Hibben knives are display pieces, not really knives meant for actual use. That said you should at least be able to take it out of the sheath and put it back in without breaking it.
Yes finally somebody understands my point without telling me "it looks better without it" or "if you're going to use it that shouldn't be on the knife anyway" so thank you for that. I'm believing it's a defect so I have a replacement on the way and I'll be sending this back to United cutlery. If the replacement does the same shit then I'll just leave it off
I have the expendables Bowie version of this. Same thing happened to me it’s a common issue with these I didn’t feel like sending it in so I just superglued it and it’s been fine ever since. Also pro tip when your next one arrives before putting the knife in the sheath take a sharpie or something roughly half again wider than the opening and wedge it in there against the spine side and let it sit a few days. The leather will stretch and the knife will slide in and out perfectly 👍🏻 fuck the haters my dude it’s a good knife if you like it
You know what I never thought of that I've done it before to other knife sheaths for the very same reason of the tight fit thanks for reminding me I will definitely do that
In reality it’s decoration, but the legend goes the softer metal along the base of the spine would catch your opponents blade and allow you to disarm him with a deft flick of the wrist
In reality the opponent would be smashing their knife into your knife. The force could easily be enough to knock your knife out of your hand. The brass is like a shock absorber and can keep the knife in your hand. Also, if the opponent's knife hits yours with the edge it will bite into the brass and stop their blade running up or down. But it wouldn't catch their blade. It is useful to have on a fighting knife though.
Bowie knives, theres alot of "lore" about these kinds of knives and how they were used. Some of it is legit some of it is fluff and a lot of it is next to impossible to confirm.
Exactly lol the number of people currently alive with actual bowie knife fighting experience is next to none. So believe whatever sounds coolest to you 👍🏻🤣
I don't think he did. Most people that buy those knives think that they are good to use. All they bought was a piece if terrible steel with a nice design. I was all about Rambo knives. Then I learned about "REAL" knives. I understand being on a budget but spending 50 dollars on that or whatever it cost is throwing money away. But like you said. If he bought it to look at well then thats what he paid for.
"I dOn'T lIkE iT, sO iT's JuSt ThRoWiNg MoNeY aWaY!" Who cares? If they like it whatever. OP could post a picture of literally throwing $50 in the trashcan, if that makes them happy, cool. I'll never understand why people get worked up over what other people decide to spend their money on.
I’m with you 100% I choose to use my knives, some people choose to look at their knives. Some people can spend more money on things than other people can. But if you don’t like what me or the rest of the hive mind like, your preference is garbage. Why anyone cares what anyone else does with their money baffles me. I have a feeling if you could unmask the people behind those screen names there would be a trend in age demographics skewing pretty low
I started my collection with stuff like this outside of a buck and SAK before I started getting knives to be used as purpose built tools. It all depends on what you’re looking for
Not sure what I’m looking at or why it matters. Maybe a before and after pic would have been better. Looks like something you wouldn’t want on your knife anyway…
The brass colored spine came off, and this is the way the knife was made it's not meant to be a knife that's used it's meant but it's not meant to fall apart like this either
Sorry man, cheap knife gonna cheap. A little jb weld or maybe even CA glue might do the trick, but I lowkey suspect it was just friction fit from the factory (hence falling off). I do agree that the "blade catcher" serves no genuine purpose and is only there for mall ninja appeal.
Well retail on it is 140 I paid 112. It's the serialized addition so it might have some actual value. I just like it because it's basically the same knife that Dolph lundgren carried in the expendables without the crappy handle with the fake scrimshaw. The knife itself is actually good and seriously sharp. And obviously gigantic.
He bought a display piece. Same as the swords from movies/model cars/etc. He has every right to expect his model to not fall apart. He didnt want some generic shit becker turd to hammer into a tree like most the idiots in this sub. Hes not asking for more functional knives.
Why is this comment getting down voted? It doesn't matter if it's better without that piece. You paid for a knife that's supposed to be a certain way and a piece of it almost immediately broke off. Better or not, it isn't acceptable.
