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Old 04-30-2014, 07:50 PM
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Jacknola Jacknola is offline
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In another discussion, these type "flanged butt caps" were discussed.



I made the following statement about them...

Quote:
The bear bowie is incredible, but that is not a coolie cap. Actually that style pommel pre-dated the introduction of the coolie cap.
Let me correct myself. The statement probably isn't true. Gaddis writes: (p.158);

"The first Randall Made Thorp Bowie left the Orlando shop in April 1956 and went by special delivery mail to the Iraqi embassy...part of a two-knife set, the Bowie and Arkansas Toothpick, ordered in December 1955 for King Faisal II of Iraq." .. Later discussing this set he writes: ?Prominent in this sketch (of the Thorpe Bowie in the Faisal set) are the forward curved double hilt and the new style of scalloped butt cap. Randall added these features only after making this first Thorp Bowie for King Faisal II; the butt cap style was later called a "flanged butt cap.?

In this line, we have a two or three regular heavy Bowies likely dated before the King Faisal set. But the introduction of the "flanged butt cap" in 1956 raises an interesting question. The earliest "heavy" Bowie, was first ordered January 28, 1953. Gaddis says:... "It is with the next order, noted in the records two days later (i.e. January 30, 1953)... reads 1 Bowie, 11 x 2 3/8 x 2 1/2 brass strip & Butt cap.'" Since the "flanged butt cap? didn't appear until 1956, it seems plausible that the "brass butt cap" on this 2nd Bowie ever ordered could have been a ?coolie cap. ?

Keep in mind that in that first year, 1953, about 160 Bowie knives were ordered? a truly amazing number.

Looking closely at pictures of the Faisal set, I cannot see any pins in the ivory handles, but they do have fairly thick looking presumably leather spacers. But not as thick as the spacers on James' and Gary Clinton's knives.

Examining pictures of other, later mid-50s Bowies without the leather spacers in Hunt?s book, some of the older stag and ivory handled knives had pins, if the handle was without a pommel. But the early Bowies with a pommel did not seem to have pinned handles though a number of them were paired with Moore sheath. Perhaps the pins were deliberately not used with the ivory handles that were cushioned with the thick spacers as another attempt to prevent cracking? But that is deductive and speculative.

Last edited by Jacknola; 07-31-2017 at 02:51 PM.
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