The original knife thread.
- Thread starter DanielOcean
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Replicant
Life of the Party
A couple of early, Boulder era natural bone Western's. The smaller serpentine pattern is a 642 and the larger (Muskrat?) pattern is - I think - A 741 - That model number may not be correct, but that's what some Western collectors are calling it. There are five different 700 series Western's, not including this two blade model (would make six). This one was rarely seen in catalogs. The others are rare enough and make up the majority of the most desirable Western folders.
Replicant
Life of the Party
A couple of smaller, red bone Western's from the Boulder era. The smaller pen style is a 442 with the slightly larger knife being a 642. Same pattern as the knife in the previous post, just different, because when it comes to collecting Western's, there is no rhyme or reason.
the blade on the smaller one whittled down to a toothpick from decades on the sharpening stone...classic
Replicant
Life of the Party
A bit, yes. But not too far off the original blade profile. The 442 is shown in the lower left of the catalog.
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Replicant
Life of the Party
Here are a couple more small to medium ish Boulder era Western's, both in red bone. The top one is a 653 stockman with the uncommon 'match strike' pull. (love this knife). The bottom one is a 657 Jack. The lower picture includes the big brother to the 653 that I've posted before. A Boulder era 742 in red bone with match strike pull.
Replicant
Life of the Party
A pair of large Western folding hunter's (top and bottom pic). While they are identical in design and blades, they differ in composition and age. The top knife is a Boulder era, natural bone with no shield. Early tang stamp. No model number but it's unlikely to be the same as the 062 below. Unlikely, but not impossible. The lower knife (062) is a delrin scaled, Boulder era knife. Only uncommon in that the majority of delrin scaled folding hunter's were post 1978 production in Longmont Colorado. The lower picture features a knife I shared before, an even bigger folding hunter of the same era as the slightly smaller one next to it. I can't seem to nail down a model number for this one, but it's possibly a 6227. You don't see too many of these. Recently, a decent example of a red bone 062 sold for $150. I've seen Western State's versions sell for up to $250. 
Replicant
Life of the Party
Those look great. I've never played with a Magnacut blade. Keep us posted on your opinions. Leatherman is a great company.
x2...family owned with machinists in the tooling dept that have been there for decades.
Replicant
Life of the Party
I generally don't pursue Western knives that go on past 1978. The year that they moved from Boulder to Longmont, but that isn't a snub. Their quality was there, but I preferred the bone scaled knives. By 1985, Western was bought by Coleman, and that ushered in a modern era. Coleman was short lived in the knife industry and sold to Camillus. The Camillus era Western's are excellent. It was good till Camillus folded for good. The top knife is a Camillus era bird knife. The bottom is a Western USA, Longmont era (78-85) model 658 Stockman in Delrin. It's a good clean knife.
I bought an after market sheath for my Morakniv Garberg from Leonard Leather Works (leonardleather.com). It includes holders for a ferro rod and Fallkniven DC4 sharpening stone. It is very well made and I'm happy with it. They have "off the shelf" custom sheaths for a wide variety of knives.
Thanks! The downside is that the leather sheath is much heavier than the poly/molle sheath that came with the knife.
In hindsight, I should have ordered the add-on scout carry belt loop and belt dangler when I ordered the leather sheath. Still happy with it, though.
Difference in what sheath it comes with, maybe?
$70 is a great price for that knife!
pretty sure I had that Barlow as a kid, second knife after my Camillus Boy Scout knife
how about a pic of your complete collection?
Replicant
Life of the Party
I like the Barlow. The first one I had was a little loose. I think it has to do with the fact that the liners are steel and not brass. Steel on steel wears faster. The recent one is tight in spite of the patina. Not bad for a seventy plus year old knife (maybe).
As far as a group shot? Pretty hard to do. I haven't even got into my Gerber's yet. Those are the knives I really collect.
