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The Grandfather of Fighting Knives Rarely Comes This Clean, Smooth-Functioning and Affordable

CJRB continues to flex its EDC-friendly take on the classic American blade with this shiny silver rendition.

Close-up of a silver folding knife blade and handle with visible screws and a thumb stud on a turquoise background.CJRB Cutlery
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By Steve Mazzucchi

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Search for “Bowie” on CRJB’s site and you’ll turn up roughly a dozen folding versions of the original American knife, which has a history dating back roughly two centuries. 

Among this cornucopia are treatments with super steel blades, authentic wood handles and innovative mechanisms.

Five folding knives with different handle colors and blade finishes laid out on dark gray gravel.
CJRB offers Bowie-style blades on more than a dozen knives, including the all-silver edition (second from right) we are spotlighting today.
CJRB Cutlery

Still, I’d argue that one of the most compelling executions of the form keeps things simple and affordable. 

That would be the Bowie Pyrite J1942-ST, a vision in silver from tip to tail with slick modern functionality to boot. 

Hi-ho silver

While the original Bowie knife was a generous fixed blade, most modern interpretations bring it into the EDC space with folding capability.

These modern knives typically lack some of the old-school staples, including a crossguard, but the shape of the business end alone is a tribute to the beefy blades of yesteryear.

Silver folding knife with a clip on the handle and a partially serrated blade.
Most modern takes on the classic Bowie shape are reasonably sized folding knives that trumpet their EDC-leaning nature rather than their hand-to-hand fighting prowess.
CJRB Cutlery

CJRB is no exception, as it currently offers Bowie-style knives with three different types of mechanisms: button lock, classic slipjoint and its own proprietary Recoil V2, essentially a more user-friendly take on a crossbar lock.

This particular one adopts the first mechanism, which is remarkably strong and user-friendly, not to mention increasingly popular. 

Silver metal folding knife with a thin, pointed blade and a clip on the handle.
In tandem with the ambidextrous thumb studs, the button-lock mechanism makes this knife quite user-friendly.
CJRB Cutlery

The button lock is beloved because it not only makes one-handed retraction easy but also serves as a secondary deployment method, after the ambidextrous thumb studs.

Together with a ceramic ball bearing, it’s also incredibly smooth and satisfying to fidget with.

Close-up of a stonewashed stainless steel folding knife blade with a thumb stud and elongated oval cutout.
With its full belly and spine jimping, this blade is cut out for most everyday cutting tasks around the house.
CJRB Cutlery

This particular version is also about as clean as you can imagine, thanks to a blade, handle and hardware all rendered in silver. 

The blade itself takes the clip-point shape of a traditional Bowie knife, made of Artisan Cutlery’s affordable, reliable AR-RPM9 steel, with a length of 3.15 inches and a stonewashed finish. 

Closed silver stainless steel folding pocket knife with a clip on a white background.
The reversible clip is also made of steel, lending a sense of unity to the whole affair.
CJRB Cutlery

A bit of jimping aids detail works while the fuller adds a bit of throwback style and weight savings, helping the total package dip under 4 ounces (3.88 to be exact).

The sleek, subtly ergonomic handle is rendered in stainless steel, with a reversible tip-up deep-carry clip and lanyard hole making it easy to tote to boot.

Availability and pricing

The CJRB Bowie Pyrite J1942-ST is available now for $50.

About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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