BX 43 fixed blade

[Thomasg]

Shows up in the catalogue page dated 1931 in the knife makers who went west Tang reads West Co . Boulder Colorado .sheath is in bad shape but shows a cowboy on bucking bronc .

[Gunsil]

I have a couple of those cool knives. Both of mine came in sheaths just marked WESTERN, your bucking bronc sheath may be from an earlier knife.

[Thomasg]

I have a couple of those cool knives. Both of mine came in sheaths just marked WESTERN, your bucking bronc sheath may be from an earlier knife.

I really don’t know for certain what year the western # 43 knifes were first offered For sale or how long the knifes were in production The only reference I have is the 1 catalog page from the knife makers who went west with the 1931 date.The # 43 came with several different materials used for the handles . Also I don’t have any ideal of the different sheaths that might have been offered with the knifes or if the sheath I have is original ? Also I’m curious about the # 43 tang stamps . My knife tang reads West lCut Boulder Colorado.The west cut knifes were made with the same quality materials as the western marked knifes ,but sold as a more affordable knife for folks with smaller purse strings . 1929- 1929 was the time period of the Great Depression.If you could find the time to post pictures of your knifes and how the tangs are marked I would love to see them .Being they most are likely 90 plus years old I may never get my hands on another one for study .thanks .

[zzyzzogeton]

Based on what I have been able to dig up, the bucking bronco sheath stamps SEEM to be from the 1928 to 1934 era. Maybe not even that late. I've only seen them with knives from the 1928 to 1930 era and sometimes on 1931 to 1934 only era knives. Never seen them with knives that first appeared in 1935 or later.

Note the upper arch stamp - WESTERN STATES CUT. & MFG - Western States Cutlery & Manufacturing Company was the official company name from 1912, when it was founded up to sometime in the early 1930s, when they dropped the "& Manufacturing" from a lot of their literature.

According to TKMWWW, the company started putting only WESTERN on their fixed blade ricassos around 1930 or 1931 (and WEST-CUT), while keeping WESTERN STATES on the pocket knives.

The BX43 did not appear in the 1925 catalog. Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate a 1928 catalog.

I would really like to see a clear picture of the "WESTCO BOULDER COLO" stamp. I have never seen one like that and would like to incorporate it in the ricasso stamp chart I am putting together. I am currently sitting at about 26 different stamps for Western fixed blades.

[Thomasg]

Based on what I have been able to dig up, the bucking bronco sheath stamps SEEM to be from the 1928 to 1934 era. Maybe not even that late. I've only seen them with knives from the 1928 to 1930 era and sometimes on 1931 to 1934 only era knives. Never seen them with knives that first appeared in 1935 or later.

Note the upper arch stamp - WESTERN STATES CUT. & MFG - Western States Cutlery & Manufacturing Company was the official company name from 1912, when it was founded up to sometime in the early 1930s, when they dropped the "& Manufacturing" from a lot of their literature.

According to TKMWWW, the company started putting only WESTERN on their fixed blade ricassos around 1930 or 1931 (and WEST-CUT), while keeping WESTERN STATES on the pocket knives.

The BX43 did not appear in the 1925 catalog. Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate a 1928 catalog.

I would really like to see a clear picture of the "WESTCO BOULDER COLO" stamp. I have never seen one like that and would like to incorporate it in the ricasso stamp chart I am putting together. I am currently sitting at about 26 different stamps for Western fixed blades.

Thank you for your reply zzyz .that’s some Great information you passed along .Here is a picture of the tang stamp for your chart .I hope it is clear enough to suit your needs .

[Suredan]

I am seeing WEST-CUT not WESTCO.

[Thomasg]

I am seeing WEST-CUT not WESTCO.

Yes it does say west-cut. .When I first received Knife the tang stamp had a lot of rust and crud.the U looked like an O and the T. Could not be seen .After carful cleaning the tang stamp became more visible .that was the reason that I was somewhat puzzled by the dirty tang stamp because I had never seen a west co stamp ? I most often leave my knifes as close to found as I can .If the request for a picture had not been made I most likely would have left the knife as is and never know the difference..I have seen a lot of vintage knifes that people tried to make look brand new over buffing , grinding , sanding .some to the point of being completely ruined .I occasionally will go over a knife lightly with a case eraser but most of the time I like to keep them with a little bit of stink left on them as close to found as I can .