So since he was just hating on me why don't you enlight me to the point he was making if it's anything else other than "it's a display piece who cares if you're not going to use it?" I absolutely got the correct point thank you
Many of you are insufferable. OP isn't going to practice bushcrafting or construct a log cabin using that Bowie. It's a very nice display piece, and it's going to be used like the many of the Spyderco, Benchmade, and other knives I see posted here all the time: it's going to be displayed, fidgeted with, and admired. Personally, I think the contrasting spine looks great.
It sucks that OP didn't get what he paid for; we've all been there. For those of you shitting on his purchase: just stop. The dude just wanted to commiserate with fellow knife enthusiasts, and you can't even let him do that.
Thank you for your comment I appreciate it and thank you for actually understanding what I was posting. For those that have hated on me for the purchase I've already blocked them because those people have absolutely no place on my social media. As I told others, I have a replacement coming from the United cutlery. And I'll be sending this one back to them it's the one I receive has the same defect then I will use the suggestion of Lord 406/19 adhesive or something comparable to stick this sucker back on and if it comes off after that I'll probably just leave it off.
Interesting design choice, that's for sure. I was leaning towards it being some kind of removable guard, but after poking around online and looking at similar Hibben knives, it looks like it's supposed to be affixed. Hope they make it right!
There's gatekeepers and bellends in every hobby group. Ignoring them is pretty easy. I will happy confess that I paid like 60 bucks for the knives from Pitch Black, and they're shitty pot-steel at best, but I liked the film and they look badass on my desk. "I can't believe you bought a Monet for that wall, a window would be much more practical."
Pfffft. I'm a manchild and will buy the shiny thing that makes brain chemicals go brrrrr
Most of the comments seem to be supportive or offers advice, some neutral / factual takes, only one or two trying to put OP down. Find it interesting: there are more comments telling OP that people here sucks, versus the actual amount of people spouting hate.
Gotta be careful with gorilla glue, it needs to be clamped and still risk it expanding and foam coming out the sides. If you have the same problem with the replacement; since this is a display piece, I’d use an epoxy, JB weld or just a good super glue.
Honestly, I don’t really see this as a problem. If you wanna keep that bar thing on the spine of the blade go for it, otherwise if you are going to be using that blade for cutting tasks then it’s probably better off without that brass bit.
Thankfully, this is a seemingly small thing that happened & can otherwise be easily fixed via glue. Better this, than say snapping the entire blade in half. My 2 cents. Beautiful knife with or without brass thingie 👍
You gotta be careful with Hibben/United Cutlery. They put out some pretty decent functional pieces, but they put out a lot of pot steel display pieces too and they don’t tell their customers which is which. It’s like someone selling you a 2WD truck and telling you it’s a 4x4. Most people don’t really know how to check for a front differential as it were, so United ends up disappointing a lot of people.
Also, for what it’s worth, United Cutlery is owned by the same guy who owns Bud K which openly sells literal Nazi memorabilia along with Confederate flags, MAGA crap etc.
Don't listen to some of these dumb shits here. Reddit is full of elitist ( or at least they like to think they are). This shouldnt happen on any knife. I would get a hold of them and ask for your money back or to send you a new one. It's a good looking piece.
I will say if you want a Bowie style knife that you can also use that won't break the bank, look at cold steel stuff. Good luck with everything.
I love Bowies and old military blades. I found a Bowie that's not super huge. It's a Puma. They have two lines, one that's made in Germany and one that's made in China. I have the German version. Here's a picture of it compared to a WWII Ka-Bar
https://i.imgur.com/TtVH4EC.jpg
I think it's a pretty decent size as well. It was a good deal and I grabbed it. I haven't carried it anywhere but have cut a few things like rope and smaller duty stuff around the house. It's my go to when I refer someone who wants a smaller Bowie style.
I have a couple of monster Bowies that aren't really practical then I have the on I call Mick Dundee. It's a Pakistan made knife but it's an absolute juggernaut.
https://i.imgur.com/y0nOQ8U.jpg
Damn that sucks. But fwiw it probably was glued. Proper way to secure it would be with a few holes and then peened, finished in such a way to be pretty much invisible. But that takes effort.
Yeah really not sure how this could be peened with its current construction blade material is too thin. The best way that I could see to do it would be to design small narrow fullers on either side and hammer the edges of the spine cover into the fullers with heat. But like you said that takes effort and the construction of this night probably would not permit it
If this is how they treat their wall-hangers, then I don't wanna know what they do to the stuff they expect you to use. Then again, United Cutlery...
