What Kind of Metal is Best for Bowie Knives?

For bowie knives, and all other knives, which steel is best depends upon the application for which the knife is to be used. A bowie knife is, by design, a versatile device. One may use their knife for rough work, such as chopping and heavy cutting, or they may wish to purchase a finely-honed fighting type of bowie.

If a knife just needs to hold up to abuse, edge-holding isn't usually an issue. Knives that need to be durable are usually best made of a variety of stainless steel. Another benefit is that this metal is resistant to rust. For hard-working bowie knives, a softer, less expensive variety of stainless steel such as 420 is usually fine. It won't get, or stay, that sharp but it is tough.

Where stainless or non-stainless is concerned, there are some significant differences. A high carbon stainless steel knife is durable, rust-resistant and takes an edge well. This steel, however, is not the hardest of materials and does require fairly frequent sharpening. High carbon steel holds an edge for a very long time but is fairly fragile and susceptible to corrosion. For a bowie knife, which is used outdoors a great deal, in most cases, the corrosion resistance of stainless steel is a very desirable quality.

For a hard-working, multi-purpose bowie knife, plain stainless steel is often best. The 420 and 440 varieties can both offer good service. Stainless steel is incredibly tough and, partially as a result of that, is very hard to sharpen. There are new types of stainless steel being developed all the time and some of these metals have very favorable properties where edge-holding and durability are concerned.

There are some exotic materials that are used for knife manufacture. Though they are not common in bowie knives, material such as titanium and ceramics offer their own particular advantages. Ceramic knives are fragile but have a remarkably sharp edge. The thickness of the blades precludes the use of this material in bowies. Titanium blades are not commonly made, but some customer manufacturers may offer it. Expect these sorts of materials to come at a very high price. They may, in the end, only offer performance that rivals that of high-quality steel, if they rival it at all.