The bowie knife and knife fighting
THE IRON MISTRESS was mostly historical fiction, but much of the history behind the forging of the first bowie knife was left in place, beginning with James Bowie's meeting with master knife-maker, James Black, an actual historical person. The steel meteorite part of the historical legend is still there but it cannot be historically substantiated. Nonetheless the steel meteorite is a charming part of the legend.
The knife duel between Jim Bowie and the crooked gambler wielding an Arkansas toothpick dagger, was vivid and realistic. It was an extremely dangerous staged stunt fight for the stuntmen because you can hear the metal of the knives clanging against one another. Evidently Bowie severed the tendons in his opponent's right arm which crippled the man.
THE ETHNIC HISTORY OF KNIFE-FIGHTING IN THE UNITED STATES
Knife fighting was clearly part of the early pioneer man's survival skills all the way into the early decades of the 19th century. And we are talking about white men in particular. The advent of the revolver pistol helped eclipse knife-fighting. Well into the 20th century, a new cultural more surfaced in America. Knife-fighting was no longer an honorable skill for white men. THIS IS NOT A MORAL JUDGEMENT. THIS IS A HISTORICAL DISCUSSION OF THE CHANGE IN CULTURE AND SOCIETY. By the 50s and 60s it was clearly a sign of dirty fighting to, "pull a knife" in a fight. Knife-fighting was considered very disreputable and associated with Afro-Americans. Conveniently it was long-forgotten that knife-fighting was a valued skill for the native American Indian and for the early pioneering white man.
Knife-fighting is still practiced and taught today, but for specialized purposes for specialized individuals, such as the military special forces. You won't find knife-fighting schools in the Yellow Pages. Knife-fighting is no longer considered a man's vital, survival skill. It is still considered something of a questionable nature as if the man wanting to learn knife-fighting had less-than-legal intentions.
Watch the movie, EXPOSURE (1991) for an excellent example of knife-teaching skills. Peter Coyote is the main actor who as an international photographer, is ambushed and stabbed by organized crime thugs and his friend, a street prostitute, is murdered by the same thugs. Coyote decides to take up knife-fighting from a mysterious, local man, called a, 'per-sev', in the local lingo, meaning, to perforate and sever, a knife fighter. The mysterious man teaches Coyote how to knife fight because Coyote did a big favor by alerting the man to an ambusher behind him in a street fight some time ago. The twist is that the mysterious man's employer/mentor is connected to the organized crime thugs that previously victimized Coyote. I won't give away any more details but go rent the DVD.