All About Pocket Knives

zzyzzogeton wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 9:27 pm All K1, K2 and K3 knives were flat grind. You will NOT find a saber grind K1.

The K5 and 645 were saber grind. No known reason why the difference. The K-series were leather handled B&Ts/hunters (1,2,3,5). The 645 was a plastic handled hunter.

The blade grind differences may have been based on who was grinding which models, may have been based on material thickness, or have been based on some other esoteric reason.

The 4 K-series leather handled knives were also constructed using single pins in the pommels and non-bifurcated tangs.

Overall, the K-series knives are rather rare due to only being made in 1958, most likely a single run, or maybe 2 runs. Rare in this case does NOT mean priced through the roof, as they generally have modest prices associated with them, unless someone goes koo-koo nuts on fleabay.

Madmarco wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 9:31 pm Nice knife, Andrew, to AAPK!

zzyzzogeton wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 9:27 pm All K1, K2 and K3 knives were flat grind. You will NOT find a saber grind K1.

The K5 and 645 were saber grind. No known reason why the difference. The K-series were leather handled B&Ts/hunters (1,2,3,5). The 645 was a plastic handled hunter.

The blade grind differences may have been based on who was grinding which models, may have been based on material thickness, or have been based on some other esoteric reason.

The 4 K-series leather handled knives were also constructed using single pins in the pommels and non-bifurcated tangs.

Overall, the K-series knives are rather rare due to only being made in 1958, most likely a single run, or maybe 2 runs. Rare in this case does NOT mean priced through the roof, as they generally have modest prices associated with them, unless someone goes koo-koo nuts on fleabay.

Case V42 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 11:57 pm The pictured knife is tang stamped "West-Cut" as were all K series knives I've ever seen. I've witnessed much discussion about West-Cut being Western's cheaper line, but I have no idea if that is a fact.

AndrewH wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 11:21 pm

zzyzzogeton wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 9:27 pm All K1, K2 and K3 knives were flat grind. You will NOT find a saber grind K1.

The K5 and 645 were saber grind. No known reason why the difference. The K-series were leather handled B&Ts/hunters (1,2,3,5). The 645 was a plastic handled hunter.

The blade grind differences may have been based on who was grinding which models, may have been based on material thickness, or have been based on some other esoteric reason.

The 4 K-series leather handled knives were also constructed using single pins in the pommels and non-bifurcated tangs.

Overall, the K-series knives are rather rare due to only being made in 1958, most likely a single run, or maybe 2 runs. Rare in this case does NOT mean priced through the roof, as they generally have modest prices associated with them, unless someone goes koo-koo nuts on fleabay.

The other knife I bought recently was an Official Boy Scout L66 I believe, would the stock thickness of this K1 be similar to that?

zzyzzogeton wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 3:11 am These were made from 1955 to 1960.

The first time the Western L46-5 and L66 were advertised in Boy's Life Magazine as official Boy Scout knives was February 1955. The First Class rank stamp was replaced with the Tenderfoot rank stamp starting in 1961.

Case V42 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 11:57 pm The pictured knife is tang stamped "West-Cut" as were all K series knives I've ever seen. I've witnessed much discussion about West-Cut being Western's cheaper line, but I have no idea if that is a fact.

zzyzzogeton wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 1:21 am

Case V42 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 11:57 pm The pictured knife is tang stamped "West-Cut" as were all K series knives I've ever seen. I've witnessed much discussion about West-Cut being Western's cheaper line, but I have no idea if that is a fact.

I have seen that "opinion" espoused frequently. All I can say is that all of the 300+ WEST-CUT stamped knives that I have personally handled appear to be made of the same materials and in the same manner as any of the 500+ WESTERN stamped knives from the same eras.

Since the materials appear to be the same, the assembly methods were the same, the equipment used was the same and the people who made, heat-treated, assembled and finished both lines were the same, I have serious doubts that the WEST-CUT line was a "cheaper" line.

I've always considered the that the WEST-CUT line was simply targeted to a different market - mom-n-pop hardware stores vs major chain hardware stores (Say Gerschbach-Wacker in Bartlett TX vs Ace Hardware franchises across the country). Western made branded knives for Sears, Montgomery-Ward, Shapleigh, Western Auto, Boker and Coast Cutlery. Maybe others as well. All of these were made to the same standards with the same materials.

The only way to make the knives "cheaper" would be to use cheaper grade materials where the differences would be unnoticed. The same steel, leather disks and aluminum pommels means the only saving would be in guards and colored/brass/nickel-silver spacers. Without knowing what the difference in brass vs aluminum vs nickel-silver for guards at the time, it would all be a wash in debating it.