This post describes and analyzes nineteenth century state statutes on Bowie knives. It is a companion to my post The legal history of bans on firearms and Bowie knives before 1900, which described case law.
As detailed in that article, the term "Bowie knife" because popular for knife marketing in America and Great Britain after Jim Bowie used a traditional knife at a famous "sandbar fight" on the lower Mississippi River in 1827. Statutes specifically regulating the "Bowie knife" began with Mississippi in 1837, and continued for the rest of the century.
Among the 220 state or territorial statutes with the words "Bowie knife" or "Bowie knives" only 5 were just about Bowie knives (along with their close relative, the Arkansas toothpick). Almost always, Bowie knives were regulated the same as other well-known knives that were well-suited for fighting against humans and animals–namely "dirks" or "daggers." That same regulatory category frequently also included "sword-canes." About 98% of statutes on "Bowie knives" treated them the same as other blade arms. Bowie knives did not set any precedent for a uniquely high level of control. They were regulated the same as a butcher's knife.
