$ from years ago?

In 1911, H. N. Platts, was able to draw on his extensive friendships and family connections in the cutlery world to start Western States Cutlery and Manufacturing of Boulder Colorado. At first only a jobbing business, by 1920 construction and machinery purchases were underway to begin manufacture of knives. Through name changes--to Western States Cutlery Co. in 1953, then Western Cutlery Co. in 1956--and moves first across town and later to Longmont Colorado, the company stayed under the leadership of the Platt family until 1984. In that year, the company was sold to Coleman, becoming Coleman-Western. Eventually purchased by Camillus in 1991, Western continued until Camillus expired in 2007.
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bluecow
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$ from years ago?

Post by bluecow »

I bought my first new pocket knife sometime in the neighbor hood of 69-71. A Western 854 Utility that I still carry most every day. Anyone have an old catalog that would give me a rough idea what I payed for this gem all those years ago? THANKS.

BEST POCKET KNIFE EVER :D
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zzyzzogeton
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Re: $ from years ago?

Post by zzyzzogeton »

Unfortunately, none of the Western catalogs/catalog reprint pages have prices on them. Just as a guess, I'd say somewhere between $5 and $10, as the minimum wage was $1.45 in 1970. Anything over 1/2 to 1 days wages was way overpriced for the common working man and that was always Western's target market for working knives.

I have never seen one, but supposedly, Western had price sheets that were seperate from the catalogs themselves. Western (allegedly) would mail out new price sheets to vendors/distributors what the new DISTRIBUTOR price was from DATE XXX onward. The distributors would then send out THEIR new Wholesale Price Lists.

Having grown up in a retail establishment, I pretty much guarantee if there were such price sheets, the old ones were trashed as soon as a new one showed up in the mail. That's what my dad did. I wish I knew then what I know no so that I would have saved those old sheets.

I have seen a few HARDWARE WHOLESALER catalog sheets with prices, generally on the order of "$xx per half dozen, $yy per dozen". These catalogs are few and far between and are usually being "pieced out" in one or 2 sheet increments on fleabay, making them terribly expensive to acquire/collect. I've seen auctions with B-I-N prices of $30 and $40 PER PAGE. Insane.

The 854 is NOT in the 1959-1960 or 1961 catalog reprints and first appears in the 1968 catalog reprint. So it "probably" came out in 1967, when a lot of changes occurred, or maybe a little earlier, before showing up in the 1968 catalog.
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bluecow
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Re: $ from years ago?

Post by bluecow »

Great info on the price sheets and catalogs thanks. Wages sound about right I was making a buck maybe two for a long hot day working in the hay fields. Farmers don't have to pay min wage and we were just kids anyway, hard hot work still, but thats what kids did back then. ::ds::
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zzyzzogeton
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Re: $ from years ago?

Post by zzyzzogeton »

bluecow wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:20 pm Great info on the price sheets and catalogs thanks. Wages sound about right I was making a buck maybe two for a long hot day working in the hay fields. Farmers don't have to pay min wage and we were just kids anyway, hard hot work still, but thats what kids did back then. ::ds::
My best friend and I were paid 25¢ per bale (to split) by my father. That was picked up in the field and stacked in the barn. It worked out to about $3 per hour.
knifeaholic
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Re: $ from years ago?

Post by knifeaholic »

Attached is a WESTERN price list with dealer prices and retail prices. Part of a 1967 Western catalog.
Attachments
Pages from Western Cutlery Catalog 1967.jpg
Steve Pfeiffer, author of Collecting Case Knives: Identification and Price Guide published by Krause Publications.
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zzyzzogeton
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Re: $ from years ago?

Post by zzyzzogeton »

Thank you for that, knifeaholic. Have not seen one.
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