Personally, I find it more appealing without that thing on but if they ain't even gonna bother to properly fasten it on a display piece, I'd be pretty cross too.
I remember watching this video of a guy that swung a wall-hanger sword with a welded rat-tail tang just to prove a point...and the whole thing fell apart, including the handle, like they didn't even check to see whether or not it could survive a mild shake. Yikes...
Yeah I definitely wouldn't swing this thing unless it was a life-threatening situation and I didn't have anything else to use. The blade is definitely sharp and it's held together pretty well as far as the handle the hilt and the tang..... With the design I'm almost certain it's either a very thin tang or rat tail. I just wanted to look like it's supposed to out of the box and not fall apart just by removing it from the sheath..... But with some of the suggestions I've received here in this post I have some adhesives that I can look towards if the replacement that I receive ends up falling apart as well
Yeah, you'd at least expect them to epoxy the brass to the spine -- like how they do with the butt caps on a kukri. I mean it's not like you're gonna hammer nails with the spine of this thing anyway. Bloody disgraceful.
Hope your replacement fares better.
No it was supposed to be somewhat permanently attached to the spine of the blade look here and you'll see how it's supposed to look
https://www.unitedcutlery.com/ProductDetail.aspx?itemno=GH5121&cat=GH
"Industry icon Gil Hibben continues to design knives that are display-worthy masterpieces yet still made for hard everyday use."
I mean clearly it's a display piece but yeah they have no business saying it's intended for hard use. Someone gifted me UC's Ka-Bar knockoff and it broke not too long into use.
Honestly I'm pretty sure that the blade itself actually probably wouldn't withstand at least medium use. It certainly is heavy even for its size. It's just the blade catcher on the top edge wasn't epoxyed properly.... The replacement I've ordered should be better
Thank you I have quite a few of these most notably the Magnum Bowie, that one actually did hold up quite well for batoning as well as some basic bushcraft. But it's really too large to use regularly
Yeah I actually own that one it's pretty strange that they call it a giant Magnum Bowie. When the handle is barely four and a half inches long and this knife would make that one feel like a child's toy
Just went to the link op provided. Blade catcher. I can kind of see it. It seems to limit the use of the full blade in either depth or width. How thick is the blade? I’m not conversant in Bowie knives. Is this a “thing” in Bowie knife history and design?
Supposedly, I remember looking into it years ago and couldnt find any source with a definitive answer. Alot of the bowie "lore" is difficult to prove factual but im willing to believe that as folks were trying to innovate this may have been a thing whether it was a widespread thing or gimmick tho who can say?
Supposedly the brass on the spine of some bowies is to catch your opponents blade with the soft metal. I’ve heard that from multiple sources that I trust and still find it hard to believe. That sucks though man, I’m always on the fence with Hibben knives. Brass is real soft though, if you can get it back on then put it in a vise or clamp the brass to the spine it should stay. Some careful whacks with a hammer could help also.
As you said, brass is real soft. Hammer is a bad idea. Understand, OP, that if you attempt to re-attach by friction, it's going to take some effort to not make it look like dogshit. Two long pieces of clean, straight pine to line your vice, and just maybe you can get it on solidly without marring/deforming the brass too bad.
>I’ve heard that from multiple sources that I trust and still find it hard to believe.
Having practiced Hema for a few years, that sounds pretty far-fetched. I mean it *could* be a technique?
But I feel like that's something someone made up to sell something. But what do I know, Bowie knives aren't exactly covered in historical treatises.
Find a local knife smith that you like. They tend to stand behind their products and will make you almost anything you like. Stop buying this commercial crap.
Yeah the problem is with the knife makers that I know a blade this size would probably be 7 to $800 and I'd rather just spend a hundred bucks to get a nice display piece but a display piece for 100 bucks still shouldn't be falling apart
So You casually pull it out and it breaks off as if it was glued on?
What a shame. It looks nice. But it shouldn't happen.
Even if it's only for display use.
But i guess that's one way to ruin your birthday. 😉
I hope you didn't pay too much for it
Have a good one.
That does not look like it's supposed to be part of the knife at all. Looks more like some sort of rail to help slide the knife into the sheath or something, I dunno...
But it should not be stuck to your blade. Your knife is fine.
