Posted on 12/28/2002 1:54:30 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Is this what you're talking about?
Oh no. The Arkansas Toothpick, essentially an oversized double-edged dagger [or undersized variant of the Roman gladius Iberius shortsword] is an outstanding tool as a sentry removal implement [see also the similar if shorter Fairborn Commando knife, with a double-edged taperpoint blade of circa 7 inches] and nearly the ideal tool for the Italian school fencing techniques in which a shorter knife or sword was used in the left or *weak* hand while the primary sword or foil did it's work in the other, allowing patterns of both blocks and killing thrusts in tandem with the other blade, particularly useful against multiple opponents in a day in which firearms were almost always offered but a single shot.
Such use of a Arkansas Toothpick nowadays might be better accompanied by a cane or walkingstick, though some swordcanes offer an interesting possibility.
But the double-edged blade of an Arkie Toothpicker offers too much chance of sticking in bone, particularly the ribs, when used as a thrusting weapon, and the point can be vulnerable to breaking or bending if sideways flex is applied to the blade as a skewered opponent moves or drops unexpectedly. Too, many traditional Toothpick designs offer poor designs of handles or grips, and their blades are a bit light for a hacking stroke, though they'll do nicely to slash with. But you'll find all sorts of knife wound survivors who brag about their collection of scars requiring dozens of stitches to piece them back togather; you don't hear those sorts of claims from those who've taken a thrust through the heart, throat or eye.
The usual Bowie has a little more guard than I care for, but the clip-point blad is both strong and penetrates well with a solid thrust behind it. But my own experience and habits have resulted in my own preference for another older and more traditional cutting implement, whether as tool or weapon, and I've found versions ranging in price from $25 to $2500 to be equally suitable.
Now with one of them in my right hand and your toothpick in my left, I'd be an interesting and difficult opponent for most single adversaries, and against many two or three-person combinations. but I'd bet there were more Arkansaw Toothpicks at the Alamo fight or San Jacinto than Bowies, whether Black or Bowie family originals or copies thereof.
You ever seen the monograph on the use of edged weaponry for self-defense written by Cassius M. Clay of Kentucky? [not the prizefighter, the original 19th-Century plantation owner and statesman from whom the boxer's name was derived]He knew a thing or two about the subject....
Prejudiced on the subject? You bet. Experience offers the data worthy of consideration for judging such comparisons.
Is this what you're talking about?
That's a beautifully crafted modern version, though most of the period fighting tools were a good deal larger and longer- as were the Bowies of that time. Remember, their users were at times going up against mounted Mexican cavalry with sabers.
Nah, He'd be braggin'...and rightfully so. But I have a fair idea, based on the reference to the Ben McCullough Colt Dragoon pistol.
But I'd reckon the REAL holy grail would be any of the three known Bowies recovered from the Alamo, one of which is probably the James Black original. Of course the pair of .36 Colt Paterson revolvers owned by Nathan Bedford Forrest when he arrived in Texas as a youngster might be of particular interest as well....
Important evidence now settles the question of who made that first Bowie knife. “The first Bowie knife was made by myself in the parish of Avoyelles,” wrote Rezin Bowie went on to describe the knife.>
With your cold, high winds in the winter, and extreme heat, compounded by your nasty humidity in the summer, I'm glad your there and not me :o
Texas is nice, but would *never* be in my top 5 choices.
My pride and joy from my collection.
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