Thanks to all who have posted thus far. This week we shall cover the remaining 3 models of the Model 12s. The Smithsonian, the Confederate Bowie, and the Raymond Thorp Bowie.

From Randall Made Knives: The History of the Man and the Blades by Robert L. Gaddis

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When he [Bo] watched the Warner Brothers motion picture The Iron Mistress in late 1952, starring Alan Ladd in the role of James Bowie, Bo knew that he could shortly expect the arrival of numerous requests for similar large bowie knives.... The first thing he needed was a picture of this Iron Mistress knife so that he could get a good idea of its dimensions.

A day or two after viewing the movie, Bo contacted his good friend the theater manager there in Orlando with his request for a frame of the film showing the big knife. They took one from the sequence where the blacksmith, Mr. Black, is demonstrating the knife for Jim Bowie.... From this picture, he and Bill Platts were able to make a similar knife....

..."1 Bowie, 11 x 3/8 x 2 1/2, Brass Strip & Butt Cp." Expanding upon this abbreviated notation gives us an Iron Mistress-style bowie whose blade is 11 inches long, made from 3/8-inch-thick stock, with a width of 2 1/2 inches. Swedish tool steel made up the blade, and a brass strip was welded down the back or spine part of the top edge. The butt cap was made from brass instead of the usual aluminum. The hilt and handle materials weren't mentioned, so we know that they were the usual brass and leather, respectively....

In the late 1950s, correspondence with the Smithsonian Institution established that it had an authentic knife from the 1830s or 1840s that was very similar in size and style to this Randall bowie. This led Bo to call it the "Smithsonian Bowie" when he named all the Model 12 bowie knives....

About midway through 1957, Bo wrote to Alan Ladd at Warner Brothers Studio, posing a couple of questions, the one being the actual dimensions of the Iron Mistress knife used in the movie. ... [Alan Ladd's reply] shows that the Randall Model 12 Heavy, later named "Smithsonian" was very close in size as well as shape to the motion picture knife. (pp. 131-134)

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The second bowie to become the standard in the Randall line was the one now called "The Confederate Bowie." It, too, had an 11-inch blade, but its width was a slimmer 1 7/8 inch and the forging stock was 1/4 inch instead of 3/8 inch tool steel. At first, it was known as the Light Bowie, or simply noted as "Bowie, 11 x 1 7/8 x 1/4 inch." It received its current name... because of the blade's close resemblance to one on an authentic homemade Civil War bowie. Bo obtained this antique knife in 1954 from Robert Ables, the well-known and respected antique firearms and edged weapons dealer....(p. 135)

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Raymond W. Thorp had a solid reputation as a writer and historian in the field of early Western Americana. He had authored many hundreds of magazine articles, but of more interest to Bo was his book Bowie Knife that had been published by the University of New Mexico Press in 1948.

[The men had a long friendship, carried on by letter.] Ray Thorp wrote something that Bo quoted many times in later years: "I still think that if Bowie himself were around and there was no Black in sight, he would order your Number One, maybe with a longer blade." (James Black is the blacksmith usually credited with making James Bowie's original knife.)

...The first Randall Made Thorp Bowie left the Orlando shop in April 1956 and went by special delivery mail to the Iraqi Embassy in Washington, D.C. This knife was part of a two-knife set, the Bowie and Arkansas Toothpick, ordered in December 1955 for King Faisal II of Iraq....

Bo had written to Raymond Thorp at the time of the Iraqi order, but Thorp had moved, and Bo didn't know his new address. This problem wasn't solved until Thorp sent a short letter to Bo on 16 March 1957. His opening sentence read: "I have just received from King Faisal of Iraq a large picture of the knives you made for him at my suggestion."

Bo was glad to hear from his old friend.... I am enclosing a check for $16.00, which I wanted to send you long ago for the commission on the King Faisal order, and I hope that you will accept it. (pp. 157-159)

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I'm really looking forward to seeing these huge-bladed masterpieces. Lady and Gentlemen, may we please see some Smithsonians, Confederates, and Thorps.

I hope you all have a healthy and happy New Year!
Kevin
#5109