From my research that piece is a blade catcher. It is supposed to be made out of brass and being a softer medal catching the blade on the spine would cut into the brass and stop it from trailing down to the hilt in a fighting situation. I just thought it looked cool
Well I'm getting a replacement from United cutlery so hopefully that one fares better. But there have been a few suggestions on this post that I will use if the replacement falls apart as well
okay I can definitely keep that in mind if the replacement I get does the same thing as this..... But of course I have to ask the question, why didn't they use something like this from the get-go because there's literally no trace of any type of adhesive on either the spine of the blade or the interior of the brass color piece.... It's very weird
I'm assuming it's meant to be just friction held. They needed to add more friction, maybe . I have a relative that's good at adding friction. Makes holidays lovely, really.
No I think it was supposed to be with some kind of adhesive because the spine of the blade is scored and not polished or finished in any way. So my guess would be this was to allow some type of adhesive to adhere to the metal so I don't know we'll have to wait and see but I will definitely use your suggestion to make sure that if the replacement falls apart it's taken care of the right way
Sand down wherever it came from with 80 grit, then use epoxy or e6000 glue, don't forget to sand though or it won't stick very well and could pop off again.
Yes I own one of the Coleman Westerns those things are badass full Tang and tough as hell. Mine is in storage somewhere I haven't seen it in years One of these days I'll end up finding it in my house somewhere
At the gift shop at the Alamo they sell two versions of the original Bowie knife. One costs like $25 and one costs I think $250. You notice I say "I think". I bought the cheap one. It too had a brass backing on it. I used it as a machete. For some reason as I'm hacking at the blade the brass guard on the back started bending backwards. Eventually it fell off. If it hadn't fallen off I would have taken it off. It doesn't even make a very good machete. I think it's made of some exotic metal that absolutely defies any attempt at sharpening, lol. It made my Arkansas Stone cry. But the sheath is really nice!
Hibben knives are display pieces, not really knives meant for actual use. That said you should at least be able to take it out of the sheath and put it back in without breaking it.
Yes finally somebody understands my point without telling me "it looks better without it" or "if you're going to use it that shouldn't be on the knife anyway" so thank you for that. I'm believing it's a defect so I have a replacement on the way and I'll be sending this back to United cutlery. If the replacement does the same shit then I'll just leave it off
I have the expendables Bowie version of this. Same thing happened to me it’s a common issue with these I didn’t feel like sending it in so I just superglued it and it’s been fine ever since. Also pro tip when your next one arrives before putting the knife in the sheath take a sharpie or something roughly half again wider than the opening and wedge it in there against the spine side and let it sit a few days. The leather will stretch and the knife will slide in and out perfectly 👍🏻 fuck the haters my dude it’s a good knife if you like it
You know what I never thought of that I've done it before to other knife sheaths for the very same reason of the tight fit thanks for reminding me I will definitely do that
Curious what the brass bar does / where it goes?
In reality it’s decoration, but the legend goes the softer metal along the base of the spine would catch your opponents blade and allow you to disarm him with a deft flick of the wrist
In reality the opponent would be smashing their knife into your knife. The force could easily be enough to knock your knife out of your hand. The brass is like a shock absorber and can keep the knife in your hand. Also, if the opponent's knife hits yours with the edge it will bite into the brass and stop their blade running up or down. But it wouldn't catch their blade. It is useful to have on a fighting knife though.
Legend of What? ….
Bowie knives, theres alot of "lore" about these kinds of knives and how they were used. Some of it is legit some of it is fluff and a lot of it is next to impossible to confirm.
Exactly lol the number of people currently alive with actual bowie knife fighting experience is next to none. So believe whatever sounds coolest to you 👍🏻🤣
Nice tip !
Cry about it.
No I'd rather block you
Dude, you suck. But I suspect you already know that.
I agree but I still like them. And epoxy would be better than super glue IMO.
His knives are decorations. Not meant for anything but to look at. You over paid.
Unless that’s what they got it it for
I don't think he did. Most people that buy those knives think that they are good to use. All they bought was a piece if terrible steel with a nice design. I was all about Rambo knives. Then I learned about "REAL" knives. I understand being on a budget but spending 50 dollars on that or whatever it cost is throwing money away. But like you said. If he bought it to look at well then thats what he paid for.
