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Writin' The River

My little space on the 'net  to discuss …

Bowie and Battle Blades 3

9/18/2017

3 Comments

 
Picture
​  The Natchez
 
In this third installment of Battle Blades I’ll turn my attention to something of a hybrid knife, a fairly recent production bowie from the guys at Cold Steel.  It’s the Natchez Bowie, and it’s everything a bowie ought to be - big, wide, and sharp.
 
Cold Steel named their knife the Natchez because of the history of bowie fighting in the area of Natchez, Mississippi, invoking a romantic frontier ethos for this knife.  It is styled generally like the “primitive” bowie and its overall lines echo the shape of the Musso Bowie.  Its blade is 11 ¾” long and 1 ¾ “ wide.  It’s a big blade, fully capable of swinging, chopping, slicing . . . or even paddling, if need be.
 
There are four major differences between the CS Natchez and the Musso bowie.  Firstly is the tip; the CS Natchez’ tip is not nearly as thin and vulnerable to lateral forces as the earlier Musso design.  The tip still narrows to a needle point, but it is not upswept as on the Musso, which has the dual benefit of keeping more mass in the tip for structural rigidity, and also keeping the point in line with the wrist when the blade is extended, thus making this knife a more effective point thruster than the Musso design.
 
The second difference is the hilt.  The CS version uses a simple and straightforward oval crossguard rather than the large “S” shaped crossguard of the Musso design.  It’s really six of one, and a half dozen of another, as hilt design only comes into play when one is anticipating duelling against another blade, but it’s worth noting that CS makes a big deal of marketing this knife as a “fighting bowie” and then puts a regular utilitarian hilt on it.  Things that make you go Hmmnn.
 
The third difference between the Natchez and Musso is in balance.  The Natchez’ point of balance is just about one inch forward of the crossguard; this is still a fairly weight-forward balance, but it’s a far cry from my Musso version, which balances right at three inches forward of the crossguard!  Both have a distinctly blade-heavy feel, but the Musso feels like a large, cumbersome saber, whereas the Natchez feels simply like a big knife.  The weight is forward, but not overly so, and it’s still maneuverable.  I like this balance point very much.
 
The fourth difference can’t be seen or even felt, but I know it’s there, and is the reason I called this a “hybrid” knife in my introduction.  This third difference is one of construction.  Cold Steel uses a full-tang construction on many knives, such as their Trail Master bowies, but their Laredo and Natchez bowies (both “fighters”) do not use full tangs.  These two models use a weirdly designed cable system, in which a twisted cable attaches to a stub tang and is then tightened by a screw in the base of the grip.  This provides sufficient tension to provide enough structural integrity to replace a regular tang, although its durability is not well tested so far as I know. If one listens to the legions of internet commandos, this system is a miracle of cost-cutting engineering, an overbuilt design intended to save an ounce or so of quality steel per unit.  I used to own a Laredo, and have used the Natchez and not found either wanting, so perhaps this design is suitably strong.  I’m something of a traditionalist, however, and knowing that my tang is really a wire cable under tension leaves me feeling a little suspect about its capabilities.  In all likelihood the knife is probably completely dependable for 98+% of what real users will ask of it .  . . but I’d still prefer a full tang, even if it were a lower quality steel welded onto the blade.

​So in the end, I bought this knife thinking it might easily become my favorite user, and yet I find myself hesitating to really put it through its paces due to its tang design.  Another snag with this is the grip is not ideal for me; it’s comfortable enough, but if I had my ‘druthers I would replace the grip with a wooden one of a different shape . . . however, that’s not as easy as it sounds given the complicated tang design (grrr!).  So in the end, I love this knife, but it’s not my favorite.
Picture
Cable tang in the buff
3 Comments
Chaz McRae
10/20/2021 10:13:09 pm

For starters, I don't understand the recent (last decade or so) obsession with 'full tang' Few historical battle swords (or knives) over the last thousand years had 'full tangs.' If that wasn't an issue then, why is it an issue now?
And why have a knife you're not going to test and stress-?
If you want a sharpened crowbar, then getvone, carry it, and stop casting dispersions on something you admit you never fully tested.
Finally, the crossguard on any '"fighting knife" really isn't there to engage the other guy's blade. I won't expound on that point here other than to snort derisively how that canard is right up there with the claim the groove on a Ka-bar is a "blood channel."
If you say so.

Reply
Virgil I Mathes
10/21/2021 09:51:04 am

Hi Chaz,
I'd delighted you found my post so engaging, though it rather sounds like you feel that I've cast aspersions on your favorite knife! As I say in my post, I really like the Natchez and it might be my favorite except for two things: I don't trust the cable tang design, which may or may not be justified, and I don't find the handle as comfortable as i would like (and I can't easily change that due to the weird tang).
I agree with you about the fixation on "full tangs," and let me tell you that has gone on longer than a decade - it may date back to a backlash against the poorly made "Rambo" knives of the 80s. But "full tang" is something of a misnomer too; it's commonly meant to mean overly thick, full width tangs, and you're right that those were not historically common - the Crusaders went into battle with thin tangs - but those tangs did pass through the handle. The inexpensive Mora knives are well thought of as woods knives and they have through tangs as well. I'm not aware of any other maker using a tensioned cable, but as I say in my post, it *might be* really strong.
As to guards, well, you probably know that oval guards were common in bowies, but so were larger guards, esp. in the south and during the Civil War. Guys who have studied this (McLemore, Keating, even Bagwell) say that much of historical bowie technique comes from saber, and historically a soldier with a bowie might have to defend against a saber, so it makes sense to me. Again, I'm not casting aspersions on the oval guard, only wondering why CS would design a bowie that draws so heavily on the "Musso" design and then put a TM guard on it, esp. if they were going to market it as a fighter in the great southern tradition?

Reply
Billy Richardson
11/26/2024 02:37:50 pm

Why? Because the huge guard looks ridiculous and very few people are stupid enough to actually fight with knives like these. They were hoping to sell these and looking cool helps. Regarding the Natchez Bowie, rather than falling in line with the "knife forum experts" about the cable tang, I think I would be more inclined to actually try to destroy the Natchez using practical means of testing, ie: chopping whacking, puncturing, or "fighting", then posting the video to thousands of adoring Cold Steel haters. No hammers or other tools should be used to speed up the process. People have been casting aspersions on those cable tangs for 20 years or more and yet nobody has posted a video on YouTube demonstrating how the cable tang is a "flawed design". You have my permission to actually give the Natchez Bowie a fair test rather than casting aspersions, which you certainly did. I will say this, there is no way in hell you can break that tang in a "real world use scenario" or fair test to simulate such. You just won't be able to. If it could be done, it would be on YouTube already. There are that many morons online with nothing better to do that trash Cold Steel.

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