Western Roadkill

The Zieg

The Zieg

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Jan 31, 2002
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Driving home from working horses in Black Forest, I turned onto the last stretch of about five miles of dirt road. Halfway down it, a sheathed knife caught my eye, lying right in the middle of the road. I raced past it, slowed to a halt, backed up (accidentally running over it, I think, which appears to have put a tiny chip in the handle), and retrieved it. It could have fallen off any truck that frequents this road. Someone on their way to or from a job or an outdoor adventure is without a very handy blade. It had some flecks of blue paint on the handle, which I scraped off with my thumbnail, but otherwise it is in fine shape. Just needs a bit of sharpening.

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Second to last pic shows the little ding I may have put in the handle. So it's a Western knife, model W82, date code H, which I gather indicates 1984. This is the year they soldout to Coleman, so it probably rolled off the line just before that corporate handover. I assume it was made in Longmont, about 75 miles north of me, local nonetheless.

What else do we know about this knife? What did Western call it in their catalogue? It doesn't show up in the catalogues I've seen online. I'm also assuming it is their traditional 440A stainless.

Zieg
 
Last edited:
Zieg,

Coleman bought Western mid-year, so some of the "H" knives were made in Longmont CO by Western before the purchase and some were made in Longmont by the same employees on the same equipment after the purchase.:D

The W82 was known as .... the W82 Hunter. But then so was the W83 and W84. One time I saw the W84 referenced to as the "Mountaineer" but don't have any documentation. If so, it would have been the recycling of the name, as I have a 1931 Western with "Mountaineer" engraved on the blade.

Western didn't give most of their knives model names, but tended to classify them in categories. Hunters, Fillets, B&Ts, etc Some from the 1930s did have model names.

From page 11 of the 1986 Western catalog (courtesy of collectors-of-camillus.us)::

E. The W82 is the newest Hunter from Western. It has a good-looking yet practical upswept blade that's perfect for many camping and hunting chores. All three of these knives have high saber-ground blades for incredible strength and sharpening ease.

The "three knives" refer to the W82, W83 and W84. Some time later, the W81, W85 and W85 Guthook were introduced. The models were produced throughout the Coleman years and were continued in production by Camillus. These knives were frequently sold as "specials" to organizations. The NRA Whittington Center, the NAHC (North American Hunting Club),

What's interesting here is that the ad calls the W82 "the newest Hunter", kinda implying that it is new for 1986, but never specifically states that it is new for 86. The earliest stamp on a W83 and W84 that I have seen is "F", 1982. They are both in the 1982 catalog, with no model names. So if the W82 first showed up in 1984, it would still be the "newest Hunter" Zieg's has an "H", or 1984 stamp. So at a guess, that was the first year of production.

Oh to have a 1985 catalaog as the 86 catalog states that Coleman-Western introduced 20 new knives "last year". Well, actually, I like getting my hands on ANY Western catalog. :D:D
 
Aha I wait for the thread named 'kickin' myself in the head, westerners falling off trucks" Jk but very cool find with lots of life on that blade~
 
yablanowitz said:
It only looks crooked in that picture due to the upswept tip and camera angle.
Click to expand...

I realize now that Leghog came to that conclusion partly based on my saying I'd run over the knife. A bend would have been very possible. But it is perfectly straight. If it were bent, I'd probably just live with it that way. Dunno a good way to resolve that!

Zieg
 
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