Christmas tree handle on a fixed blade

[thickskinner54]

I was wondering if anyone saw the Western Christmas tree handle fixed blade that just sold recently on eBay for $125 and change. It was the first i had seen and was pretty interested. I did bid but kept my cap at $100.00 so I lost the auction.
Just wondering if anyone had info on these fixed blades ( age, who made them, how rare, etc.) with Christmas tree handles, made by Western or anyone else. Here's the link.....
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1928-31-Wester ... _cvip=true .......

I've been collecting the Christmas tree handled knives the last couple of years but that's the first fixed blade I have seen, leading me to believe that they are pretty rare. Do you think that the price paid for that one was about what it was worth? I enclosed the eBay link to the knife and a photo.
I'd appreciate any and all replies about this.
Thank you all

fixed xmas.jpg (1010 Bytes) Viewed 1486 times

[knife7knut]

First one I have ever seen as well.As for the price;someone was willing to pay that for it so I guess it was worth it to them.

[zzyzzogeton]

I was watching that one as well. I almost bid on it but when I went to put in a bid, my inet connection had crapped out. I wouldn't have won anyway since my bid would not have exceeded $100.

The seller was way off in his/her estimate of when the knife was made. It is a model 235, which was available in the 1931, 1936 and 1941 catalogs. It may very have been made in the specified time frame, 1928 - 1931, but I have not run across a 1928 catalog to verify that. 1928 was the first year Western made fixed blade knives for sale that were made in Boulder.

All of the 235 ads specified that the handle material was "unbreakable pearl composition", Western's advertising slang for celluloid.

It is a relatively simple knife design, which would have been in line with the first fixed blades made in-house. I don't remember ever seeing a description specifying the Christmas tree type pattern for a Western knife, but some of the knives were advertised as having amber, amber cream, pearl, black, and "assorted color composition handles". That term could have been a catch-all for any other pattern used.

As the handles carry an advertising embossment "Manitou Springs Colo", this may have also been a special order with a special handle pattern.

[tongueriver]

I had one of those tourist knives in 'cracked ice' I think, around here for awhile and sold it. Its little sheath was the same as the original post.