Derek R
Walcott Norfolk England

Jan 26, 2017

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Cold steel bushman bowie

So what is it , is it a knife well of course , is it spear it can be, is it a chopper hmmm just, What it really is , is the cheapest most useful tool one can buy ( in my opinion) and made by cold steel, Also a great thrower I own 6 of these and I never set trail without one or two or three or ,well I think you get the jest and gess what I have another 3 arriving any day now so buy one or six you won't regret it take a look at cold steel video on utube if you haven't already, you are always going to get a failure now and then but remember these are built to a budget and you get your money's worth in the knife never mind the sheath

Peter
PA

May 11, 2013

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Sheath/Scabbard, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Finish

amazing survival knife

this Knife is my number 1 pick for a survival knife! The handle on this knife is 2-3 times heavier then most full tange knives, at first this gave me some disappointment; however, when I got to test it, it turned out to be EXTREMELY effective. This knife comes as close to a machete on ANY tree or sapling, up to 2". Only one swing is needed with the bushmen, to cut ANYTHING,(and most materials) up to 3/4". 2-3 well placed swings and anything bigger, up to like 2". It even cuts(not breaks) most of the way through a 1/2 pvc pipe. It comes extremely sharp, and holds it's original edge ,which shreds paper EXTREMELY well. When thrown into a piece of wood, depending on the condition of the wood, the Bowie Blade Bushman penetrates up to 2"+. And over all penetration, when the point is still fresh, is funaminal. The only two cons, I've found is that it's difficult to fit a spear handle to it, whith out getting stuck. And the matte finish blocks the steel from making contact with the flint,(which, if longer would also be awesome) I've tried scraping the finish of that part of the spine, and it didn't work. If your hiking, I'd carry another knife with you, for use with the fire steel. I love this knife so much, that I'm thinking about getting another one. and this is a good price too. I have 5+ Cold Steel products, and would recommend 3 of them. And the other 2 would be great for self-defense, just not what I need them for.

John
Mississippi

Jul 21, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Finish, Handle Material, Materials, Overall Quality, Sheath/Scabbard, Weight

Cons: None

Solid knife for the price

I plan to use this knife when I’m out backpacking or camping. I tried the fire starter and it worked quite well. This is a solid knife and well worth the price.

Pedro
Mexico

Jun 17, 2023

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Cold steal Bowie blade bushman 7

Perfect cold steal

Joe
Edmond, OK

May 30, 2020

Pros: Weight, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Better than a backup

Originally intended as an emergency survival knife, this thing has quickly become one of my “go to” blades. It’s lightweight, incredibly versatile, ridiculously affordable, and the fire starter works every time. Very few survival knives come close to matching the Bushman’s many perks. That’s why I own three and always recommend them to everyone.

Spudnick
Nyc

Mar 19, 2021

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Great Bowie Blade

Great item

Nw Guy
northern Michigan

Jun 14, 2017

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Sheath/Scabbard

GREAT BLADES, GREAT PRICE, OK sheaths.

SO... I just returned from a 2 week camping trip to Alaska. The knife I took with me, my Bowie Bushman. I have been a long time fan of Cold Steel but the Bushman knives have always been my favorites. The first thing I do with them, (I have 4 of Bowie for different vehicles and uses and 2 of the original blade, one of which my wife stole for kitchen work.) is a little blade touch up. They come sharp but a little stone work and they get really scary sharp. Next thing is wrap the handle in about 20 feet of limp snare wire. Then, I wrap the grip in about 30 feet of para cord. I have big hands and it fills the grip and gives me "options" for making my life easier in the bush. With the knife prepped, I can easily make shelter, and maybe with luck catch some food. The blades are durable and will take a lot of work before they need to be touched up. I have been dragging Cold Steel Bushman knives all over the US and Canada for years. I gutted and dressed 3 caribou with the Bushman and never had to touch up the blade. AND heaven forbid, if you do lose it in the bush or have to use it beyond its capabilities (although I am not sure how you could do that under camping situations) the cost is not damaging to ones pocketbook. The ONLY complaint I have ever had is the sheath provided with it. But for the price not everything can be expected to be perfect. The Cordura sheath is floppy with no way to secure the knife and it is too long for the knife itself.(I have always been hoping they were going to build a Bushman that actually would fill out the sheath.) It does have a little pouch on it that can hold some extras. I usually throw a small compass and a fire starter mag/striker block in the pouch. The design does not allow for inverted carry from your pack straps. The injection molded sheath does lock the blade but it is not ambidextrous, and will not work with the grip build out that I do. But either sheath will work for carrying the knife around. Can't expect a $20 piece of leather on a $26 knife. I am going on 69 years old and have been through a LOT of knives and equipment in my life outdoors and I may have paid more for blades in the past but none of them will beat the value you get from a Bushman series from Cold Steel.

