So I discovered a collapsed trapper cabin, with a knife...

M

Msturm

Joined
Nov 5, 2016
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I run a trap line here in AK. I was pulling my mink/otter line and setting up for beaver when I spotted a pile of logs that looked to be cut at roughly 90 degrees. I didn't have time as I had a sleigh full of steel and a setting sun with 9 miles to ski.

So fast forward 2 months and Covid has set in and my day job has taken a side role to exploring the backcountry. Well I went and picked through that old cabin and I found several pretty awesome items! Two old traps, a quarter bottle of unlabeled whisky (still good, I thoroughly tested it all) and this surface rusted knife stuck in an old board. The rust was powdery for the most part and the handle was missing but it had a cool double tang design with an aluminum pommel. I pulled it out and did my best to rub off the powder rust on my wool pants.

I took it out and whacked it a couple times and what was left of the H shaped leather handle crumbled into uselessness. I had a brass bolster, a rusted blade, an aluminum pommel and I was pretty F!@#in excited!!

I came home and today I decided I needed a break from fleshing beaver, and I decided to have a go at this knife. I cut a couple scales from Birch burl found within a mile of the cabin a year ago, and fit them into the gaps. Here is what I am working with. No sheath, I will have to make one. DOES ANYONE HAVE A DATE ON THIS? OR A PIC OF THE ORIGINAL SHEATH?

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close up of the blade marking
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brass bolster says L66

I wanted to keep some of the pitting and patina on the blad. It looks cool and has a story. It sharpened up nice.

Thanks in advance for the info!
 
that's a beautiful handle !
having restored a discarded/forgotten knife
is a very commendable effort.
you have definately given it a renewed life.
and have also saved the natural world
from forgotten human littering :-)
i dunno much about the L 66s.
but it springs from a company with
a long history..
2432943915_de56f97a16_b.jpg

http://www.collectors-of-camillus.us/Western/Western.htm
there's bound to be someone here
who could tell you more.
thanks for sharing!
 
Beautiful old knife.
I knew right away when you said "H shaped leather handle " you had a forked tang Western Cutlery hunter of some kind.

I believe by the tang stamp and model number located on the guard it would be '66-'72 or so as I was told with my f48A.
 
Nice work on your "found" knife. Looks great. And a great story. Western was a well regarded knife in its day. Enjoy! And, thanks.
 
I'm envious of your adventure, I enjoy looking around when I stumble across old homesteads in the woods. They're usually little more than a foundation and the remains of a chimney with no treasures like you found. I still like standing by them and wondering what it was like years ago.
Thanks for sharing!
 
Blue Sky said:
Always liked the old Westerns. How long have you been running a trap line in Alaska?
Click to expand...

Blue Sky, This is the second year doing it seriously. My traplines are all pretty small and close to home. As a kid I had a hare line and trapped the occasional muskrat. This season I had three, my water line, a snare line for hares, and a couple bait sites for wolves and yotes. I am a teacher so I get to run the lines after school. I found fallen cabin mentioned in this story hidden way back in the woods near a creek in the middle of about 10,000 acres of state land. I have no idea how long ago the cabin was built but it looks to me like it was a campsite for someone who used to trap that creek. Alaska is pretty cool for finding old stuff in the woods. I enjoy exploring as I scout for trapping locations and moose and bear sign for the upcoming season.
 
I have noted this before but none of the stampings with dates exactly match the one on the found knife. Great job in restoring and re-handling that knife! John
 
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