All About Pocket Knives

I acquired this little Western a while back as payment for cleaning up some really rusty knives for a friend. Just wondering if anyone knows what model, when it was made and approx. value. It is 6 1/8" overall with a 2 7/8" blade, brass guard, black, yellow,and red fiber spacers, with a white bone (I think) center scale. I didn't get the sheath. It has a severe back cut on the false edge of about 1/2". It is stamped Western, Boulder,colo on one side of the tang and Made In USA with Patented below on the opposite side. I have never run into anything quite like it. thanks in advance, Terry

I think this might be a model 624 but not sure. Maybe someone else has a definite answer.

Wayne

Looks like a bird and trout knife to me.....

Knice knife!

I must have the only western model like this, I can't find it listed in old catalogs or any where. Thanks for trying guys. Maybe it's a "one of a kind" and worth thousands! I'll keep looking and let you know if I come up with anything. Terry

Your knife is a P28, it is shown in the 1959-1960 catalog sheets as printed in Harvey Platts' book, "The Knife Makers Who Went West," page 164.

Your knife is missing 1/4" in length. As you can see the blade has been sharpened down some.
Length should be 6-3/8" OAL with a 3" blade.

I have the larger P48A that was a second with the name Western ground off, apparently from a crack in the handle.
Western called the handle material "tenite" but don't say what tenite is.

Sorry to shatter your dreams, but it is not worth thousands, or hundreds.
But on a good day you might get 2 or 3 tens for it.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Dale, Now I'll try and find a copy of the Platt's book for future reference. I knew somebody at AAPK would have some info on my $30 collectable! Who ever cut the blade down did a fairly good job. So, I made $20-$30 and hour for cleaning up the other knives, not bad for an ole retired fart!

Dale is 100% correct on all counts on that knife. They made the 28 pattern in lots of variations, bone, stag, several colors of tenite (celluloid) and finally, Delrin. The Delrin handles were made to look like both stag and jigged bone, depending. Much later in the company's history they changed the blade grind on these knives rather drastically, and not for the better, aesthetically speaking.

Here are the pictures of my Western 48P, the big brother to your knife.
Note that the Western name is ground off. This is typical of knives sold as seconds.
I think it was graded as a second because of the crack in the handle.

Dale, funny you should mention a factory second, I have one also, but mine is stamped L48B on one side of the tang and the" Western " what ever ground off of the opposite side. as you can see mine is a stacked leather handle but I'm not sure why they made this a factory second. I don't have the sheath. I guess I'm getting off the main subject, just thought I would share this info with you, thanks again for all the info, ps, I have a bid on the book "The Knifemakers who went west.

I hope you get the book Terry; it is the only book I am aware of on the history of Western knives.
The reprint of the old catalogs in the back is worth the price of the book alone, IMHO.

I have seen those books sell in the $80+ range.
My copy was a gift from Tom Williams. He found a whole box of them at the Camillus factory and bought them before Camillus went out of business.
As you probably know, Camillus bought Western in 1991.


With most companies I am familiar, Schrade and Camillus, it is rare to be able to spot the flaw that makes a knife a second.
Usually is something so subtle that only the highly trained eye & feel of the QC people can spot most of the flaws that downgrade the knife to a second.

Here is a slightly different variation:an F28 and an F48B.

The knife makers who went west are a better buy on Amazon .the prices on e-bay are. Ridiculously over priiced.

The knife makers who went west are a better buy on Amazon .the prices on e-bay are. Ridiculously over priced