All About Pocket Knives

Welcome to AAPK. Nice looking knives from what I can see. There are some here who collect those and might be interested. To sell here on AAPK you need to first buy a premium membership. See details at the top right where it says “support AAPK”. Just click on that for info. Then you should list them in the Knife Commerce section.

Ken

Gotcha! Thank you!!

Okay so after reading thee entire thread I still have seen no mention of the particular W49 Coleman Western bowie I recently purchased for $80 it is only marked on one side of the blade WESTERN W49 with a date code or letter M underneath and the sheath has a danger and leather thong also the snap also has coleman/western on it as well... I see that since the boss sold Cold Steel knives they've mass produced their version of this called a western bowie and they range for right around $80-90 new so I figured at the same price I'm able to own an original and it certainly has a weathered sheath and pitted blade from being stored in it so I do believe it to be a few years old at the very least lol any info could help thanks but even if I over paid I'm still very happy with my purchase as the knife has an unused factory edge on it still which is quite sharp and I'm guessing by the blade pitting it has to be a mid to high carbon content maybe? If need be I will dig it back out and try to post a pic or two...

Rocketrider33 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:47 am Okay so after reading thee entire thread I still have seen no mention of the particular W49 Coleman Western bowie I recently purchased for $80 it is only marked on one side of the blade WESTERN W49 with a date code or letter M underneath and the sheath has a danger and leather thong also the snap also has coleman/western on it as well... I see that since the boss sold Cold Steel knives they've mass produced their version of this called a western bowie and they range for right around $80-90 new so I figured at the same price I'm able to own an original and it certainly has a weathered sheath and pitted blade from being stored in it so I do believe it to be a few years old at the very least lol any info could help thanks but even if I over paid I'm still very happy with my purchase as the knife has an unused factory edge on it still which is quite sharp and I'm guessing by the blade pitting it has to be a mid to high carbon content maybe? If need be I will dig it back out and try to post a pic or two...

Post number 9 covers these. Version 10 in my books. "M" means 1989. 1095CV steel.

Finally located my Coleman Western W49 M. Hard to believe such a large knife could come up missing.


Good to know it's 1095CV.

Good morning! New to the forum. I recently inherited a Western Bowie and was hoping to get some more information. Based on the contents of this thread, I believe I have a stainless steel version #1 (67-68). The blade has some rough spots from someone's attempts to sharpen and the condition of the sheath seems a bit too good to be true. Also, the pic is hard to see but it says "stainless steel" above "Bowie"

See pics below. Any additional info on value, version/model, etc. would be much appreciated!

Yes, this is an S649. Came out in late 1967, advertised as "NEW" in the 1968 catalog. Stainless steel blade (440A). Delrin handle. Correct sheath. Looks like someone tried to slim down the handle and/or round off the edges of the handle slabs.

Great, thanks for the info. I appreciate it. I assume the handle modifications have decreased the overall value, correct? Are these western s649 models rare?

My western 49. I don't have the collectable one anymore unfortunately

Few more pics of my M year

Few more pics of my restored 49

I was gifted a W49 set of parts with a sheath.
Here is a couple of pics showing before and then after I assembled it.......


I think I need to read back thru the thread to figure out the approximate year of this hefty joker.... LOL.

Maybe you W49 Bowie collectors can shed some light on it.

As the story goes, the previous owner got it from a person who worked for Western Cutlery back in the day.

Meridian_Mike wrote: ↑Wed Aug 24, 2022 9:55 pm I was gifted a W49 set of parts with a sheath.
Here is a couple of pics showing before and then after I assembled it.......


40DE83D7-4D06-4049-9761-A01072913016_1_105_c.jpeg


B82365A9-9800-4BE7-8CBE-6AFAEF6E88E1_1_105_c.jpeg


I think I need to read back thru the thread to figure out the approximate year of this hefty joker.... LOL.

Maybe you W49 Bowie collectors can shed some light on it.

As the story goes, the previous owner got it from a person who worked for Western Cutlery back in the day.

It is a Camillus version, 1993 is 1095, 1994 or later is SS. The "strap-over-guard" restraining strap type sheath is a Camillus sheath tell. The stamp is also a Camillus stamp - the USA and W49 are reversed from the Western/Western-Coleman era order and there is no date code letter.

zzyzzogeton wrote: ↑Thu Aug 25, 2022 1:21 am
It is a Camillus version, 1993 is 1095, 1994 or later is SS. The "strap-over-guard" restraining strap type sheath is a Camillus sheath tell. The stamp is also a Camillus stamp - the USA and W49 are reversed from the Western/Western-Coleman era order and there is no date code letter.

Thanks for the detailed info!

