Brasscliff Hand Forged 1095 Steel Bowie Knife | 15 Inch Overall | Brass Double Guard and Stacked Leather Handle with Brown Leather Belt Sheath | Hunting Gift | RK-1896

Brasscliff is a full size bowie knife in the pattern that has barely changed in a hundred and eighty years. The blade is 1095 high carbon steel with a deep belly, a long clip toward the point, and twin ground lines running back toward a rectangular panel of etched Celtic knotwork. The guard is solid brass with quillons front and back, the handle is stacked leather washers separated by brass spacers, and the butt cap is brass turned to a rounded crown. A dark brown leather sheath is included.

A stacked leather handle is one of those ideas that survived because nothing beat it. Round leather discs are threaded onto the tang, compressed hard under the butt cap, then turned and sanded to shape as if they were one solid block. The result grips better wet than wood, absorbs shock rather than transmitting it, and if it ever wears you can re sand it back to fresh leather instead of replacing anything. Brasscliff is forged, ground, heat treated, handled and sheathed by hand in the Czech Republic.

The clip point and the deep belly are what make a bowie a bowie, and the bowie buying guide covers what the shape is good at. 1095 is the plain carbon steel used here, and the steel glossary explains what the number means and why it takes an edge. For dressing game the skinner knives take over where a bowie stops being handy.

Specifications

What the clip on a bowie is really for

The clip is the concave sweep taken out of the spine near the point, and it does two jobs at once. It moves the point down toward the centre line of the blade, which is what makes a bowie thrust accurately even though the blade is deep bellied and heavy. It also thins the last two inches so the tip enters easily rather than wedging. On Brasscliff the clip is sharpened, which is the traditional treatment and turns the top edge into a back cut, though it means the whole point section wants respect when you handle it. The deep belly behind the clip is the working part of the knife. A long curved edge is what lets a bowie skin and slice, because the curve keeps a fresh section of edge meeting the material as you draw it through.

1095 steel, brass and leather

1095 sits at about one percent carbon with no meaningful alloying. It sharpens easily on almost any stone, takes a very fine edge and holds it well, and it is forgiving to work by hand, which is why traditional knives keep coming back to it. The blade is normalised, quenched in warm oil and tempered to 54 to 58 HRC, which suits a short, well supported knife edge. The brass is solid bar, cut, drilled, filed and buffed. The leather washers are vegetable tanned, punched, threaded on wet and clamped under pressure while they dry, so they shrink onto the tang and lock the stack tight before the butt cap goes on.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel, the leather or the wood. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On Brasscliff the etched knotwork panel on the blade is the natural spot, and the sheath face takes a stamped line as an alternative if you would rather keep the blade plain. See the engraving page.

Handling and balance

Balance sits just ahead of the guard, which is where a bowie should be. Too far forward and it chops well but slices clumsily. Too far back and it loses the authority that makes the pattern worth carrying. The stacked leather handle swells slightly toward the butt so the hand cannot slide off under a hard pull, and the rear quillon gives you something to hook a thumb or a finger against for a reverse grip. Wet leather grips better than wet wood, which is the whole reason field knives went to this handle a century ago.

Care

1095 rusts. Dry the blade after use, wipe off blood, sap or salt immediately, and keep a light film of oil on the steel. Do not store the knife in the sheath, because vegetable tanned leather holds moisture and the tanning salts pit carbon steel over months. The stacked handle should be kept out of standing water and fed once or twice a year with a neutral leather cream, which keeps the washers from drying and shrinking apart. Brass will tarnish to a warm brown, which most owners leave alone. Rust removal and edge maintenance notes are in our guide to steel care.

When the edge goes dull, sharpening on a whetstone covers the angle and the pressure.

Made in the Czech Republic

The work behind this piece happens in a Czech Republic workshop that has kept to the old methods. Steel is forged and heat treated by hand, the grind is taken down by eye rather than by machine, and the handle, fittings and sheath are cut and finished one at a time. Because of that, every piece carries small marks of the hand that made it.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We import direct, check each piece when it reaches us, and ship from our Chicago, Illinois warehouse. Engraving is added here in the United States after arrival, so the piece you receive is finished to your order.

A note on handmade variation

This knife is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The stacked leather handle is turned by hand, so its exact profile and the tone and spacing of the washers vary from knife to knife. The brass buffs to its own shade, the etched knotwork sits at slightly different depths, and the mirror polish holds its own pattern of light. The dimensions, the steel, the heat treat and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is it sharp out of the box?

Yes, shaving sharp along the main edge, with the clip sharpened as a back cut. Unbox it carefully and keep fingers clear of the top edge.

Will the leather handle come apart over time?

Not if it is looked after. The washers are compressed wet and locked under a peened butt cap. Keep them fed with leather cream and out of prolonged soaking and the stack stays solid for decades.

Can I use this for hunting and field dressing?

Yes. The deep belly is well suited to skinning and the point is fine enough for detail work, though a ten inch blade is more knife than most people want for small game.

Does the brass need polishing?

Only if you want it bright. Left alone it darkens to a warm brown patina. A metal polish and a soft cloth brings it back whenever you choose.

Is the sheath belt carried?

It is. The sheath has a belt loop sized for a standard belt, and it is cut to this blade so the knife seats fully with the guard against the welt.

Can you put a name on the blade instead of the knotwork?

Yes. Use the rune converter or send us plain lettering. Your engraving takes the place of the knotwork panel.

What is in the box

• Brasscliff bowie knife in 1095 high carbon steel
• Dark brown leather belt sheath
• Care card covering oiling, leather feeding and brass patina
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

Browse the rest of the bowie knives, the hunting knives, the Viking knives, and the guides.

Compare it with these

Also in this group is the Sawcrest bowie knife, forged from 1095. Sitting beside it in the catalogue is the Staghide bowie knife, pattern welded Damascus. Another in the same line is the Sandbone bowie knife, pattern welded Damascus.

For a different piece from the same family, look at the Stagsteel folding pocket knife. Pick the steel, the length and the fittings yourself on the custom hunting knife page.