Western Cutlery Stainless Alloy?

[black mamba]

Cutleries in the past have been very unspecific about the alloy of steel they have used in their knife blades. Most likely it's because a) their customers didn't really care as long as it worked, and b) they could change alloys whenever price considerations could benefit them.

I've just recently acquired a couple of Western lockback knives in stainless steel. Their fixed blades had chrome vanadium carbon steel, but the catalogs list many of their folders as having stainless. I found a thread here on BFC with info from a former employee of Camillus which states that the stainless they were using in the 1970s was 440B. Was Western using the same 440B at that time? Or possibly 440A?

Anyone having any evidence of what Western was using for their stainless alloy in the 1970s - the 1980s, please post up. THANK YOU !!

 

[afishhunter]

I'm pretty sure my one Western (Boulder, CO) from c.1975 has 440A, since that is what the government contract for the "Demo" knife called for.
I was issued mine in 1975, by the Army Reserves. Not all "Real" "Demo" knives were made by Camillus.

It is possible (likely?) Western used more than one variety of stainless steels at any one time, depending on which knives were being produced, if one or more was a contract knife, and what the contract(s) called for.

 

[black mamba]

This is one of the knives in question, a 532 lockback from 1979 (C date code on tang). During this time frame Camillus used 440A for most of their stainless folders, and 440B for their Sword Steel fixed blades.

 

[pjsjr]

This is one of the knives in question, a 532 lockback from 1979

Jeff, I have Harvey Platts book, The Knife Makers Who Went West I looked at the reprint from 1978 and it states 440 series used. I'm having trouble with my computer and transferring pictures otherwise I would post photo. HTH.

 

[black mamba]

Thanks a bunch!