Article by Dylan Sabot
A Bowie knife presents two principal challenges where sharpening the blade is concerned. First, the blade on these knives is anywhere from 6 to 12 inches long. At the longer extreme, this makes the blade almost as difficult to sharpen as is a short sword. The blade also has a significant curve at the tip, which requires some skill to sharpen correctly.
A Bowie knife can be sharpened via a traditional whetstone or with a number of products available on the market. Most of the newer products have automatic ways of ensuring that the sharpening is done correctly. Principally, these devices make it easier to maintain the correct sharpening angle and ensure the even removal of metal from both sides of the blade edge. These devices come in a multitude of options, and one always has the option of sharpening their knife in the traditional method, as well.
Bowie knives, because of their long blades, are best sharpened slowly with straight passes down the stone rather than by dragging the knife in circles on the whetstone. The latter method offers less control and the significant blade size of the Bowie makes it very easy to ruin the bevel of the blade when sharpening in this fashion. Using the angle guide, gently run the blade down the stone until there is an even burr-a raised section of metal, on the edges of the blade. The blade may not feel particularly sharp after this rough stoning of the blade.
Many owners prefer to sharpen their knife by hand. This requires coordination and patience. Done improperly, it can ruin the edge on a Bowie knife as quickly as can a bad automatic sharpener. Done properly, many users argue that this manual method produces the best of all results. Some individuals simply like sharpening the blade manually as it more closely resembles the reality of how the original pioneers and fighters who used these weapons would have maintained their own blades.
If one opts for an all-in-one system to sharpen one's Bowie knife, some considerations must be made. First, the guides on the all-in-one system must be wide enough to accomodate the thick blade of the Bowie. If not, one may end up sharpening their blade at an improper angle and ruining their knife. The sharpener should also have high-quality abrasives that actually sharpen the blade. The device must remove the metal from the blade evenly and along the correct edge for proper results.
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