Bowie Knife

"Good strong Russian steel!"

- Nikolai Belinski

The Bowie Knife is a special knife which can be bought for 3000 points off the wall in Der Riese, Kino der Toten, "Five", and Shangri-La. It is larger and wider than the standard combat knife in Call of Duty: World at War (or any other Call of Duty game so far). It increases Knife damage from 150 to 1150, making it a one-hit-kill for zombies from Round 1 to Round 11 (Round 9 for Black Ops), and through round 12 for Crawler zombies. It is a one-hit-kill to Hellhounds all the way up until the third Hellhound round. If equipped with a Pack-a-Punched Ballistic Knife, it will kill normal Zombies to Round 13 and Crawler zombies to round 17, as well as fast as a normal Ballistic Knife knifing action. Its first appearance was 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, the knife will still be in the player's possession upon respawning (this is not the case in Black Ops), making this the only weapon kept after death. It is better than the starting knife as the player's melee will become more powerful, however, sometimes the player may not get it before it loses its one-hit-kill status, making it somewhat of a waste of 3000 points. It is located right next to the Juggernog machine on Kino der Toten, and in the lab room on the left hand side when the player comes out of the elevator. The Bowie Knife did not make an appearance in Ascension and Call of the Dead due to its replacement for a new melee weapon, the Sickle.

It makes a return in Shangri La

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). Most likely made of cold steel or iron, shined and a light grayish tint. 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 I and World War II, designed for punching the opponent to stun them before stabbing them. 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 on Der Riese, called "40 Knives", which is worth 25 gamerscore on the Xbox 360, or a Bronze Trophy on the PlayStation 3.



Tips

 * The Bowie Knife is the only weapon in Der Riese (World at War only) 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), which makes it a very worthwhile purchase to get (even though many players generally ignore it).
 * The Bowie Knife works best when used in conjunction with Juggernog.
 * 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 does not require reloading.
 * 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 teammates to revive them. This is especially true if the only pistol the downed player has is an M1911, as it is useless on later rounds unless Insta-Kill is in effect.
 * Using the Bowie Knife in conjunction with the Ballistic Knife can prove to be a good combination, due to the quick melee and the extra power.
 * The Bowie Knife is very useful for killing crawlers. It can kill them with one or two slashes or stabs into the very high rounds. Using this with the Ray Gun is useful for saving ammo and earning points as the player can mutilate a zombie, and then finish them off with the knife giving him 130 points.
 * Juggernog is recommended with this since a player may choose to knife more frequently.

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, leaving the player vulnerable to any zombies close to them.
 * In the game files, the knife is treated as a perk, however, the Achievement "Perkaholics Anonymous" can be unlocked even when holding the Bowie Knife.
 * When the Bowie Knife is used, a sound of metal being sharpened is heard.
 * Sometimes when Nikolai buys the Bowie Knife he says, "sweet Russian steel" even though the Bowie Knife originated in America.
 * The Bowie Knife seems to have blood stains on it, even before any use.
 * Some times, on the Wii, it's impossible to buy the Bowie knife off the wall after a player has bought it.
 * The Bowie knife in third person has the same size as a machete. This can be seen if the player uses the Ballistic Knife with a bought Bowie knife as a different player looks at that player's character model.
 * On the Wii version of Kino der Toten, the big teddy bear in Samantha's zombiefied room is holding a massive Bowie Knife.