Anglo-Indian Bowie—Part 2 By: David Johnstone Introduction Back in the Spring 2004 edition of The Texas Gun Collector | introduced you, some I think for the first time, to the Anglo-ndian Bowie knife. By this | mean knives made in the 19° century for British troops serving in India and Afghanistan, by local crafismen, either asa fighting sidearm or as acamp utility knife. | dealt with some of the features. which identify these knives at the time, but as itis a subject which comes up with some regularity, do a follow-up article to show some more examples and further discuss the differences where they exis. Anglo-Indian “Utility Knife” Figure 1 shows an Anglo-Indian knife made surely with a utility rather than a fighting purpose in mind. It has a light 9 inch almost spatulate blade with a hardwood hile making it 14 4 inches overall. Unusually for a knife of these origins the scabbard is completely of strong leather rather than a more common wooden one covered with thin leather. The blade has a double edge at the point with two crude thin running down the back, and on the left isthe soldiers name TS. Rendall crudely stamped, almost certainly by the man himself, The crossguard and ferrule are of brass chisel ergraved with decided to fac TAnglo-Indian willy foliage patterns in typical Indian style. The hilt is attached by steel rivets with. brass Chrysanthemum pattern heads. Anglo-Indian “Fighting Knife” Figure 2a, which obviously displays characteristics of a fighting knife rather than utility, has an 8 inch heavy steel spearpoint blade, single edged with a double edged point The hollow bronze hilt with phallic s, which was made by the lost wax method (seemingly started by the owner gripping a block of softened wax), takes the overall length tol3 inches. The crossguard is a circular steel dise with tabs as illustrated in Figure 2h, which means the leather scabbard, although obviously made for the knife, was not the original one. This would have been made from wood covered with thin leather and would have had a spring clip to grip the guard. Interestingly, the blade is engraved “From R to F” I'll leave any speculation tw the reader! 2 overtor Figure 2b shows the crossguard in Figure 2a, revealing the disc to catch the spring clip. Note the hole in one of the tabs for a lanyard attachment, which may have been deemed necessary in the absence of a retaining clip. 2a (wop) Anglo-Indian fighting knife (bortom)Close-up of crossguard in Fi Khanjar Style Bowie Figure 3 is a typical Khanjar style Bowie with military influences having a double- edged clip point and a broad shallow fuller for most of its 10 inch length. A notched steel dise constitutes the guard, suggesting this knife was ide for a clip scabbard, although in this case it has been matched to another strong leather scabbard with body; tip and throat re-enforcements, bearing the soldiers initials, V.C.G, on the body. The hilt, which brings the overall length to 14 ¥ inches, is of slabs of Buffalo horn attached to the full tang by 3 steel rivets with crude petal inlay decorations. Full tang construction is unusual with these knives as good steel was obviously not to be wasted! With their marked Eastern influences, I have previously called these knives “fusion. style” 3 Typical Khanjar style Bowie knifeAnglo-Indian “Classical Bowie” Very much closer to the classical Bowie style, this 11 4 inch blade has a typical clip point, swelling towards the tip in almost Bolo fashion (Figure 4). Two thin fullers run down the back edge and the steel is deeply patinated. The flat diamond brass crossguard was not made to catch a clip, and ther covered scabbard has a strong nd no provision for one. The hilt is indeed the wooden k leather frog attached typical full Sta the G horn (slabs and full tang rarely seen), and man Silver pommel cap looks like a later addition, 4 Anglo-Indian knife close to the classical Bowie style. Anglo-Indian “Hunting Knife” Figure 5a is an unusually small Anglo-Indian Bowie, more in the style of a hunting knife, but this quality piece indicates its origins quite simply. The name of the maker ~ Boput, (of) Nagpore— is stamped on the left of the blade! Not thar it isin any way necessary to see this name as the various features of the knife make its nature unmistakeable. The leather covered ‘wooden scabbard with spring clip and frog stud, che hile with provision fora clip have already been mentioned, bur the style of the hilt with decorated ivory, embossed silver ferrule and cagle pommel all point to India. The higher quality of this knife is further amplified by the construction of the scabbard with steel tip and throat fittings. The sturdy clip point blade measures 6 ¥% inches, and overall length is 11 inches. The unusual large brass guard has decorations and a square hole to accept the clip, as can be seen in Figures 5b and c. Conclusion In this short article I have reviewed some further styles of Anglo-Indian Bowie and highlighted some points to help in the identification of these knives, which | know come up regularly both in Britain and the United States. In summary, sat that these are neither exhau absolute, I can say that some good indicators are: a) L b) Spring clip retainers. c) Circular, oval or square guards, often with a hole or notch for the clip. but with the cay eather covered wooden scabbards. d) Eastern influence to blade or hilt styles ~ “fusion” style e) And, of course, Indian name and town on the blade! Finally, [should offer thatthis'sa very variedand interesting field for collectors, and given ongoing involvement in Afghanistan, where most of these knives were used, 1 commend it to Americans who may find the historical parallel worthy of study 5a (top) Small Anglo-Indian Bowie knife, 9b (center) close-up of decorated brass guard with hole to accept spring retainer clip; and, Se (bottom) close-up of the spring clip, holding knife in position. Frog stud isin bottom left of Figure Se PO Recommended Reading 1. Johnstone, D. 2004. The Anglo-Indian Bowie, A Knife of Another Frontier. The Texas Gun Collector, Spring 2004. pp 17-19. 2. Burton, KJ. 1988. A Sure Defence: The Bowie Knife Book, Balmain, Australia: KJ. Burton & Co. ae Dave Johnstone was born and raised in Scotland, lives in England, es in American revolvers, Eny Bowie Knives, Scotch whiskey, and beer from almost TGCA shows and special sh, anywhere! He travels to Texas for a