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Folding Bowie. Interesting history Mubarak
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2026 6:25 pm
by PA Knives
To the untrained eye you'd think it was an 1800s English Bowie. But if you read the knife and not the stamp you'll learn differently. It's actually pretty neat but not a true English Bowie. Give me your thoughts
Re: Folding Bowie. Interesting history Mubarak
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2026 7:39 pm
by 1967redrider
When I zoom in, even after clicking, it gets blurry.

Re: Folding Bowie. Interesting history Mubarak
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2026 8:48 pm
by PA Knives
It says #6. Sheffield Streel. The script on the blade is Mubarak. On the pile side it has the star and iron cross
Re: Folding Bowie. Interesting history Mubarak
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2026 10:03 pm
by Miller Bro's
An English copy made in India.
Re: Folding Bowie. Interesting history Mubarak
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2026 12:15 am
by Modern Slip Joints
Since Marbles was the American knife manufacturer best known for combining a fold out edge shield with a blade longer than the handle that folds over part of it, most of us use Marble's model name for the type, Safety Folder. There is no reason to call it a Bowie which has a fixed blade. Imported Safety Folders come from China, and you just taught us, in the past from India and or England.
While I strongly dislike using folding Bowie for knives with blades longer than their handle that do not have fold out edge shields many people call them folding Bowies on the internet. That type usually comes with a belt sheath for carrying them folded. They are most often used as 4 inch hunting knives. Unfolded their blades are 7 to 7 1/2 inch.
Re: Folding Bowie. Interesting history Mubarak
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2026 12:20 am
by 1967redrider
Lots of brass instead of iron, nickel silver or steel.


Re: Folding Bowie. Interesting history Mubarak
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2026 4:05 pm
by OLDE CUTLER
Back in the early 1980s when I was selling knives at gunshows, I had some of that pattern that were made by Parker in Japan.
Re: Folding Bowie. Interesting history Mubarak
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2026 8:10 pm
by Gunsil
The proper name for what many Americans call a "folding bowie" knife is D'Estaign knife after the supposed inventor of the same name. He was a French military man who lived in the 18th century. The knife here is a made in India copy of a Marbles folding hunter, most were made after WW2. Many of the Indian versions and many Indian knives have spurious Joseph Rodgers trademarks on them like the cross and star although the star often has a different amount of points than a Rodgers and often imitate Rodgers' Number 6 Norfolk St with "number 6 Sheffield Steel".