Bowie Knife, circa 1860

The Bowie knife developed from Spanish hunting knives, but in the 1830s Arkansan frontiersman, and Alamo martyr, Jim Bowie made it famous as a fighting knife. Some Bowie knives were made in the United States; most were made by cutlery-makers in Sheffield, England who capitalized on their popularity. This knife is etched with patriotic words about the state of Georgia.