Western fixed blade

daizee

daizee

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Dec 30, 2009
Messages
10,916
I was just given this by the guy who rents me my shop space. Apparently it has no sentimental value.
It seems to be a decent carbon steel. The manufacture is not top-notch, but neither does it seem to be crap. Clearly there's a lot of corrosion on the blade. I really dislike this blade style, so I'm thinking of making it into a pukko as an experiment. Would that be heresy?

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I may be wrong (probably am) but I think that might be an L66, or it might be a L46.
The blade will clean up nicely with either xxxx fine steel wool or a scotchbrite pad and a little oil.
Western was a good brand, back in the day. They had a decient heat treat, took a good sharp edge, and held it.
If you were to modify it to a pukko, I'd be concerned about ruining the temper.
Personally, I would not do it, but then again, the L66 and L46 are among my favorite fixed blades.
Maybe you could trade it for a pukko.
 
My structural concern would be that the point might be too thin for too far if you grind the meat off the back, and I wouldn't try it without a wet wheel.
 
I have to disagree with the previous posters, if you want to modify it, then go ahead. I've modified quite a few knives with a small 1x30 belt sander without a problem. I keep a wide mouthed bottle of cold water next to the sander, and dip the blade after every pass. Make a pass, dip, make a pass, dip. Go slow and you will achieve what you want. Your new blade shape should be an excellent all-'rounder!
 
I agree with black mamba: your plan for modifying the blade shape looks fine. Just be conscious of the heat treat, so go slow and steady. Use sand paper to finish the spine by hand. Put it on a hard surface and rub the spine along back and forth moving after a while to a higher grain of sandpaper up to at least 220 grain. Actually, that is a good way to refinish the blade as well: do not use grinder (if you use a bench grinder) on the blade, only on the spine.

P.S. Be careful with how much pressure you apply when using a grinder. Excessive pressure is the main reason for overheating: just hold it steady and let the grinder do all the work! And do not forget to dip it in the water, keep it under 100 C ( there is no sound or signs of steam when dipping) and it will be fine!
 
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I'd probably save it away as-is, but if you're going to make a user out of it I do like the proposed blade shape better than the original.
Those aren't rare knives, it's already used, and it has no heritage value to either you or the previous owner. So any historic loss by modifying or refinishing the knife is insignificant, certainly no more harmful than steel wooling the blade finish.
Go for it. :thumbup:
 
NOT heresy - it's your knife and you can do what you want to it. As said above, it's not (currently) rare. Maybe 30 or 40 years from now, it will be. :rolleyes:

That's a Western L66, 1973 to 1976. Decent user, 1095 CroVan steel, HT around 56-57. Western replaced "Boulder Colo" with "USA" as part of the stamp in 1972/3 and shifted the model # from the guard to the mark side along with "year code" letters (A=1977, B=1978, etc) in 1977. The model SHOULD be stamped into the guard. Western started putting model numbers on their knives around 1955ish on the pile side ricasso and shifted them to the guard in 1968.
 
So... I did it. Despite one generous offer on the blade as-is (my apologies, Myke).

I put it on the KMG against the 5" contact wheel with a relatively fresh 60grit ceramic belt, and dunked appropriately. Then I dressed it out at 180 on the belt and hand-sanded the spine with some convenient 360. Same with the bolster. I decided to leave the pommel hook. Then I just cleaned the blade by hand with a scotch-bright pad. The original grind was all buffed over anyway, and looking kind of weak. Finally, I soaked a bunch (it was quite thirsty!) of Howard's Butcher Block Conditioner into the leather, flitzed again, oiled/waxed the whole thing, and gave it a proper edge. It's a sweet little knife now, and cuts as well as you'd expect from thin-ground 3/32" high-carbon steel. Not sure if I'll bother replacing the sheath, though it's totally unsuitable for belt use because it will fall out (same as before the mods).

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This was a fun little project, but it means I didn't get very far on the other stuff on the bench...

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zzyzzogeton said:
NOT heresy - it's your knife and you can do what you want to it. As said above, it's not (currently) rare. Maybe 30 or 40 years from now, it will be. :rolleyes:

That's a Western L66, 1973 to 1976. Decent user, 1095 CroVan steel, HT around 56-57. Western replaced "Boulder Colo" with "USA" as part of the stamp in 1972/3 and shifted the model # from the guard to the mark side along with "year code" letters (A=1977, B=1978, etc) in 1977. The model SHOULD be stamped into the guard. Western started putting model numbers on their knives around 1955ish on the pile side ricasso and shifted them to the guard in 1968.
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Thanks, Zz's!
Yes, this one is stamped L66 on the front of the brass guard (now merely a bolster ;)). Looks like it's just about as old as I am.
 
Great project.

I would have kept it in it's original state; I think those up-swept blades are very cool. Nevertheless, looks like you did a nice job and now have a small treasure.
 
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