Western Fillet Knives

[OldCABear]

So, who out there can tell me the difference between Western's W-76 and W-766 filet knives. I don't know what the second 6 stands for; year code, alloy, blade pattern code, or? Driving me nutz (a short trip according to my missus).

 

[B JACKSON]

7 years later, I have the same question nagging me! Anyone?

 

[zzyzzogeton]

Western's fillet knives actually had S-W model number descriptors. The "S" is for stainless steel (440A) and the "W" is for the wood handles.

The S-W76 came out in 1968, with an OAL of 11" and a blade length of 6". These obviously do NOT have date codes.

Then in the 1978 catalog, the Western fillet knife options expanded to the --

S-W764 FISH/BAIT Camp Knife with a 4-1/2" blade, with an OAL 9"

S-W766 Fish Fillet Knife with a 6" blade and an OAL of 11"

S-W769 Super Fillet Knife with a 9" blade and an OAL of 14"

All three had stainless steel blades and wood handles and should have date codes.

The S-W764 was listed in the catalog pages as the "Fish-Camp Knife", but both specimens I own are ricasso stamped "BAIT CAMP"

After Coleman bought Western in 1985, they came out with a rubber handled line of fillet knives, again with stainless steel blades (440A) in 1986. All these should have date code stamps.

966 - 6" blades, 11" OAL
967 - 7" blades, 12" OAL
969 - 9" blades, 14" OAL
9612 - 12" blades, 17" OAL.

They continued the W766 and W769 models, dropping the "S" from the model numbers but retained the 440A blades.

 

[Hale Storm]

I have the S-W766 model you describe above. My cousin found it in an old shed when he bought his house last year. He gave it to me and I cleaned her up a bit.

I realize it was made somewhere between '78 and '85 but I don't see a date code anywhere. Please explain.