Western folder age?

hhmoore

hhmoore

Joined
Feb 7, 2014
Messages
11,432
I was looking around and couldn't find this tang stamp (from an old looking folder I recently encountered)

WESTERN
BOULDER
COLO. U.S.A.

zzyzzogeton zzyzzogeton
 
Western moved to Longmont in 1978, so your knife probably predates that.

I'm sure you've seen the usual Western tang stamp chart, and you've seen first-hand the problem with such charts. The tang stamp on your knife is a common one, and it doesn't show up on any of the dating charts. I've never seen a dating chart that didn't have problems. Clear photos of the knife and tang stamp might help.
 
For what it's worth, one guidebook* I refer to (noted below) that actually references some of the Western tang stamps, mentions that they started adding the 'U.S.A.' to tang stamps in the 1960s. So, aside from any other ambiguities about the tang stamp as a whole, the presence of the 'U.S.A.' mark might be the strongest clue that the knife is probably dated 1960 or later. The book diagrams a stamp looking essentially like the one you see on your knife ('WESTERN' over 'BOULDER, COLO.'), but shown without the 'U.S.A.' mark in their example. And for that stamp shown without the 'U.S.A.' mark, they date it no later than 1961. And they do show another stamp as simply 'WESTERN' over 'U.S.A.', and date that one to 1961 and later. If they moved away from Boulder in 1978 as mentioned previously, then the combination of the 'BOULDER, COLO.' mark and the 'U.S.A.' mark might narrow it to the 1961-1978 timeframe at least.

As mentioned previously, some clear pictures of the knife and the tang stamp might spur some more specific feedback from others here.

* - 'Official Price Guide to Collector Knives' by C. Houston Price, Fourteenth Edition (2004)
 
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The knife isn't in my possession; so images aren't currently an option. The stamp was 3 lines, as posted.
WESTERN
BOULDER
COLO. U.S.A.

dsutton24 dsutton24 You are correct - tang stamp references are not without issues.

If I get the opportunity to take pictures, I'll certainly add them here. It was a smallish folder. Approx 3" (closed)
 
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With respect to the OP knife/stamp - since it has Boulder, Colo. in the stamp, the knife was made before 1973, and since it has U.S.A. in the stamp, post-WW2. Without a look at any stamps on the pile side or on the tangs of any secondary blades, it can't be boiled down any closer than that.

Western bought the property in Longmont in 1972 and with an eye to the future, dropped "BOULDER, COLO." starting in 1973. They didn't move to Longmont in 1978, IIRC. So the stamp went from WESTERN over BOULDER, COLO. over U.S.A. to simply WESTERN over U.S.A. at that time.

On Western stamps. I am in the final stages of putting together a new WESTERN FIXED BLADE stamps chart,............... which I believe is up to 23 or 24 stamps - that's JUST fixed blades. I haven't even thought about the complexity of folders. Probably just as many variations. The "standard Western tang stamp chart" with only 11 stamps is sorely lacking for covering both fixed blades and folders over a 93 year period.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
With respect to the OP knife/stamp - since it has Boulder, Colo. in the stamp, the knife was made before 1973, and since it has U.S.A. in the stamp, post-WW2. Without a look at any stamps on the pile side or on the tangs of any secondary blades, it can't be boiled down any closer than that.

Western bought the property in Longmont in 1972 and with an eye to the future, dropped "BOULDER, COLO." starting in 1973. They didn't move to Longmont in 1978, IIRC. So the stamp went from WESTERN over BOULDER, COLO. over U.S.A. to simply WESTERN over U.S.A. at that time.

On Western stamps. I am in the final stages of putting together a new WESTERN FIXED BLADE stamps chart,............... which I believe is up to 23 or 24 stamps - that's JUST fixed blades. I haven't even thought about the complexity of folders. Probably just as many variations. The "standard Western tang stamp chart" with only 11 stamps is sorely lacking for covering both fixed blades and folders over a 93 year period.
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Will you publish that chart here on the forums or is it part of a publication?
 
Yes, 'd like to see that too.

The OP's tang stamp is a very common one, and causes a lot of discussion since it doesn't show up on the usual tang stamp chart.

I've since read a pretty compelling account of that timeframe for Western. Many makers started adding 'USA' to their tang stamps around 1960, that's a pretty good earliest date. Fixed blade knives started getting model numbers stamped in the guard in 1967. Western acquired the Longmont property in 1972, and dropped Boulder from their tang stamp in '73 in anticipation of the move to Longmont.

So, 1960 to 1973 is a pretty good guess overall. If it's a fixed blade with the model number on the guard then 1967 to 1973 makes sense.

My usual disclaimer: Knife manufacturers never threw anything away, so the rules tend to be a little flabby.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
When I get it done, I will be posting it on Bladeforums, AAPK and the Western FB page. No way am I gonna try to write a real book.
Click to expand...

Huh. Now I know why your user name seemed familiar.

Folks, what I posted above is very largely influenced by a post this guy made elsewhere. I can never keep straight who allows links or references to other sites. Not an excuse, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew that my intent was to pass along information, not to pretend that I know anything useful.

Or something... 😳
 
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