Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
James Black (May 1, 1800 – June 22, 1872) was an American knifemaker best known for his improvements to the Bowie knife designed by Jim Bowie. [ 1 ] Early life
The James Black Bowie knife had a blade approximately twelve inches (30 cm) long, two inches (5.1 cm) wide, and 1 ⁄ 4 inch (0.64 cm) thick. [33] The spine of the knife was covered with soft brass or silver, reportedly to catch the opponent's blade in the course of a knife fight, while a brass quillion protected the hand from the blade. [33]
According to his older brother, John, James Bowie was born in Logan County, Kentucky, on April 10, 1796 (Historical marker: 36° 46' 25"N 86° 42' 10"W). [5] [6] In his 1948 book, Bowie Knife, historian Raymond Thorp gives Bowie's birth date as April 10 but does not support it with any documentation. [7]
James Black (blacksmith) (1800–1872), creator of the Bowie knife James Wallace Black (1825–1896), American photographer James Black (educator) (1826–1890), President of the University of Iowa, 1868–1870
There is disagreement among scholars as to whether the knife used in this fight was the same kind of knife now known as a Bowie knife. Many different accounts exist of who designed and built the first Bowie knife. Some claim that James Bowie designed it and others attribute the design to noted knifemakers of the time. [26]
Many craftsmen and manufacturers made their own versions of the so-called Bowie knife, [28] beginning with James Black, a blacksmith from Arkansas who designed the original for Bowie in 1830. His fame, and that of his knife, spread to England, and by the early 1830s, many British knife manufacturers were also producing Bowie knives and ...
There was no consistent distinction made between Bowie knives and Arkansas toothpicks in the mid-19th century. There were enough occasional distinctions to shade any dogmatic statement of equivalence. Americans were observed to use pocket knives to clean their teeth in the era, so the "Arkansas toothpick" term may predate the Bowie knife.
The campus was located in Washington, Arkansas near the place where James Black made the first Bowie knife. In 1996, Moran was inducted into the American Bladesmith Society Hall of Fame as an inauguree. [18] From 1988 to 2001, Moran taught at least one class a year at the school. [7]