NATCHEZ &045; Did Jim Bowie make his knife famous, or is it the other way around?

History buffs will have to wait until next month’s Jim Bowie Festival to make their case, because Saturday at the Natchez Community Center knives will rule the day.

Mike Worley expects nearly 40 collectors from all over the country to be in town for the second annual Jim Bowie Knife Show, bringing with them some of the premiere collections of antique guns and knives in the world.

The decision on where to hold the festival was easy for Worley and his co-host, Logan Sewell.

&uot;We decided that Natchez is where it all began,&uot; Worley said. &uot;We thought it important that it be held in Natchez.&uot;

Where it all began is out on the Vidalia sandbar, where a routine pistol duel in 1827 turned into a mythical melee, in which Bowie, depending on who tells it, was stabbed, shot or beaten. His famed knife helped him escape with his life, legend says.

What really went on that day may be debatable, but the result is undeniable.

As the news wended its way eastward, Bowie’s reputation grew. Soon, &uot;men were going to blacksmiths and asking for ‘a knife like Bowie’s,’&uot; Terry Vandeventer, a bladesmith from Terry said.

Vandeventer will be on hand displaying a blade he forged as the prize for the upcoming Phatwater Kayak Challenge in October. The blade, which Vandeventer estimated took some 80 hours to produce, is made up of more than 600 layers from two different kinds of steel. This technique is known as pattern welding; a knife made by this process is said to be Damascus steel. While each pattern is predictable, no two are the same.

No two knife collections are the same either. Sewell’s includes a rifle owned by Risen Bowie, Jim’s brother, along with several knives carried in the Civil War. He looks forward to Saturday’s show.

&uot;It’s a good chance for the public who doesn’t even think about knives to see what people go through for the pleasure of others,&uot; Sewell said.

The public is welcome to bring pre-1900 knives and guns to the buy-sell-trade event. Security will be on hand.

The show runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3.

Worley said last year’s event drew 25 collectors and is catching on with the antique community.

&uot;This is becoming the event not to miss among antique knife collectors,&uot; Worley said.