All About Pocket Knives

Hi all!

Sorry if I double post but I am interested in this Western knife currently for sale at a local auction here in Sweden.

I really like it but have no experience with Western Cutlery so I would like to get some help in evaluating it.

Is it legit? Any thoughts about it?

Jim

Not a western expert but your knife is definitely legit, I have had a few of them. It is called a "bird knife" used for dressing gamebirds.

Tom

Nice knife.

The hook is for removing the entrails of gamebirds. I have a Case version of that pattern.

I believe this knife was made by Camillus for Western. In the last few years of it's existence most or perhaps all of "Western's" knives were made for them by Camillus.
This is a legit Western knife whether made by Camillus or Western.
kj

kootenay joe wrote:I believe this knife was made by Camillus for Western. In the last few years of it's existence most or perhaps all of "Western's" knives were made for them by Camillus.
This is a legit Western knife whether made by Camillus or Western.
kj

Actually when Western ceased business in the early 90's, Camillus bought the name and trademarks, and produced a Western line in the Camillus factory. You are right this is one of those.

Hey, thanks guys!!

The level of knowledge and willingness to help out on AAPK is fantastic!! I take a bow!!

Now, wish me luck at the auction!!

Jim

They are correct. Western was actually purchased by Coleman in about 1984 and the quality of Western knives really went down hill. Camillus did bring the quality back up when they purchased the brand, but neither company made Western knives as good as the original Western Cutlery made them.

But yes, that knife is a real "Camillus" Western.

Same knife, tang stamp but no etch:

Thanks again guys!!

I am in awe of all the expertise!

A follow up question in regards to Colonel26's last post.

Is there an easy way to discern knives made by Western Cutlery and the knives made by Coleman and Camillus?

Except for the usual way of reading lots online and in books plus physically handle a lot of knives?

Jim

Jim,
The Bird Knife is a WD235, introduced around 1996, made by Camillus.

CheckSix wrote:Jim,
The Bird Knife is a WD235, introduced around 1996, made by Camillus.

CheckSix! Thanks!! That helps a lot!! Will google right away to learn more.

All the best!

Jim

sakoblade wrote:A follow up question in regards to Colonel26's last post.
Is there an easy way to discern knives made by Western Cutlery and the knives made by Coleman and Camillus?

To know that is to know the history of the Western company. The year of the knife will determine the manufacturer, since Western was sold to Coleman in 1984 and then Camillus picked up the Western marque in 1991. Camillus went out of business in 2007 and a lot of knives from the mid-late 2000s showed signs of Camilus's desperation like the unstamped master blade on yours (possibly intended for use on a rebranded Remington or Kabar which Camillus had a hand in building from time to time). These blades went unstamped or received etches instead of tang stamps, for the most part. You may also notice a pattern of very late Camillus knives having unfinished/unpolished secondary bevels on some blade edges and other signs of impaired QC, mostly on those 2004-2007 knives when things were becoming untenable. I have one or two set aside where the blade edge is so haphazard it could almost pass as serrated from some angles.

Anything prior to 1984 is, I believe, the separate Western States/Western Cutlery/Western Knife Company out of Colorado. Platts started Western States in 1911, so anything before that is...a fake, or a Platts & Sons from a couple thousand miles away.

There are plenty of Camillus knives to compare to the newer Westerns, so that's usually pretty easy to determine short of having the year. There are Coleman-branded knives, too, but I don't think they were directly manufactured by Coleman (although for all I know Camillus might have made those anyway...) so you would need to learn to read the knife to identify this period if you weren't immediately aware of the year of manufacture.

sakoblade wrote:Except for the usual way of reading lots online and in books plus physically handle a lot of knives?

In the end, the usual way is the best and most accurate way. It's part of why guys like Steve and Charlie are experts in their respective knife brands and why so many people here have so much information about such an old art as pocket cutlery.

In 1977 the "real" Western Cutlery company started using a letter to denote the year. A=1977, B=1978 and so on. From 1973-1976 Western knives were marked Western over USA. Before 1973 the folding knives were marked Western over Boulder Colo.

Hope this helps.

Guys, thanks a bunch for your lengthy and knowledgable replies!!

That helps a lot as a crash course into Camillus productions. Will certainly read up on this interesting brand!

Now, keep your fingers crossed for me at the auction!

Cheers!

Jim

Dang! Was outbid in the last second of auction!

Well well, plenty of fish in the water and I have bagged a few others so I´m good. For now that is.

Jim