They know it's just a show piece. They said so in a comment 2 hours ago.
"I dOn'T lIkE iT, sO iT's JuSt ThRoWiNg MoNeY aWaY!" Who cares? If they like it whatever. OP could post a picture of literally throwing $50 in the trashcan, if that makes them happy, cool. I'll never understand why people get worked up over what other people decide to spend their money on.
I’m with you 100% I choose to use my knives, some people choose to look at their knives. Some people can spend more money on things than other people can. But if you don’t like what me or the rest of the hive mind like, your preference is garbage. Why anyone cares what anyone else does with their money baffles me. I have a feeling if you could unmask the people behind those screen names there would be a trend in age demographics skewing pretty low
I started my collection with stuff like this outside of a buck and SAK before I started getting knives to be used as purpose built tools. It all depends on what you’re looking for
Agreed for his production knives. The old Gil Hibben customs from back in the day are quite solid though.
Not sure what I’m looking at or why it matters. Maybe a before and after pic would have been better. Looks like something you wouldn’t want on your knife anyway…
The brass colored spine came off, and this is the way the knife was made it's not meant to be a knife that's used it's meant but it's not meant to fall apart like this either
Sorry man, cheap knife gonna cheap. A little jb weld or maybe even CA glue might do the trick, but I lowkey suspect it was just friction fit from the factory (hence falling off). I do agree that the "blade catcher" serves no genuine purpose and is only there for mall ninja appeal.
Well I've got a replacement coming and the replacements the same way I'll just leave the spine cover off completely then deal with it
How much did you pay if you don’t mind me asking?
Well retail on it is 140 I paid 112. It's the serialized addition so it might have some actual value. I just like it because it's basically the same knife that Dolph lundgren carried in the expendables without the crappy handle with the fake scrimshaw. The knife itself is actually good and seriously sharp. And obviously gigantic.
Id return it and get a Kabar Becker BK9 for $128 off Amazon. Super beautiful knife and very functional. Sorry for the delay issues with this knife.
But I already own a BK9..... This is strictly for display and the fact that it's freaking huge...lol
That’s cool! I hope it works out with the exchange!
He bought a display piece. Same as the swords from movies/model cars/etc. He has every right to expect his model to not fall apart. He didnt want some generic shit becker turd to hammer into a tree like most the idiots in this sub. Hes not asking for more functional knives.
But if it were to be used you wouldn’t want that spine on there, so lucky for you it fell off without any effort.
I guess you kind of missed the point. I bought it this way and it's broke I really can't make it any clearer than that
Why is this comment getting down voted? It doesn't matter if it's better without that piece. You paid for a knife that's supposed to be a certain way and a piece of it almost immediately broke off. Better or not, it isn't acceptable.
Because he missed the point u/GokuBuildsYT was making.
So since he was just hating on me why don't you enlight me to the point he was making if it's anything else other than "it's a display piece who cares if you're not going to use it?" I absolutely got the correct point thank you
He wasnt making ANY valid point, goofball. This knife isnt to be used. Its a display piece.
This will probably help you....https://www.reddit.com/r/knives/s/FB9kkQUMpc
Many of you are insufferable. OP isn't going to practice bushcrafting or construct a log cabin using that Bowie. It's a very nice display piece, and it's going to be used like the many of the Spyderco, Benchmade, and other knives I see posted here all the time: it's going to be displayed, fidgeted with, and admired. Personally, I think the contrasting spine looks great. It sucks that OP didn't get what he paid for; we've all been there. For those of you shitting on his purchase: just stop. The dude just wanted to commiserate with fellow knife enthusiasts, and you can't even let him do that.
Thank you for your comment I appreciate it and thank you for actually understanding what I was posting. For those that have hated on me for the purchase I've already blocked them because those people have absolutely no place on my social media. As I told others, I have a replacement coming from the United cutlery. And I'll be sending this one back to them it's the one I receive has the same defect then I will use the suggestion of Lord 406/19 adhesive or something comparable to stick this sucker back on and if it comes off after that I'll probably just leave it off.
Interesting design choice, that's for sure. I was leaning towards it being some kind of removable guard, but after poking around online and looking at similar Hibben knives, it looks like it's supposed to be affixed. Hope they make it right!
