Western W49

Western started producing Stainless blade products in 1967,( they also made a line of kitchen ware with bakelite handles prior to WW2 but didn't continue with it afterwards). I don't believe that the W49 proper was ever made in stainless steel (by Western Cutlery) . The stock number for a similar knife was S-649. The S stands for (you quested it :)) stainless and the 6 stands for stag/bone which by that time was synthetic material. I've seen two examples that where guard marked with
STAINLESS
BOWIE
on the reverse side of the knife.
 
We never used the date marking at Camillus.

Phil thanks so much for your reply.
I've run across a total of three W49's that were marked;
WESTERN
USA W49
O

O should be for 1991 and since that's the year Camillus bought the rights to the Western line I wasn't sure what to make of that.

I've since seen one knife marked;
WESTERN
USA W49
WITH NO DATE CODE.

I always assumed that Camillus purposely marked their W49 production as
WESTERN
W49 USA
to distinguish it from the markings used by Western Cutlery and Coleman/Western.
Would you know if Camillus ever deviated from the practice of marking the second line of the W49 with (W49 USA)?
 
Here is some stuff I have received from different sources and put in one document.


Western States Cutlery
In 1911, Western States Cutlery and Manufacturing Company was founded in Boulder, CO. Western Cutlery moved from Boulder, CO. to Longmont, CO. in 1978. They became Coleman-Western in 1984. In 1991, Camillus bought Western Cutlery of Colorado, a competitor that was in business since 1896.

In 1970, 3 models, 701, 702, & 703 called Westmark, were produced in their custom shop. A special high carbon rust resistant American Tool Steel was used for these blades. Hardwood laminated blocks impregnated w/resin were used for the grips and are virtually impervious to weather and wear. Each sheath was molded and heavy stitched from triple thickness premium steer hide. Each knife has its own serial number.

Western G46-8
The earliest reference to a G-46 knife I could ever find was 1931. It was made in 4 1/4" 5" and 6" lengths only. It competed against the Kabar #271, #471, #571, #664, etc. Needless to say, Union Cutlery had several of these blade profile knives with different handle arrangements. Both actually competed against the Marbles Ideal pattern. Marbles made longer lengths and so did Union Cutlery, both had 7" blades of this profile long before the Marines ever thought of a belt knife. Western stayed with the short knives until after the Marines had their knives already. The first G 46-8 appeared in the 1945 Western catalog, it confirmed they had been made during the war but does not contain data on numbers produced. Western tried very hard to sell the pre- k-bar Marines on the L76 and L77 stilettos. Blaisch Cutlery, a Western jobber, also entered into the arena as a large supplier to the Marines on unit purchases but the Marines did not want the stiletto and adopted the 1219C2 pattern. When Western learned of this decision they made the G46 pattern bigger then the Marines knife on purpose. After the war the G 46 was again offered commercially but back to the short lengths of 5" and 6" only with an aluminum bird’s beak pommel. In the 1959 Western catalog they announced the new L46-8. It is the G46 renamed with the Western practice of numbering and lettering with handle material. Hence the L46 has leather handles, the W46 has wood handles etc. The L46-8 had the commercial bird’s beak pommel and a thick brass cross guard. At some point Western changed the aluminum pommel design but I have been unable to run down that date. The large aluminum pommel was announced on their hatchets in 1960 but the first knife photo I have seen was dated 1974. That's a lot of years in between but all I have so far. That's the G46 history that I am aware of can you add to it??

WESTERN KNIVES 49 BOWIE
Offered to you by Western Knives in the classic styling originating in 1896 after the famous Jim Bowie. In 1991, Camillus Cutlery Company acquired Western Knives. Originally located in Boulder, Colorado, Western has been manufacturing knives since 1896. Almost in existence as long as Camillus Cutlery, Western shares the same vision to producing quality cutlery. The Western line includes such pieces as their brawny Bowie knife, Kraton handled fillet knives, and a full line of leather handled fixed blade hunters.
MEASUREMENTS:
• Blade Length: 8.875"
• Handle Length: 6"
• Overall Length: 14.875"

Western G46-8
This WESTERN knife was made in Longmont Colorado before the company went out of business. It's the model W46-8. The tang stamp is WESTERN U.S.A. W46-8, N W46 is the model number, it has an 8-inch blade and N signifies that it was made in 1991 (I believe this was their last year in business). They started with the letter A in 1977.
 
Edbeau,
Thanks for the additional info. Under the G46-8 heading I can confirm that the L46-8 was still made with the smaller aluminium pommel in the 1968 catalog. But had the larger style by the 1978 catalog.
Also on the second to the last line it states that the N date code is for 1991 it would be for 1990 I know I counted on my fingers :) :D :o.
Thanks again, I wish Western had a company historian keeping records but I'm sure they were too busy making knives at the time.
 
Can anyone provide information on a Western W-49 with a straight pommel guard with a Cammilus name and address on the paperwork. The pommel has some sort of lumpy design on the pommel sides. There is no date code on the pommel (that I can see). Thanks in advance for any information you can provide. Tuck
 
I believe I've seen the knife your talking about. Hopefully Phil or someone else will be able to tell us more.
 
I had one of the Western bowies you described. I bought mine at a close-out price of about $50.00, from Smoky Mountain Knifeworks in 96 or 97. Evidently, they were made for a very short time, then discontinued. They had a very thick, straight brass guard, that had a sort of hammer-marked surface. They were actually kind of a homely design, and I ended up re-shaping the guard, and then sold the knife on eBay. I've seen a few of them come up on eBay since then. Hope this helps.
 
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