Broomhead and Thomas Bowie

[Unclebob]

Well, here's one for discussion, a Broomhead and Thomas Bowie c1845...or is it??

[Gunsil]

I give it two thumbs down.

[doglegg]

Is that a blade breaker notch on the blades?

[doglegg]

Oh and by the way, those are really cool Bowies. Stirs a southern boys heart.

[btrwtr]

I give it two thumbs down.

Make that 4.

[knife7knut]

I seem to remember reading an article by Bernard Levine(I think) in regard to fake bowies(it could have been in one of his guides)and the Broomhead stamp in particular. Just my opinion but nothing about that knife looks old.I could be wrong(I was....once....and my wife reminds me of it constantly).

[Unclebob]

It does indeed have a 'Spanish notch'', I believe it's called.
Looking at genuine Broomheads on Youtube, the quality of this one falls very short. My question is; does anyone know when these repros/copies/fakes were produced? I bought this one as a 'copy', so I knew what I was getting. There is no way I could afford the real thing!! It's a big bugger with an 11" blade.

[Gunsil]

That is a sorry excuse for a "spanish notch". One of the red flags about the knife which has many. The golden age of British bowie knife fakery was the 1970s-1980s, your knife is likely from that era.

[Unclebob]

Thanks Gunsil, you're quite right about the notch! Do you believe these were made as 'fakes' or as reproductions?

[Gunsil]

I believe they were made as fakes, that is "meant to deceive". There are many many different styles and brands out there, the bowie knife market was inundated with fakes from England in the 1970s and 80s, and there are likely some faked here in the USA. Once a type or brand of knife goes way up in value the fakers can't resist a chance for easy money. Every one of those silly "Wells Fargo mail knives" and KKK bowies are ridiculous fakes likely exported to the USA by Dean & Adams, a company that was also behind the plethora of fake Tiffany belt buckles that came on the US market in the 1970s. Thousands of buyers were duped by the Tiffany buckles, and many have been duped by the fake bowies.

[ken98k]

Regardless of who made it or when, I like it!

[Unclebob]

A local Militaria dealer has an identical one of these; I think he was a little upset when I showed him this one and told him it was a copy, he genuinely believed his was the real thing. He also has another bowie, virtually the same, but with 'Alexander' stamped on the ricasso!