MAKER:   Western

PATTERN:   39L

BLADE ETCH:  ORVET CUSTOMS (logo)/ DALE VINCENT 

OAL:   9-1/4”

BLADE LENGTH:   5”

GUARD:   Brass

POMMEL: Aluminum

HANDLE:  Dark brown CSB (carved stag bone – made from cow bone).

TANG STAMPS:   WESTERN/BOULDER, COLO./PAT. NO. ----479 there are three or four digits that are illegible in the beginning of the patent number. The illegible numbers should be 1,967,

SHEATH:   Handmade sheath out of good cowhide. I cut, dyed, assembled, stitched & riveted sheath myself.

AGE:    Based upon the tang stamp and information in Harvey Platts’ book; The Knife Makers Who Went West; the knife was made between 1935 in 1950.

MADE IN:  U.S.A. 

CUSTOMIZED IN: U.S.A. by Orvet (Dale Vincent)

ADDITIONAL INFO:   These old Western knives with a leather handles were very prone to having the leather rot due to moisture. Western used such awesome carbon steel in their knives I think it’s a shame that these knives end up rusting away somewhere. They made arguably one of the finest cutting edges ever made. It still has many loyal friends though it has been out of business in Colorado since 1991. Camillus bought the company in 1991 and moved it to New York and continued to make knives under the Western label until they closed in 2007. However, Camillus already made leather handle knives with leather ring construction when they purchased Western in 1991. There was no great advantage to Camillus to go to the extra expense of tooling up for a bifurcated tang when most people couldn’t tell the difference between a bifurcated tang all in a full stick tang. So Camillus did not continue the production of the split tang Western. They did make knives with similar blade patterns but they were stick tang knives with leather rings instead of the semi-H shaped pieces of leather used on the traditional leather rings around the center tang.

In this restoration I removed the rotting and hardened leather center to the handles and glued three layers of spacer material against the tang. I filled the center void of the handle with good two-part epoxy to seal the water out and hold everything together. Then I also pinned the handles with brass pins. I cleaned and polished the knife. It is one that most anyone would be proud carrying. The knife should last another lifetime and with some care the new sheath I made should also last a lifetime.

This is a restored & customized vintage knife. Like most old soldiers it may have a few battle scars but it is ready for its next assignment! My goal in restoration work is not too make the knife pristine like it did when it rolled off the assembly line in 1951, but to make it serviceable and beautiful. I do not polish out every ding in the blade but leave the scars in place so the knife looks its age; after all I’m not a plastic surgeon doing a Hollywood make over and the L39 is not a Hollywood starlet. Whether you want to use this knife are you want it for your collection it will do either job well!

*By Purchasing, The Buyer Confirms It Is Legal For Them Purchase And Own This Knife.

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Item # 31135