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John Tertuliani: Looking into the incredible history of the venerable bowie knife

Modern knives are often some degree of a scaled down Bowie. When choosing a new knife, squeeze the handle with a firm grip to check for fit and hot spots. A 4- to 5-inch blade should be adequate for deer. A clip point makes a good skinning blade. A drop point has a strong tip for plunge cutting. (Photo by John Tertuliani)

History has a way of growing larger than life. The 220-year-old story of Jim Bowie is a mystery to me. Believed to have been born in Logan County, Ky., in 1796, his life ended at the Alamo, fighting for the Texas Revolution.
The discrepancies among the accounts of his life make you wonder about the details of Sept. 19, 1827. One thing is certain, it happened on a Mississippi sandbar rising between Vidalia, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi.

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