Raphael
Sunnyvale, CA

Jun 07, 2013

Pros: None

Cons: None

Great value and fun to customize

The hollow handle (great for spear-making) and low cost of this knife drew me to it. It arrived as sharp as I'd expect it to be -- sharp enough out of the box to be put directly to use. That said, I always like to see a knife reach its maximum potential, so I did two things: (1) Using my Tormek grinder, I ground a long section of the spine flat so that it could throw great sparks using the included firesteel. (2) Using a 5-inch sanding wheel and adhesive-backed 320-grit sandpaper I convexed the edge. Both steps were easy and greatly improved the knife. The best part is this: Even if you're new to such customizations, this knife's low cost makes such experimentation affordable. On the off chance you ruin the blade (very unlikely) you're not out a lot of money. For this kind of money, there are no "Cons."

Tobias
Sweden

May 22, 2014

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Sheath/Scabbard

One of my new favourites

This knife came razor sharp out of the box! When drawn from the sheath it makes a lovely metallic sound. I absolutely love the back to basics design of this knife. It will chop and cut in an excellent way.I haven´t tried it as a thrower yet.The only con is the sheath. It does the job ok but doesn´t lock the knife very securely. Also, the belt clip is too simple. Now, with the great pricing I would recommend it to anybody who want a very good knife.

D Darling
Oklahoma

Aug 10, 2015

Pros: Weight, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Great Value

Took this knife on a 3 day 2 nite canoe trip. Worked great processing campfire wood, and making banklines, and limblines. Not shabby at cutting up a watermelon either. Great Value. Good bang for the buck. I'm keepin this one!

Dude
USA

Jul 20, 2022

Pros: None

Cons: None

Dun

Haven't had this much fun for $20 since I was in Thailand.

Tony C
Florida

Apr 15, 2013

Pros: Blade Material, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Versatile knife

Good quality and versatile knife for the money. Will be primarily used for camping and hiking.

Gus
Hawthorne, Ca

Nov 28, 2016

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Sheath/Scabbard

Cons: None

A smooth round handle is not ideal for a knife. But this knife provides a great way of buying a low cost, strong spear head without shipping a 2 to 4 foot handle. And it comes with a sheath which is great for transport. Too good.

Fern
Capital of Canada

Oct 10, 2017

Pros: Overall Quality, Blade Material

Cons: Sheath/Scabbard

Cold Steel Bowie Bushman Blade with Secure-Ex sheath and fire steel

I've always been pleased with my Bowie Bushman blade. I bought one a few years back with the nylon sheath and wasn't as pleased with the sheath back then, the knife keeps cutting the sheath putting it back in. Both blades are in service for the backpacking I do, and usually loan the second to my fellow backpacker. The sheath that comes with the new purchase, well, at least it's secure-ex, but I find it flimsy. It's not as solid I wish it could have been. I'll probably have to re-work it to my liking. Again, shipping was awesome as I had purchase the Cold Steel GI Tanto at the same time and shipping early.

Marc-Antony
Chicoutimi, Qc

Jul 05, 2018

Pros: Overall Quality, Blade Material, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Weight, Sheath/Scabbard

A nice light bushcraft knife

This knife is realy interesting because of the handle. It can be used to turn the knife into a spear for several bushcraft tasks or to store some charcloth. The problem is that the handle is round. I'm thinking about hammering it a little bit to give it a oval shape which would rotate less in the hand. It is also fairly light which is great for carry but a bit of a down side when it come to chopping. Otherwise it came really sharp right out of the box but its possible to get it ridiculously sharp with a few strokes on the ceramic rod/leather strip.

Mel
Penticton, BC

Dec 10, 2013

Pros: None

Cons: None

Ooops...

I ordered the Bowie Blade Bushman with a cordura sheath, along with another regular blade 7" Bushman with the Secure-Ex sheath. Upon opening the box, although the packaging indicated a Bowie, I found just another regular 7" Bushman with a cordura sheath. Well, at least the sheath part was right! The knife will be just fine, and is not worth the trouble of returning. The rating in no way reflects upon the quality of the Bowie Bushman, only on it's packaging.

Greg
ct.usa

Dec 16, 2013

Pros: Weight, Sheath/Scabbard, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Low cost tool

This is a light weight , sharp knife with large cutting area. Purchased to help me get thru thorn bushes.etc. Would not use it to pry side to side ,but lengthwise its strong.