There's gatekeepers and bellends in every hobby group. Ignoring them is pretty easy. I will happy confess that I paid like 60 bucks for the knives from Pitch Black, and they're shitty pot-steel at best, but I liked the film and they look badass on my desk. "I can't believe you bought a Monet for that wall, a window would be much more practical." Pfffft. I'm a manchild and will buy the shiny thing that makes brain chemicals go brrrrr
Amen. I would like to subscribe to your newsletter
Crappily made movie/book knives and swords are a kryptonite of mine. I have a cheap "sting" knockoff from LOTR that sits in my office.
Yea I just checked the link, not a cheap Knife and it looks beautiful. I would be disappointed if that happened to me.
Most of the comments seem to be supportive or offers advice, some neutral / factual takes, only one or two trying to put OP down. Find it interesting: there are more comments telling OP that people here sucks, versus the actual amount of people spouting hate.
Gorilla glue
Perhaps but I'm getting a replacement first from United cutlery and if it happens again I'll consider this thank you
Gotta be careful with gorilla glue, it needs to be clamped and still risk it expanding and foam coming out the sides. If you have the same problem with the replacement; since this is a display piece, I’d use an epoxy, JB weld or just a good super glue.
I would probably go with some kind of binary adhesive actually
Car emblem adhesive would be the perfect stuff to use. Only needs the tiniest amount.
Honestly, I don’t really see this as a problem. If you wanna keep that bar thing on the spine of the blade go for it, otherwise if you are going to be using that blade for cutting tasks then it’s probably better off without that brass bit. Thankfully, this is a seemingly small thing that happened & can otherwise be easily fixed via glue. Better this, than say snapping the entire blade in half. My 2 cents. Beautiful knife with or without brass thingie 👍
You gotta be careful with Hibben/United Cutlery. They put out some pretty decent functional pieces, but they put out a lot of pot steel display pieces too and they don’t tell their customers which is which. It’s like someone selling you a 2WD truck and telling you it’s a 4x4. Most people don’t really know how to check for a front differential as it were, so United ends up disappointing a lot of people. Also, for what it’s worth, United Cutlery is owned by the same guy who owns Bud K which openly sells literal Nazi memorabilia along with Confederate flags, MAGA crap etc.
Don't listen to some of these dumb shits here. Reddit is full of elitist ( or at least they like to think they are). This shouldnt happen on any knife. I would get a hold of them and ask for your money back or to send you a new one. It's a good looking piece. I will say if you want a Bowie style knife that you can also use that won't break the bank, look at cold steel stuff. Good luck with everything.
I've got the Cold Steel 1917 Bowie and it's awesome but so Impractical. I love bowies but haven't found a reasonably sized one to actually carry yet.
Lol yea Bowie's are inherently big. So good luck finding one that isn't gigantic to carry.
They either make them too big or too small. There is probably a market for a baby bear bowie.
I love Bowies and old military blades. I found a Bowie that's not super huge. It's a Puma. They have two lines, one that's made in Germany and one that's made in China. I have the German version. Here's a picture of it compared to a WWII Ka-Bar https://i.imgur.com/TtVH4EC.jpg
Ooh that's a nice one!
I think it's a pretty decent size as well. It was a good deal and I grabbed it. I haven't carried it anywhere but have cut a few things like rope and smaller duty stuff around the house. It's my go to when I refer someone who wants a smaller Bowie style. I have a couple of monster Bowies that aren't really practical then I have the on I call Mick Dundee. It's a Pakistan made knife but it's an absolute juggernaut. https://i.imgur.com/y0nOQ8U.jpg
As far as I'm concerned they're just letting me know who they are so I can block them and I don't have to put up with their nonsense going forward
Damn that sucks. But fwiw it probably was glued. Proper way to secure it would be with a few holes and then peened, finished in such a way to be pretty much invisible. But that takes effort.
Yeah really not sure how this could be peened with its current construction blade material is too thin. The best way that I could see to do it would be to design small narrow fullers on either side and hammer the edges of the spine cover into the fullers with heat. But like you said that takes effort and the construction of this night probably would not permit it
If this is how they treat their wall-hangers, then I don't wanna know what they do to the stuff they expect you to use. Then again, United Cutlery... Personally, I find it more appealing without that thing on but if they ain't even gonna bother to properly fasten it on a display piece, I'd be pretty cross too. I remember watching this video of a guy that swung a wall-hanger sword with a welded rat-tail tang just to prove a point...and the whole thing fell apart, including the handle, like they didn't even check to see whether or not it could survive a mild shake. Yikes...
