# Bowie vs. Chef



## Crothcipt (Feb 23, 2012)

I a few mo. ago bought a "chef" knife from ebay. It has a beautiful handle, and good looking damascus blade. I got it for 20$ and got what I think is a Bowie knife. Its the thickest knife I own, it wedges about 2cm into a potato. I was wondering what would be the differences in the 2?


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## ecchef (Feb 23, 2012)

Any chance of getting a pic of this? It's kind of hard to confuse a 'Bowie' and a chefs knife.


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## Timthebeaver (Feb 23, 2012)

Crothcipt said:


> I was wondering what would be the differences in the 2?



Bowie knife: Preferred by Rambo.
Chef's knife: Preferred by Ramsey.


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## Crothcipt (Feb 23, 2012)

took some pics last night. will post when I figure out were and how to link. Shouldn't be to hard.:juggler:


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## Kyle (Feb 23, 2012)

Crothcipt said:


> took some pics last night. will post when I figure out were and how to link. Shouldn't be to hard.:juggler:



You can upload pictures to your posts. Just click "go advanced" and then click "manage uploads" and you can upload the images from your computer to the forum.


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## Crothcipt (Feb 23, 2012)

:bonsai: This should have worked if I did it right.


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## Crothcipt (Feb 23, 2012)

dam I was hoping the pic was a little larger, the blade thickness is 1/4 inch at the handle and doesn't go down much at all.


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## Pensacola Tiger (Feb 23, 2012)

It appears to be a chef's knife made by someone who has never been near a kitchen. 

That's not snark, just an observation made from looking at some kitchen knives made by smiths who only have experience with field or tactical knives. They get the profile OK, but the knife is too thick and the resulting geometry is useless in a kitchen.

It would probably be useful as a lobster splitter or to cut ribs into serving pieces if you barbeque.

Rick


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## WildBoar (Feb 23, 2012)

Wow, that thing is a beast! Rick is right -- not much good for typical prep, but great for hacking/ splitting tough stuff. My first though was 'pig sticker', but I think it's a bit too small.

But for $20, it's a nice score. You can spend a lot more on a knife that may be just as limited in it's usefulness.


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## Crothcipt (Feb 23, 2012)

I had a coworker called it a Zombie killer. I was thinking on learning some grinding on it. But I also know that I need to do ton's more reading and learning before I can do anything with it. Ya for 20 I think I have got some good metal to work with.


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## apicius9 (Feb 23, 2012)

Not a great knife to prepare food, but a great knife to chase away those who want to eat my food...  In any case, a steal at that price. 

Stefan


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## Timthebeaver (Feb 23, 2012)

Judging by the complete lack of taper my first thought was cheap pakistan damascus crap. Someone posted something similar before, ebay listing had a load of vintage/antique/handmade blurb/crap.


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## Crothcipt (Feb 23, 2012)

lol yep ebay. from London. Speaking of Pakistan I got a descent knife from there that took less time to get here, than the one I ordered from the same state I'm in.


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## Timthebeaver (Feb 23, 2012)

Well for 20 bucks as a practice tool im sure its fine. looks scary too.


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## joec (Feb 23, 2012)

That is like a Western Daba. I have a Tojiro DP Western Daba and it is about that thick. I use it for lobster, crab or very hard vegetables. Really a handy knife in my kitchen from time to time.


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## jmforge (Feb 23, 2012)

Do not insult us Bowie makers. That is a giant bushcraft knife.:big grin: As for paying $20 for a damascus knife................well, I'll just leave it at that.


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## JohnnyChance (Feb 24, 2012)

I'm sure for $20 you ain't getting superb heat treat or steel either. It might be a nice blank to practice your grinding skills on, but as for ever being a decent knife....doubt it.


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## ThEoRy (Feb 24, 2012)

Hmm I don't see any pictures. Wait, there they are. That is a strange creature you have there.


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## Marko Tsourkan (Feb 26, 2012)

JohnnyChance said:


> I'm sure for $20 you ain't getting superb heat treat or steel either. It might be a nice blank to practice your grinding skills on, but as for ever being a decent knife....doubt it.



That's a lot of grinding. I had to grind from 3/16 on a couple of occasions, not much fun. 

This blade is 1/4. Probably pretty gummy too. 

m


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## Crothcipt (May 2, 2012)

continued at 
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/5450-Zombie-Buschef-Knife?highlight=bowie


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## kazeryu (May 11, 2012)

Maybe you could stick it in a bandsaw and cut right down the spine. You'd end up with two nice thin knives.


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## Crothcipt (May 11, 2012)

kazeryu said:


> Maybe you could stick it in a bandsaw and cut right down the spine. You'd end up with two nice thin knives.



Kazeryu did you check out the other thread? It now is way to thin for this to happen. 
or are you meaning something like http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/5479-Can-this-be-fixed?p=88705&viewfull=1#post88705


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