside the seam so the edge never sits against thread. Hand stitching the whole way around. The face carries a diamond lattice stamp inside a carved border, worked into damp hide rather than pressed on by machine.

Who it suits

Leather suits anyone who dislikes a synthetic grip in cold weather, and this length stays manageable on a hip through a full day. This is a traditional knife more than a showpiece, so most of them go to people who will actually use them. Plenty come to it after wearing out an older leather handled knife and wanting the same feel again.

• Campers who want a traditional grip
• Hunters carrying a large knife
• Collectors who prefer steel to brass

What comes in the box

• The full tang Damascus bowie
• The hand tooled leather belt sheath
• A care card
• A free engraving quote on request

Every piece is different

Hand work means small runs and no duplicates. No two layer patterns repeat, the leather stack takes its own tone once finished, and the stamped face varies in depth. Expect yours to differ in detail from the images shown here.

Looking after it

Hand wash it and dry it promptly. Keep it out of the dishwasher, because damage from one ends the warranty, and do not store it damp in a pack. Darkening is expected, and the gray film shields the steel. Use a whetstone at about 20 degrees per side and finish on a strop. Dry leather slowly, never near a heater. Full detail on our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Add laser engraving on this page for 20 dollars a blade. A blade holds roughly 30 characters, so longer wording is better placed on the sheath. You approve a proof image before we run the laser, which puts another 3 to 5 business days on the order. Ten pieces or more are engraved at no charge. Details on the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

How is a stacked leather handle made? Leather discs are slid onto the tang, compressed, then sanded smooth.

Why a steel guard instead of brass? Steel is plainer and wears without polishing.

What is the clip on a bowie? The concave cut along the top third, which lowers the point.

Will my knife look exactly like the photo? No, the pattern and tooling change on every piece.

How sharp is it out of the box? Sharp enough to use straight away.

Can I return it? Yes, within 30 days, unused and unsharpened.

The same leather stack on a smaller blade is the hand forged camp knife with a stacked leather handle, and dark horn joins it on the handmade bowie in buffalo horn and stacked leather. Browse bowie and camp knives, Damascus steel, or all knives.