Did Western make good knives?

Yes, they were on the order of Schrade, Case, Camillus, KaBar, and all the other good old firms. Here's the date chart for them -

2432943915_de56f97a16_b.jpg
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tltt said:
Yes, they were on the order of Schrade, Case, Camillus, KaBar, and all the other good old firms. Here's the date chart for them -

2432943915_de56f97a16_b.jpg
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Click to expand...
This one seems to have alot of chromium? Very shiny still and seems like it might be a harder more brittle steel than the boker that I have that was stored in the same drawer.
 
Vegita182 said:
This one seems to have alot of chromium? Very shiny still and seems like it might be a harder more brittle steel than the boker that I have that was stored in the same drawer.
Click to expand...

Western used 440A for their stainless knives. I do not know to what hardness they tempered them. 440A at a hardness of 58 HRC works well as a blade steel.
 
knarfeng said:
Western used 440A for their stainless knives. I do not know to what hardness they tempered them. 440A at a hardness of 58 HRC works well as a blade steel.
Click to expand...
How do you feel about the Essee fixed blade knives? Been looking at a 5 but if this boker 192 or this western W66 are just as good I'll just hold off.
 
Vegita182 said:
How do you feel about the Essee fixed blade knives? Been looking at a 5 but if this boker 192 or this western W66 are just as good I'll just hold off.
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Very different knives.

Generations of fellas used Western hunting knives. So it should get the job done as a hunting knife. With that upswept blade it's clearly designed for skinning. In its current state it might be a collectible item. You might want to take that into consideration.

Likewise the Boker 192 was also designed to be a hunting knife.

ESEE makes a good fixed blade. The ESEE 5 is designed to be a "survival knife". It's an all round design and is made from 1095 carbon steel. It's a much more rugged design meant for heavy use, but is not specifically designed to be a hunting knife like the Western or Boker.

So it depends on the intended use of the knife.
 
Westerns are good knives. They may seem cheap due to not holding much value, but that doesn't mean they are not excellent cutters.
 
Also just a note, if you see it laying around or want to buy a new one, the axe from that set looks like this -

IMG_4213_zpszxn9nkh2.jpg
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Edit: I see it in the picture you posted now :).
 
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Hell yes !
I miss my small Western Stockman all the time. Why did you have to remind me. :(
It was such a cool knife, black jigged bone with just a hint of brown around the edges, really decent plain high carbon blades. The blade shapes were just the way I like them.
Fell out of my pocket one day getting out of my MG.
I noticed it by the time I got in the store and went back for it and someone had snagged it.
The guys here tell me to always put my hankie in that pocket on top the knife. Great tip !;)
I vow to have another one just like it one day.
I can feel "the time of the great buying of classic Traditionals" for me coming up on the horizon (I've bought about all I want of the moderns) . . . so who knows.

The main clip point blade on the knife was so cool; it looked like a teeny, tiny stylish Bowie.
(what we see as Bowie in modern times maybe not the original)
 
Western's newer stuff was made by Camillus, if I remember right. Much of the old Craftsman line of knives are the same as the Westerns too.

Nothing wrong with them at all.
 
I’m particularly fond of the Western folders and find them very well made. They take a nice edge and make good users. A bit on the heavy side compared to most modern folders but that doesn’t bother me much.

 
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