The early history of the Bowie knife is complicated by murky definitions, limited supporting documentation, and conflicting claims.

James Bowie left a very thin paper trail; in the absence of verifiable facts, his history was buried in unverifiable knife-fighting legend.

That Sandbar Fight received national publicity (accounts in Philadelphia, New York, and the Niles' Register of Washington, D.C.) within months of the event.

It was straight-backed, described by witnesses as "a large butcher knife", and having no clip-point nor any handguard, with a simple riveted wood scale handle.

[22] In an 1828 account of the capture of a pirate schooner carrying a mixed group of Spanish and South American pirates, the carrying of knives similar to the early Bowie knife is mentioned: Amongst these [weapons], were a large number of long knives – weapons which the Spaniards use very dexterously.

Bowie and his brothers later commissioned more ornate custom blades from various knife makers including Daniel Searles and John Constable.

[21] George William Featherstonhaugh described them as, "These formidable instruments ... are the pride of an Arkansas blood, and got their name of Bowie knives from a conspicuous person of this fiery climate.

The Bowie knife, therefore, has a curved, keen point; is double-edged for the space of about two inches [5 cm] of its length, and when in use, falls with the weight of a bill hook.

[29]) Bowie knives often had an upper guard that bent forward at an angle (an S-guard)[30] intended to catch an opponent's blade or provide protection to the owner's hand during parries and corps-a-corps.

These researchers, instead, hold that the Spanish Notch has the much more mundane function as a tool for stripping sinew and repairing rope and nets, as a guide to assist in sharpening the blade (assuring that the sharpening process starts at a specific point and not further up the edge), or as a point to relieve stress on the blade during use.

As the goal is to produce a sharp, stabbing point, most Bowie knives have a bevel ground along the clip, typically 1/4 of the way, but sometimes much further running the entire top-edge.

Regardless of whether or not the false edge is sharp, it serves to take metal away from the point, streamlining the tip and thus enhancing the penetration capability of the blade during a stab.

"[21][31] Most such knives intended for hunting are only sharpened on one edge, to reduce the danger of cutting oneself while butchering and skinning the carcass.

In this battle, Bowie was stabbed, shot, and beaten half to death but managed to win the fight using the large knife.

[33][34] According to reports of the time, Bowie used his knife to kill all three men: one assassin was nearly decapitated, the second was disemboweled, and the skull of the third man was split open.

However, accounts of Bowie knife fighting schools are based on fiction; newspapers of the era in the region contained advertisements for classes in fencing and self-defense.

(p 117) John Wilkes Booth (assassin of Abraham Lincoln) dropped a large Bowie knife as he escaped.

(p 171)[37] Brigham Young, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), used to carry a Bowie knife with him, and dreamed about killing ex-Mormon apostates with it;[39] for this reason, it has a significance to the DezNat (alt-right LDS) community online, who link it to the concept of blood atonement in Mormonism.

With the advent of affordably priced, reliable revolvers in the US (including surplus ex-Civil war handguns), the popularity of the Bowie knife declined sharply after 1865.

While still quite popular, newer Bowie designs began to incorporate much shorter blades of seven or eight inches, a length more suited to butchering and skinning game animals.

The USMC Ka-Bar of World War II fame is based on a Bowie design dating back to the classic Marbles Ideal camping/hunting knife first introduced in 1899.

It features a 5" 1095 carbon steel clip point sawback blade with a swedge, false top edge and fullers.

[41] A Bowie knife appears on the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.

One unique Alfred Williams Bowie knife with a carved handle that belonged to a Texan family sold for $60,000 in auction.

A giant folding Bowie, almost 7 feet (2.1 meters) in length and weighing 34 pounds (15 kg) was made for presentation to an American congressman who offered to engage in a knife duel (a dispute between Roger Atkinson Pryor and John F. Potter).

[46] The British disguised the origin of their products, operating the "Washington", "Philadelphia", "Boston", "Manhattan", "America", and "Columbia Works" in Sheffield.

[47] During the late 19th and 20th centuries, the Bowie knife served usefully as a camp and hunting tool, as well as a weapon, and is still popular with some hunters and trappers in the present day.

Bowie knives appeared in the classic works of Americans Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain, Englishman Charles Dickens, and Frenchman Jules Verne.

[53][54][55] In the first-person shooter video game Team Fortress 2, the Sniper character has an unlockable weapon named the Bushwacka, which is styled after a Bowie knife.

However, in this context, the term dueling had degenerated from its original 18th century definition (a rarely used social custom among the wealthy classes) into a generalized description for any knife or gun fight between two contestants.