Western W49 Bowie - worth anything?

I

icediver

Joined
Nov 15, 2008
Messages
13
First off let me say this forum appears to be populated by some very knowledgeable people and some impressive knife makers. I have spent many hours cruising around here. Heres my question.

I have a pair of bowie knives I purchased many years ago at a gift shop while visiting the grand canyon. In my youth, I purchased knives every chance I got. I bought these on vacation thinking they were the coolest thing I had ever seen. (I think I was 10 or 11 years old). Since then, they have collected dust and basically been ignored for 20 something years. They do have a few spots that started to rust, along with some discoloration, and one of the knives actually has a couple bends in the very edge of the blade from me trying to chop a piece of dead wood when I was a kid. Both knives are identical. On the blade, they say

Western
USA W49
J

The sheaths actually say Coleman/Western on them.

What little info I could find tells me that Coleman purchased Western, but I couldn't seem to find any info regarding these specific knives. Were they decent steel?

Approximately what might they be worth? I'm more into collecting knives that I can use rather than look at, and was thinking of unloading these to put towards a real chopper if it was worth the effort. Thanks in advance!
 
Depending on the exact age of the knives, they may be very good steel. Mine probably dates back farther than yours (before Coleman bought Western) and the vanadium steel they used back then was excellent. As far as a real chopper goes, my W49 out performed my Spyderco/Hossum Forester in side by side testing. That makes it a pretty serious chopper in my book.
 
My biggest concern with their "chopping" ability is the very thin edge. The one that I have with a couple of bends in the blade came from me chopping a couple branches off from a dead piece of tree many years ago. I was so ticked at the time I never tried chopping with it again.

I would be better off with a modern chopper with a thicker edge I think. I still love the lines of a classic bowie, but more to look at rather than use.
 
Thick edges annoy me. Thin edges can chop without damage, you just have to keep the blade straight so the force of the swing is aligned with the edge. The side by side testing I mentioned was chopping through a five inch thick seasoned locust log. If you are not familiar with that wood, it is in the same class as white oak.
 
I understand where you are coming from regarding edges. I know a thin edge can chop without damage if used properly, but I cant guarantee I my form will always be perfect when using a "chopper". :) The damage I did to one of the blades was when I was all of 10-12 years old, and had no idea what I was doing other than playing with a big knife. (Not really sure what my parents were thinking there..:D)

I just think for MY intended purposes, a thicker more robust edge would suit me better, not necessarily be a better chopper.

When I bought my home it took me a little while to determine that the cool looking trees I had were black locust. It didn't take me very learn how tough of a wood it is though. ;) Someday I would like to make a bow from one of the trees.

Thanks for your replies.

Icediver
 
yablanowitz said:
Depending on the exact age of the knives, they may be very good steel. Mine probably dates back farther than yours (before Coleman bought Western) and the vanadium steel they used back then was excellent. As far as a real chopper goes, my W49 out performed my Spyderco/Hossum Forester in side by side testing. That makes it a pretty serious chopper in my book.
Click to expand...

By chance have you written up the comparison? Sure would like to hear the details.

Thanks,
Frank
 
No, I never wrote it up. I did it out of personal curiosity when I got my Forester. I took it, the aforementioned W49 and a Case Alamo Bowie out in the yard and started chopping on a old log of locust wood I'd had laying around for a couple of years. I used the Forester first, while I was fresh. It took me about thirty minutes to get halfway through the log. Average depth of cut with a full swing was about a quarter inch. I turned the log over, picked up the W49 and finished chopping through the log in eight minutes. Average depth of cut with the same swing was almost a half inch. The real surprise to me was the Case Bowie chopping all the way through in fifteen minutes. I guess the extra weight of the brass piece on the spine of the blade helps.
 
I've got several W49 bowies, the oldest dating to around the mid 60s. I'm curious to know what year Western first manufactured the W49?
 