As I understand it, the person that gifted this knife to me (through my son) has other Western knife parts.
I might have to send word I am in interested in some other pieces if he is willing to part with them.

I obtained my Western Bowie W49 a couple years ago when I bought some leather crafting tools at an estate sale. I put the knife away and only brought it out a couple days ago and decided I wanted to clean it up (it has rust and some pitting). I was thinking about polishing it up and possibly inlaying an enamel medallion from my Army unit I served in Somalia with in 1993.

I decided to see what I could find out about it and it seems that it isn’t just a Bowie it is a collectors item. I have the “WESTERN” , “U.S.A W49”, “M” one three separate lines see photo.

Now that I know it is a collectors Bowie maybe I won’t mess it up by customizing. I don’t know if it has any monetary value or not. Anyone have any ideas?

You can see that I have been working on one side already the other side I haven’t touched yet. I plan on getting it to a mirror finish to where it likely was when it was originally bought.

I have an interesting W49. I got this from a fellow who said his grandpa used to drink beer with Mr. Platts at the factory in Boulder. He acquired some rare Westerns doing this. This is supposedly a prototype!

Very unique piece of Western history.

Thank you Zzyzz! I very much respect your opinion. I have some other “unique” Westerns that I acquired from the fellow. They are not W49s, so I won’t clutter this thread with them. I still have yet to find a first gen W49

it is very interesting as i get older the things i have had in my possession for many years. i was given this knife when i was @10 ( 40 years ago) i'm just trying to determine it approximate age. i have been googling images and have yet to find a sheath that is the same and wonder if that is a clue to the age of it.

See post #3

My mother and i purchased a second hand fake Christmas tree about 40 years ago and this was in the bottom of the box. any idea of the value? It seems to be the 2nd variation as far as i can tell but is inscribed with "de oppresso liber" as you can see in the pics. Any info will be appreciated as i am considering letting it go.

Hello, thank you very much for all the information, I have recently come in to possession of a w49 E, I purchased it from an older gentleman who bought it new and never used it, I am just wondering kind of how rare this particular knife is??
Thanks

BladesEdge wrote: ↑Mon Feb 27, 2023 4:26 pm Hello, thank you very much for all the information, I have recently come in to possession of a w49 E, I purchased it from an older gentleman who bought it new and never used it, I am just wondering kind of how rare this particular knife is??
Thanks

Howdy, depending on condition of the Bowie the prices range from mid seventies to upwards of two hundred or so... based on completed Ebay auctions within the last few months

As noted in the earlier post, the date is within the range when Western was still owned by the Platts family. These knives have the year codes “A” though “H”. (1977 – 1984)

Desirable for some collectors....
Hope this helps some, congratulations on your newly found Bowie knife!

Randy

JayPolar wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 3:14 am My mother and i purchased a second hand fake Christmas tree about 40 years ago and this was in the bottom of the box. any idea of the value? It seems to be the 2nd variation as far as i can tell but is inscribed with "de oppresso liber" as you can see in the pics. Any info will be appreciated as i am considering letting it go.

A very interesting piece you've got there! It's the United States Army Special Forces distinctive unit insignia stamped on the Bowie and on the sheath.

Uncertain of it's value, but I can stay I've ever seen one before until now...

Might have been a special ordered item or awarded to the person that served at one time

Randy

JayPolar wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 3:14 am My mother and i purchased a second hand fake Christmas tree about 40 years ago and this was in the bottom of the box. any idea of the value? It seems to be the 2nd variation as far as i can tell but is inscribed with "de oppresso liber" as you can see in the pics. Any info will be appreciated as i am considering letting it go.

Value is in the eye of the beholder.

Allegedly, and I use that term deliberately, these were part of a batch of 100 in 1965 and sent to the Special Forces at Ft Bragg. This is what is in Cole III on page 168.

The problem is that no documentation has ever been found corroborating that claim. Some people have said that they are "fakes", i.e., not really made for the SF, just done up after the fact. Other people think that they are real but have reservations.

I can say they are real Western Bowies made in 1964-1965. Can't prove when they were etched or by whom.

Some folks have the belief that they are real and won't take less than $1000 for them. Others say they are just old Bowies with fancy scratches and only worth $25 to $50.

In this case, this one has been rode hard and put up wet. I'd give you $50 or $60 for it due to condition, but I have 60 or 70 Western Bowies/W49s and would only want it for being "different". I'd say if you want to get rid of it, throw it up on fleabay with a $10 or $20 start price and let it find it's own level. I would NOT play up the SF connection as there is not proof of it being made for them. I would just point out that it has an SF etch and SF pin on the sheath. False/unsubstantiated claims can lead to problems.