All About Pocket Knives

Posted: **Tue Aug 03, 2021 9:24 pm**

I like this one trying to figure out how old it is

Posted: **Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:24 pm**

Over in the Knife Q&A subforum there’s a long-running thread called Tang Stamps. It’s a “sticky” thread at the top of the subforum. Here’s a post from there containing dates of use for various Western stamps. https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... rn#p386214 Scroll down to find the charts for Western.

Ken

Posted: **Wed Aug 04, 2021 7:03 pm**

Looks like somewhere between 1951 and 1978. I'm not knowledgeable enough to narrow it down any further.

Eric

Posted: **Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:35 pm**

ea42 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 7:03 pm Looks like somewhere between 1951 and 1978. I'm not knowledgeable enough to narrow it down any further.

Eric

It's a model 241 "small 2 bladed pen knife". With no shield and squared off bolsters, it is from the 1959-1960 era based on the 1959-1960 catalog sheets. The same knife is listed in the 1968 catalog sheets, but has rounded bolsters.

It is NOT in the 1953 catalog sheets. So it was most likely made in 1959, or later, if there was a second run before the changes to the model in 1967 for the 1968 catalog offering.

If a Western, fixed or folder, references BOULDER COLO, it is 1972 or earlier. Starting in 1973, BOULDER COLO was replaced with a simple USA. The change was in anticipation of the complany building a new facility in nearby Longmont Colo. The company had bought 11 acres in the Longmont business park in 1972 or 1973. They broke ground on the new facility in the summer of 1977, moving in in 1978.

Posted: **Wed Aug 04, 2021 11:01 pm**

zzyzzogeton wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:35 pm
ea42 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 7:03 pm Looks like somewhere between 1951 and 1978. I'm not knowledgeable enough to narrow it down any further.

Eric
It's a model 241 "small 2 bladed pen knife". With no shield and squared off bolsters, it is from the 1959-1960 era based on the 1959-1960 catalog sheets. The same knife is listed in the 1968 catalog sheets, but has rounded bolsters.

It is NOT in the 1953 catalog sheets. So it was most likely made in 1959, or later, if there was a second run before the changes to the model in 1967 for the 1968 catalog offering.

If a Western, fixed or folder, references BOULDER COLO, it is 1972 or earlier. Starting in 1973, BOULDER COLO was replaced with a simple USA. The change was in anticipation of the complany building a new facility in nearby Longmont Colo. The company had bought 11 acres in the Longmont business park in 1972 or 1973. They broke ground on the new facility in the summer of 1977, moving in in 1978.

ZZ, we need you to write the book, or pamphlet or whatever, but you are the MAN. Nobody on the planet knows what you know about the WESTERN phenomenon. Please do it.

Posted: **Thu Aug 05, 2021 2:28 am**

I wish I was really that good.

All I have done is take a lot of notes over the years, read through The Knife Makers Who Went West a couple three dozen times, collected as many pictures of advertisements of Western knives for sale on fleabay as I could, and collected as many real Western catalogs (few and far between) as I could.

I guess the most work I did was read through literally hundreds of outdoorsy magazines from the 1950s and 1960s tracking down an elusive goosechase that never materialised, but that's story for a different post.

Being retired, and being summer in Texas, I can stay up late or take copious breaks during the day, looking through all my crap for the answers to questions or examining all the catalogs reprints in TKMWWW trying to track down differences and discrepancies.

Posted: **Thu Aug 05, 2021 6:54 pm**

That's really some great info ZZ, thanks for clarifying!!

Eric

All About Pocket Knives

Western Knives?

Western Knives?

Re: Western Knives?

Re: Western Knives?

Re: Western Knives?

Re: Western Knives?

Re: Western Knives?

Re: Western Knives?