Bowie Knife

The Bowie Knife is a special melee weapon which can be bought for 3000 points in Der Riese. It is larger and wider than the standard combat knife in Call of Duty: World at War (or any Call of Duty game for that matter). It increases Knife damage from 200 to 1000, making it a one-hit-kill for zombies from Round 1 to Round 12. It is a one-hit-kill to Hellhounds all the way up until round 17 It first made its appearance in the Map Pack 3 television ad. One interesting thing to note is that the Bowie Knife will never be lost, even if the player completely dies, he/she will get it back after respawning, making this the only weapon kept after death.

Appearance
The Bowie Knife is very large, possibly one foot in length (by comparison to other weapons bought off the wall), and is anywhere from 3 to 5 inches deep (until the curve). The Bowie Knife also has a large hand guard, with brass knuckles wrapped around it (this is known as a "knuckleduster" grip). These sorts of knives were used commonly during World War II and World War I, designed to punch the opponent to stun them before slicing open their throat for a quick kill. The weapon is similar in most respects to a trench knife, as well as the original design of Jim Bowie's combat knife.

Trophy/Achievement
There is a trophy/achievement for killing 40 zombies with this knife in one game, called 40 Knives, which is worth 25 gamerscore on the Xbox 360, or a Bronze Trophy on the Playstation 3. A way to get this trophy/achievement is to buy the knife at around round 5 or so and go into the tunnel near the teleporter and to camp and knife Zombies and Hellhounds. It awards a lot of points, and the trophy/achievement. If not, then use it when Insta-Kill is active and slash through to the trophy/achievement. Juggernog is a huge boost for both methods.

Tips

 * Although some players complain that it isn't worth getting, costing 3000 points in addition to 3750 opening doors if it is obtained early enough a skilled player should easily be able to rack up well over 15000 points before it is no longer one hit kill.
 * The Bowie Knife is the only weapon in Der Riese that a player will never lose if killed/downed. This means that it is an investment that will never be lost (short of the game ending, of course), which makes it a very worthwhile purchase to get ASAP (even though many players generally ignore it).
 * The Bowie Knife works best when used in conjunction with Juggernog, due to the obvious risk involved with getting close enough to zombies in order to use the knife.
 * It is advised to use the knife only when facing one or perhaps two zombies at a time. If a player attempts to bowie knife a horde of a dozen or so zombies odds are that the player will get swarmed.
 * It is always a good idea to have a good CQC weapon (SMG, Shotgun, etc.) when using the Bowie Knife on zombies. This is because the Bowie knife is only capable of taking on one (or maybe two) zombies at a time, so something else is needed for when the trickle of zombies turns into a flood.
 * At round 13, the Bowie Knife ceases to be a one-hit kill against Zombies, however it is still far better to have than the regular knife (which at this point would take an unreasonable number of hits to take out a zombie).
 * The Bowie knife remains a one-hit kill against Hellhounds until the third Hellround, and is arguably a better weapon against them when two people knife at once due to the fact the Bowie Knife doesn't require reloading, Hellhounds come one, two, or just maybe three at a time when camping against them, and plus that their health maxes at 1600 no matter what, unlike the zombies.
 * The Bowie knife is an excellent weapon for the purpose of guarding windows, next to the Flamethrower.
 * The Bowie knife is very useful if a player is downed, as this will allow them to do significant damage (or even kill) passing Zombies and making it easier for team mates to revive them. This is especially true if the only pistol the downed player has is an un-upgraded M1911, as the Colt is virtually useless on later rounds unless Insta-Kill is in effect.
 * Beware that the Bowie Knife may occasionally miss a Zombie entirely, or even if it does connect it is possible to be simultaneously hit by the Zombie (with both the player and Zombie killing each other at the same time).
 * If a player gets hit by a zombie it is advised to back away and maintain distance for a few seconds in order to heal up before attempting to knife the Zombie again.
 * Shooting a Zombie several times with a firearm (without killing it) can weaken the Zombie until it becomes a one-hit kill with the Bowie Knife. This is a strategy that can make the Bowie Knife useful on later rounds where it is no longer a one-hit kill on its own. The reasons a player would want to do this are because it yields more points, uses less ammo, and will help towards obtaining the 40 Knives Trophy/Achievement.

Trivia

 * This is the first time in Call of Duty history where players can switch out their knife.
 * Upon buying the Bowie knife, the character examines and comments on it before holstering it, which can get them downed if zombies are nearby.
 * In the game files, the knife is treated as a perk, however, you can still get the Achievement "Perkaholics Anonymous" while holding the Bowie Knife.
 * When the Bowie Knife is used, a sound of metal being sharpened is heard.
 * Sometimes in early rounds it is possible to behead a zombie with the Bowie Knife. This may be the result of a "headshot", with the knife connecting with the Zombie's head/neck.
 * When buying the Bowie knife, the player doesn't visibly throw out their old knife. In theory, this means the player would have two knives.
 * The Bowie Knife cannot be upgraded with the Pack-A-Punch Machine, however, this makes sense because it itself could be seen as a "pack-a-punched" version of the default knife the players starts out with anyway.
 * If the Fly Trap is activated, a Teddy Bear holding a Bowie Knife will appear in one of the windows overlooking the Mainframe.
 * One of the strangest glitches involving the Bowie Knife occurs if a Flamethrower is used in combination with the bowie knife; the knifing noise will sound like a normal knife. Another glitch is a slow knife, which occurs if a player holds a Bouncing Betty whilst knifing.