An old bowie

N

Newbish

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Mar 1, 2012
Messages
41
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I found this old Knife at my Grandpa's house earlier today. It is my father's. It was butter knife dull, so i gave it a paper cutting edge and I plan on using some polish on it. I was wondering if you guys could tell me year, value, etc. All help is appreciated, thanks:)
edit: sorry if links are broken and for pic quality. If they are broken, tell me
 
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Photobucket is good.
Copy and past the tags that begin with
[url]http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u381/pertinux/Screenshot2013-03-08at43110PM_zps0fbb81eb.png[/url]
Thanx to pertinux for the graphic :)
 
Can't tell you the value because you are a registered user. A Gold membership is required for inquiries of value.

However, we can tell you that it's a Western model W49.

You can perform a Google Advanced Search of Bladeforums using this set of search terms:
western bowie site:www.bladeforums.com

You should find lots of information.
 
Ah, okay. Thank you.
Will scotch-brite be ok to take the surface rust away? (rust, not patina)
 
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Newbish said:
Ah, okay. Thank you.
Will scotch-brite be ok to take the surface rust away? (rust, not patina)
Click to expand...

Scotch-Brite will take the rust, patina, and some of the steel underneath. The nylon pad is infused with aluminum oxide abrasive (much harder than steel). It's a good way to even out the finish on a scratched/scuffed blade, as it leaves a fine scratch pattern of it's own (sort of a satin finish).

As suggested, fine steel wool (#0000) and some oil/WD-40 can work. WD-40 will soften/break down the red rust, which makes scrubbing it off much easier. The fine steel wool won't scratch the steel to the same degree, if at all.


David
 
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You could use different grits of fine sandpaper. The idea of steel wool with WD-40 is good. You want to remove the rust but remove as little steel as you can. The blade should have a shine when you are done. The guard on the knfe has been bent ans could be re bent to the original shape. Western made a very good grade of knives. If you want more info on Western knives go to http://www.collectors-of-camillus.us/Western/Western.htm There you will see my collection also.
 
Your knife is prior to 1977 when Western started to use a letter for the year 1977 is "A". Here is a picture of my Bowie.

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Nice one. I've got a Western W49 as well, although mine's been modified (someone replaced the handle and the guard). At some point, I plan to put my own, nicer handle onto it.
 
Mine :D
W49Headhunter-1421.jpg

Do a search for 2 things:
Bagwell W49 mods
Bruce Evans Tutorials (how to hand rub a blade)
 
I would think it could scratch the metal. If you are talking about compound that they use on cars it might work. Use Brasso on the brass. On the blade try different grits of fine sandpaper start with about 300 to get the rust but don't stay in one spot too long. Work through the grits to 600 or 800 and you should start to see a shine appear on the blade. Save the sharpening until the blade is done, less chance for an accident. I have an electric buffing/grinder setup. I can use various grits of rouge but I usually start with the fine sandpaper and finish with the buffer. When you get done it would be good to see an after picture in this thread.
 
Newbish said:
Could I use polishing compounds to bring back the mirror finish and the brass shine?
Click to expand...

By itself, polishing compound would make the existing surface shinier. But, some pretty heavy sanding would need to be done, in a tight grit sequence up through 2000+ grit, and polishing beyond that, in order to fully restore the perfect mirror finish. Polishing compounds wouldn't be aggressive enough to remove the pitting or heavy scratches on the blade. Same holds true for the brass, though it sands more easily & quickly, because it's much softer than the steel.


David
 
The handle could use some sanding also and some wood finish. I have used Tung Oil Finish with great success. Don't worry about harming the wood as it is stabilized and impregnated I believe with Fibron.
 
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