Ramwhorl Hand Forged Damascus Ram Horn Bowie Knife | 13 Inch Overall | Brass Guard and Engraved Bolster with Leather Sheath | Hunting Gift | RK-1853

The Ramwhorl is a full sized bowie with a clip point, a long swept belly and a blade forged from 1095 and 15N20 pattern welded together. The handle is ram horn, left with its natural banding so the amber and smoke coloured layers run the length of the grip, and it is set off by brass and dark red spacers and a brass bolster cut with a fine scroll. The brass double guard is straight, with one quillon above the blade and one below it.

The bowie is one of the few knife patterns anyone can date reasonably well. It grew out of the fighting and hunting knives of the American southwest in the 1830s, and the feature everyone remembers, the clipped tip, was there to solve a specific problem. A heavy camp knife with a full spine has a slow tip. Clip the last third of the spine away and the point drops toward the centre line of the blade, so it enters faster and steers better, while the belly behind it keeps enough mass to chop. This one is forged, ground, etched, hardened and fitted in the Czech Republic, and it ships in the stitched leather sheath shown. You will find it filed with the Bowie knives, along with the rest of the Viking knives.

Specifications

What the clip on a clip point is doing

Look at the last three inches of the spine. On a plain camp knife that section runs straight to the tip and the point sits high, up on the line of the spine. Here it is cut away in a long concave sweep so the point drops until it sits near the middle of the blade width. Two things follow. The tip becomes finer, which means it starts a cut with less pressure, and the point ends up in line with your knuckles, which means it goes where you aim it instead of where the spine happens to be pointing.

The upper edge along that clip is ground thin as a swage. On a working knife it is left unsharpened so you can put a thumb on it for control. Ask us in your order notes and we will leave it blunt or bring it up sharp, whichever suits how you intend to use the knife.

The belly behind the tip is the other half of the design. It is long and gently curved, which is what you want for skinning, because a curved edge presents a small contact patch and works around bone rather than digging into it. A bowie is a compromise between a chopper and a skinner, and this profile leans slightly toward the skinner.

Ram horn and pattern welded steel

Ram horn is keratin, the same material as a fingernail, laid down in seasonal growth layers. Those layers are why the grip is striped rather than uniform, and why no two handles come out alike. Horn is worked by heating and pressing it flat, then stabilising it before it is shaped to the tang, because raw horn moves with humidity. Stabilised and sealed it is dense, warm in the hand and quietly grippy when wet, which is more than can be said for polished wood.

The blade is 1095 and 15N20 folded and drawn together. The 15N20 carries nickel and stays bright in the acid. The 1095 goes dark. Together they give the raindrop and ladder figure you can see running down the flats. Both steels harden in the same quench, so the finished blade sits evenly at 58 to 60 HRC across the pattern and cuts as one piece of steel, because that is exactly what it is.

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 this knife the scrollwork on the brass bolster is the engraved element, so a name or a rune line cut there will take its place. See the engraving page for what is possible.

Handling and balance

The balance sits just forward of the guard, which is what makes a bowie of this size feel purposeful rather than clumsy. Weight is in the blade, not the handle, so the knife falls into a chop on its own and you steer it rather than drive it. The ram horn is shaped with a slight swell at the rear so the hand does not slide back under the brass, and the guard gives your forefinger somewhere positive to sit for finer work up near the tip.

Care

Dry the blade after every use and put a light film of mineral oil on it before it goes in a drawer. Etched Damascus shows fingerprints quickly and they will bite into the finish if left. Horn should never be soaked, left in a hot car or run through any kind of washer, because heat and water make it warp and craze. A little neutral wax on the horn once a year keeps it from drying out. Do not store the knife in the leather sheath long term. Our steel care page covers spotting, patina and how to bring a tired etch back up.

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 is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Ram horn especially varies. The banding, the colour, the amount of amber against the dark and the translucency at the thin edges are all natural and none of it repeats. The Damascus pattern will be your own too, because no billet draws out twice the same way. The steel, the dimensions and the build stay constant. The character does not. More on the blade shapes guide elsewhere on the site, along with the Bowie knives worth having.

Frequently asked questions

Is the knife sharp when it arrives?

Yes, it comes shaving sharp along the main edge. The swage along the clip is left unsharpened unless you ask for it sharp.

Is the handle real horn?

Yes, it is natural ram horn, stabilised and sealed. That is why the banding differs from knife to knife.

Will the Damascus rust?

It can. Both steels in the billet are carbon steels with no meaningful chromium. Keep it dry and oiled and it will be fine.

Can I use this for field dressing a deer?

Yes. The long belly is well suited to skinning and the point is fine enough for careful work around the pelvis and brisket.

Does it come with a sheath?

Yes, a saddle stitched vegetable tanned leather belt sheath ships with the knife.

How soon will it ship?

Allow one to two weeks of processing, then free shipping inside the United States.

What is in the box

• One Ramwhorl Damascus bowie knife with a ram horn handle
• One saddle stitched brown leather belt sheath
• A light protective oil film on the blade
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

More in bowie knives, hunting knives and Viking knives, with field and sharpening notes in the guides.

If this one is not it

Closest to this in the range is the Bonecreek bowie knife, 15 inches overall. If this one is not quite right, there is the Riverclaw bowie knife, 14 inches overall. Also in this group is the Cordfang bowie knife, 12 inches overall.

If you are putting a set together, the Trailhorn tracker knife sits alongside it. Pick the steel, the length and the fittings yourself on the custom Damascus knife page.