i know 'bowie knife' is kind of a vague clasification but im pretty sure they are supposed to have a wide blade, a partially cuved leading edge and a 'clip tip' point. a heavy blade designed to make hacking/slashing attacks like a machete as well as stabs. this here seems like just a generic thin stabby dagger, its basically the same blade as my fairbairn-sykes except with a different handle shape.
Yeah, this is just how it was labeled on the antiques site where I found it, but I also thought it was weird for it to be labeled a Bowie. Although for the clip point specifically, that doesn't seem to be absolutely necessary - there are bowies with more conventional blades, these days they're often referred to as "Arkansas Toothpicks" just to better distinguish them, but in the actual historical period the two terms seem to have been used interchangeably.
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Still, this one seems too small - but it could also be a situation where the American and English definitions simply differ
This looks like a decorative letter opener to me, I seen several like it owned by my french great gran when visiting her flat in paris years back when she was still around.
I don't think that's steel, the corrosion doesn't look right and maps more closely to sterling silver imho. The handle and blade appear to be from the same material and one piece, which makes me think cast not forged. So I think you're right.
Hard to tell but it also appears to not be sharp and have never been bevelled to hold an actual edge.
I am just a weird nerd who likes tools and steel in an amateur way though so apply hypertensive amounts of salt.
Hard to tell but it also appears to not be sharp and have never been bevelled to hold an actual edge.
Yeah this is the biggest tell for a letter opener.
