Compared to a combat knife, a Bowie knife deals higher damage at a slightly higher rate of attack, so having a higher damage-per-second (DPS) value. It deals higher critical hit damage though with a lower critical chance multiplier, costs more AP, has higher durability, and has twice the caps value. It does require 75 Melee Weapons to wield effectively, compared to the combat knife's 50, but shares a requirement of 3 Strength. It is considered an improved holdout weapon.
Visually, the weapon is a large clip-point blade with a riveted brown handle. Small contact marks mar the edge, and streaks of what appears to be blood or rust can be seen running across the sides of the blade and the hilt. The blade is stamped with the serial number 02280.
Special attack[]
The weapon has a special"Dirt-Nap" attack, which does 80% damage in V.A.T.S. at the cost of 8 fewer action points (requires a Melee skill of 50).
It is possible to execute "Dirt-Nap" outside of V.A.T.S. (without the required Melee skill of 50 to perform the move) by initiating a power attack (hold attack button) while moving forward.
Durability[]
The Bowie knife can successfully strike about 495 times from full condition before breaking.
Like the teddy bear, the Bowie knife behaves erratically when picked up (when placing it on a table, etc.).
Behind the scenes[]
The weapon is based on the Bowie knife, popularized by, and named for Colonel James Bowie, an American pioneer and soldier who famously participated in the Texas Revolution in the early 19th century.
The weapon's special attack "Dirt-Nap" refers to the phrase, "take a dirt-nap" which is slang among organized crime groups for executing a target and burying them in an unmarked grave, similar to "sleeping with the fishes," when the body is submerged in deep bodies of water, intending to hide evidence of the kill from potential discovery by authorities. In the Fallout series, the term "dirt-nap" is used many times by Set in Fallout.
The Bowie knife's special VATS attack Dirt-Nap would have had more depth to it on release if it was not for an oversight. In the GECK, there is an unused actor effect, NVDLC04BowieKnifeVATSAE, that if were correctly assigned, would've allowed the player to perform non-lethal, stealth takedowns in VATS, as long as they were sneaking and undetected. The stealth takedown would be limited to all non-robot creatures only, and a message box would appear every time it was used, displaying whether the attack was successful, a failure, or performed on a robot. If performed successfully, the enemy would be hit with 1000 points of Fatigue damage, knocking them out. Oddly, in the messages the Dirt-Nap attack is called the "Let's Dance" attack.