Found a couple Westerns at the OKCA show

[orvet]

I found a couple Western knives at the Oregon show this last weekend.
One is a folder, a Western States stockman with an arched top line of the stamp.
It sure has some pretty celluloid on the handles. The hue of the color changes as you move the knife in the light.

The other knife is a bifurcated tang with yellow celluloid cracked ice inserts in the handles, a #239. Looking in Harvey Platts’ book, I only see that pattern in the catalog reprints of the 1950s catalogs. It came with a nice sheath but not the one described in Platts' book.

Any input or info on these knives would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dale

[junebug]

nice haul!!!
i been gettin into westerns as of late.....thanx for showin!!






junebug

[tongueriver]

Well, I like Westerns and I like celluloid, and I like your knives, Dale! As you know, they stopped calling themselves WESTERN STATES on their letterheads in 1942. Harvey said that arched stamp was good until 1950, but I am skeptical about that. I think they stopped using it before the War broke out. Now that I mention it, I think a lot of his "facts" were a little fuzzy. His book was a promo item to boost sales and I don't think he was a stickler for historical accuracy. Life is short, and by 1978, the publication date of his book, most of the experts (the blue collar worker cutler nobodies) who actually made the early knives were retired or dead, and he would not have condescended to talk to the lower class anyway. By the way, if events transpire positively in coming days, I might have more to offer.