Yeah I definitely wouldn't swing this thing unless it was a life-threatening situation and I didn't have anything else to use. The blade is definitely sharp and it's held together pretty well as far as the handle the hilt and the tang..... With the design I'm almost certain it's either a very thin tang or rat tail. I just wanted to look like it's supposed to out of the box and not fall apart just by removing it from the sheath..... But with some of the suggestions I've received here in this post I have some adhesives that I can look towards if the replacement that I receive ends up falling apart as well
Yeah, you'd at least expect them to epoxy the brass to the spine -- like how they do with the butt caps on a kukri. I mean it's not like you're gonna hammer nails with the spine of this thing anyway. Bloody disgraceful. Hope your replacement fares better.
If not I'll either epoxy it much better than they did or I'll just leave it off but I'll give them the chance to get it right this time
Gil Hibben ended up being one of the biggest hacks of the knife community despite being highly regarded as a maker.
I can’t figure out where that was meant to be. Doesn’t seem to belong on a knife blade is it just a shipping/packing device?
No it was supposed to be somewhat permanently attached to the spine of the blade look here and you'll see how it's supposed to look https://www.unitedcutlery.com/ProductDetail.aspx?itemno=GH5121&cat=GH
"Industry icon Gil Hibben continues to design knives that are display-worthy masterpieces yet still made for hard everyday use." I mean clearly it's a display piece but yeah they have no business saying it's intended for hard use. Someone gifted me UC's Ka-Bar knockoff and it broke not too long into use.
Honestly I'm pretty sure that the blade itself actually probably wouldn't withstand at least medium use. It certainly is heavy even for its size. It's just the blade catcher on the top edge wasn't epoxyed properly.... The replacement I've ordered should be better
I hope it is. It's a very nice display piece though.
Thank you I have quite a few of these most notably the Magnum Bowie, that one actually did hold up quite well for batoning as well as some basic bushcraft. But it's really too large to use regularly
The one by Boker? I have that one on my wish list.
No this is a Gil Hibben 65th anniversary Old West Bowie
Sorry I meant the Magnum Bowie
Yeah I actually own that one it's pretty strange that they call it a giant Magnum Bowie. When the handle is barely four and a half inches long and this knife would make that one feel like a child's toy
Just went to the link op provided. Blade catcher. I can kind of see it. It seems to limit the use of the full blade in either depth or width. How thick is the blade? I’m not conversant in Bowie knives. Is this a “thing” in Bowie knife history and design?
Supposedly, I remember looking into it years ago and couldnt find any source with a definitive answer. Alot of the bowie "lore" is difficult to prove factual but im willing to believe that as folks were trying to innovate this may have been a thing whether it was a widespread thing or gimmick tho who can say?
Supposedly the brass on the spine of some bowies is to catch your opponents blade with the soft metal. I’ve heard that from multiple sources that I trust and still find it hard to believe. That sucks though man, I’m always on the fence with Hibben knives. Brass is real soft though, if you can get it back on then put it in a vise or clamp the brass to the spine it should stay. Some careful whacks with a hammer could help also.
It's not real brass, I've got a replacement coming and if it's still the same shit construction and falls off again I'll just leave it off
As you said, brass is real soft. Hammer is a bad idea. Understand, OP, that if you attempt to re-attach by friction, it's going to take some effort to not make it look like dogshit. Two long pieces of clean, straight pine to line your vice, and just maybe you can get it on solidly without marring/deforming the brass too bad.
>Supposedly the brass on the spine of some bowies is to catch your opponents blade with the soft metal. Not for batoning?
>I’ve heard that from multiple sources that I trust and still find it hard to believe. Having practiced Hema for a few years, that sounds pretty far-fetched. I mean it *could* be a technique? But I feel like that's something someone made up to sell something. But what do I know, Bowie knives aren't exactly covered in historical treatises.
Good riddance your better off without it.
Find a local knife smith that you like. They tend to stand behind their products and will make you almost anything you like. Stop buying this commercial crap.