Check out completed auctions on the 'Bay for an idea of value. A couple years ago I bought a Coleman era W49. I didn't really like it so I gave it to my brother. The guard wasn't fitted well. I was surprised by the thinness of the spine. It didn't have much heft. I think the pre-Coleman ones - at least some of them - had real Cocobolo handles rather than laminated wood scales.
 
icediver said:
First off let me say this forum appears to be populated by some very knowledgeable people and some impressive knife makers. I have spent many hours cruising around here. Heres my question.

I have a pair of bowie knives I purchased many years ago at a gift shop while visiting the grand canyon. In my youth, I purchased knives every chance I got. I bought these on vacation thinking they were the coolest thing I had ever seen. (I think I was 10 or 11 years old). Since then, they have collected dust and basically been ignored for 20 something years. They do have a few spots that started to rust, along with some discoloration, and one of the knives actually has a couple bends in the very edge of the blade from me trying to chop a piece of dead wood when I was a kid. Both knives are identical. On the blade, they say

Western
USA W49
J

The sheaths actually say Coleman/Western on them.

What little info I could find tells me that Coleman purchased Western, but I couldn't seem to find any info regarding these specific knives. Were they decent steel?

Approximately what might they be worth? I'm more into collecting knives that I can use rather than look at, and was thinking of unloading these to put towards a real chopper if it was worth the effort. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
i got the western w49 j
 
Yea it is an old thread. The "J" on you knife is a date code. Western started doing this in 1977 and Coleman/Western continued it. The letters used start with "A" for 1977 and go on to "0" for 1991 when Camillus bought the rights to Western at auction. Camillus discontinued the use of date codes. Your knife was made in 1986.
 
Hi guys, great forum!

Just curious what your opinion is of this Western W49 Bowie that I just bought at a garage sale. Before today I knew nothing about Bowies, but from some basic online research it appears this is a "first edition" made between 1964-1966? If someone could confirm that it would be great!

As far as the value, it seems as though similar knives online are valued between $200-$300. Would that also be the case for this one?

I was told that it hung on a wall for 50 years, and I even got the wooden knife display holder with the deal.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much in advance!!!

https://i.imgur.com/ubXUgrX.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6ks5v2r.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ZzmWXOS.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/UsysvuU.jpg
 
Yes, that is one the first post-WW2 bowies made by Western. 1964 to late 1965/early 1966.

Actually, at the time these were produced, the model was simply called the "Western Bowie Knife", with no model number assigned, at least in marketing literature. When Western's President, Harvey Platts, had The Knife Makers Who Went West published in 1978, no catalog or interim price list reprints from 1961 to 1967 were included, so details like internal model numbers are unknown. It is ASSUMED that the internal model was W49.
 
Blast Chamber said:
Hi guys, great forum!

Just curious what your opinion is of this Western W49 Bowie that I just bought at a garage sale. Before today I knew nothing about Bowies, but from some basic online research it appears this is a "first edition" made between 1964-1966? If someone could confirm that it would be great!

As far as the value, it seems as though similar knives online are valued between $200-$300. Would that also be the case for this one?

I was told that it hung on a wall for 50 years, and I even got the wooden knife display holder with the deal.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much in advance!!!

https://i.imgur.com/ubXUgrX.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6ks5v2r.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ZzmWXOS.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/UsysvuU.jpg
Click to expand...

Welcome. Here's everything you need to know....

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/new-members-please-read-this-what-is-my-knife-worth.904093/
 
zzyzzogeton, thanks so much for your reply. That was interesting.

As for the other posters, I was not aware of your forum policy regarding inquiries about values. I appreciate you making me aware of it.

By the way, it was not my intention to "hint that I have a knife for sale" with my post. The Bowie is staying in my possession for a lifetime. I just wanted to get an opinion on value for my annual adjustment to the rider on my homeowner's policy covering all of my collectibles. But I'm sure you get a lot of the hidden agendas here, hence the policy.

As for feeling welcomed as a new member, well........
 
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