You all might be interested in a book, Mark Zalesky from Knife Magazine has written/published with amazing pictures of original Bowie type knives, "A Sure Defense: the Bowie Knife in America". Through him I have been fortunate to handle/trace/measure/pattern many of those original "Bowie" knives including a documented James Black coffin handle bowie and a Samuel Bell blade.
James Black of Washington, Arkansas was the probable maker of the Bowie #1 model, the large blade below with the angled handle. Samuel Bell was a jeweler/maker in Knoxville, TN and San Antonio, TX in the first half of the 19th Century who made amazing intricate gentleman's knives.
As several posters have already stated the original Bowies were large, heavy blades, I have seen them as thick as a 1/2" spine. They were for a specific cutting edge up style of fighting. My personal favorite has always been the Searles-Fowler Bowie (Right side, third from the bottom) made for Rezin Bowie to give as a gift.
I really like that New Zealand blade, you can definitely see the Gold Rush era, California spear point bowie influence in it. Neat carving on the handle.