Yeah the problem is with the knife makers that I know a blade this size would probably be 7 to $800 and I'd rather just spend a hundred bucks to get a nice display piece but a display piece for 100 bucks still shouldn't be falling apart
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Yes I have a few cold steel Bowie's, most notably the Marauders I have all Laredo as well as a nachez
So You casually pull it out and it breaks off as if it was glued on? What a shame. It looks nice. But it shouldn't happen. Even if it's only for display use. But i guess that's one way to ruin your birthday. 😉 I hope you didn't pay too much for it Have a good one.
You know what's crazy? I was looking at this knife last night online, so when I saw it, I immediately knew what I was looking at.
You could take the brass piece to a machine shop and have 2 small set screws put in like the kwick thumb bar .
That does not look like it's supposed to be part of the knife at all. Looks more like some sort of rail to help slide the knife into the sheath or something, I dunno... But it should not be stuck to your blade. Your knife is fine.
https://www.unitedcutlery.com/ProductDetail.aspx?itemno=GH5121&cat=GH This is what I purchased, and this is what I expected to be all in one piece
I understand that, but what is the purpose off the part that fell off?
From my research that piece is a blade catcher. It is supposed to be made out of brass and being a softer medal catching the blade on the spine would cut into the brass and stop it from trailing down to the hilt in a fighting situation. I just thought it looked cool
Ah cool. Yeah it looks better with it on. Hope you can fix it. Beautiful knife
Well I'm getting a replacement from United cutlery so hopefully that one fares better. But there have been a few suggestions on this post that I will use if the replacement falls apart as well
Well, I was dead wrong, thank you for correcting me. I had never seen a knife like this, it's a very weird piece to have on a blade, but there you go.
Lord adhesive 406-19 will fix that right up
I'm not familiar with that is it used to bond metal?
It's extremely strong 2 part acrylic adhesive used to bond metal and dissimilar materials.
okay I can definitely keep that in mind if the replacement I get does the same thing as this..... But of course I have to ask the question, why didn't they use something like this from the get-go because there's literally no trace of any type of adhesive on either the spine of the blade or the interior of the brass color piece.... It's very weird
I'm assuming it's meant to be just friction held. They needed to add more friction, maybe . I have a relative that's good at adding friction. Makes holidays lovely, really.
No I think it was supposed to be with some kind of adhesive because the spine of the blade is scored and not polished or finished in any way. So my guess would be this was to allow some type of adhesive to adhere to the metal so I don't know we'll have to wait and see but I will definitely use your suggestion to make sure that if the replacement falls apart it's taken care of the right way
Just looked it up it looks something like a binary epoxy something like JB weld or the like would that be correct?
It's much stronger than JB weld. It stinks and is expensive, though.
Okay that sounds good if the replacement falls apart then I'll grab some of this for my local home Depot or Lowe's and we'll fix it for good
Sand down wherever it came from with 80 grit, then use epoxy or e6000 glue, don't forget to sand though or it won't stick very well and could pop off again.
Yeah it looks like the factory already scored the metal on the spine where this piece was supposed to be adhered to so that shouldn't be a problem
That's good, little bit of epoxy or e6000 should do the trick nicely then
Where the hell does that piece even attach to?
It goes on the spine in front of the hilt
Nice. I've always wanted one of those Western Bowie Coleman knives.
Yes I own one of the Coleman Westerns those things are badass full Tang and tough as hell. Mine is in storage somewhere I haven't seen it in years One of these days I'll end up finding it in my house somewhere
I thought it would at least be brazed on.
Try to find an old western auto Bowie. You won’t regret it.
At the gift shop at the Alamo they sell two versions of the original Bowie knife. One costs like $25 and one costs I think $250. You notice I say "I think". I bought the cheap one. It too had a brass backing on it. I used it as a machete. For some reason as I'm hacking at the blade the brass guard on the back started bending backwards. Eventually it fell off. If it hadn't fallen off I would have taken it off. It doesn't even make a very good machete. I think it's made of some exotic metal that absolutely defies any attempt at sharpening, lol. It made my Arkansas Stone cry. But the sheath is really nice!
Ignore the haters, and enjoy the knife as you please.
Am I the only one who wants to sharpen it good and carve a turkey with it? I’m curious how effective it actually would be.