[zzyzzogeton]

Thanks for the stamp picture. Was kinda excited that a new stamp had appeared.

My ricasso stamp chart is progressing. I'm about 80% done on the layout.

Excuses are like ... noses. Everyone has one, but.....

I had planned to have it out by now, but my computer crapped out in January, my mother had a stroke the first week of March, and was in the hospital, in rehab where she came down with something that developed into pneumonia after she got out and went back into the hospital for another 2 weeks (so Mar, Apr and May were crap), my gout flared up, I dinged my back laying bricks in a patio and in July I came down with the China flu for the third (maybe 4th) time despite having 3 vaxes in my arm and........ Throw in 127 days of no rain (40 over 100F and 12 over 105F) and having to haul water to keep the orchard alive, I've been delayed a bit in finishing it up.

[Thomasg]

Thanks for the stamp picture. Was kinda excited that a new stamp had appeared.

My ricasso stamp chart is progressing. I'm about 80% done on the layout.

Excuses are like ... noses. Everyone has one, but.....

I had planned to have it out by now, but my computer crapped out in January, my mother had a stroke the first week of March, and was in the hospital, in rehab where she came down with something that developed into pneumonia after she got out and went back into the hospital for another 2 weeks (so Mar, Apr and May were crap), my gout flared up, I dinged my back laying bricks in a patio and in July I came down with the China flu for the third (maybe 4th) time despite having 3 vaxes in my arm and........ Throw in 127 days of no rain (40 over 100F and 12 over 105F) and having to haul water to keep the orchard alive, I've been delayed a bit in finishing it up.

Life sometimes throws curves at us and projects have to be put on the back burner for awhile .I pray that your mothers health as well as your health takes a turn for the better .I would also like to offer an apology for not taking the proper time to clean the tang stamp up before making this post and getting your excitement up at finding a new stamp for your chart . I do have some stampings that are not knife related that you may or may not have pictures of that may spark your interest .I try and pick up anything I can western states western .

Bison clippers

Bison clippers

Bison clippers

Scissors

Strait razor

[Ridgegrass]

Here's a WEST-CUT, Boulder, Colo. Somebody said it was around a 1932 vintage. Nice swirl pattern Bakelite handle. . Love that sheath. Wish I had one.
J.O'.

[Gunsil]

There is one on ebay right now and it has the plain WESTERN marked sheath as do both of mine. I still say the bronc sheath is earlier than the knife. Western State's first fixed blades were made by Case, Marbles, and KA-BAR, and I have seen the KA-BAR and Case made ones in bronc sheaths.

[zzyzzogeton]

Thanks for the stamp picture. Was kinda excited that a new stamp had appeared.

My ricasso stamp chart is progressing. I'm about 80% done on the layout.

Excuses are like ... noses. Everyone has one, but.....

I had planned to have it out by now, but my computer crapped out in January, my mother had a stroke the first week of March, and was in the hospital, in rehab where she came down with something that developed into pneumonia after she got out and went back into the hospital for another 2 weeks (so Mar, Apr and May were crap), my gout flared up, I dinged my back laying bricks in a patio and in July I came down with the China flu for the third (maybe 4th) time despite having 3 vaxes in my arm and........ Throw in 127 days of no rain (40 over 100F and 12 over 105F) and having to haul water to keep the orchard alive, I've been delayed a bit in finishing it up.

Life sometimes throws curves at us and projects have to be put on the back burner for awhile .I pray that your mothers health as well as your health takes a turn for the better .I would also like to offer an apology for not taking the proper time to clean the tang stamp up before making this post and getting your excitement up at finding a new stamp for your chart . I do have some stampings that are not knife related that you may or may not have pictures of that may spark your interest .I try and pick up anything I can western states western .IMG_2436.jpegIMG_2435.jpegIMG_2434.jpegIMG_2431.jpegIMG_2429.png

Is the "Federal Quality" stamp on a pair of scissors?

[Thomasg]

Thanks for the stamp picture. Was kinda excited that a new stamp had appeared.

My ricasso stamp chart is progressing. I'm about 80% done on the layout.

Excuses are like ... noses. Everyone has one, but.....

I had planned to have it out by now, but my computer crapped out in January, my mother had a stroke the first week of March, and was in the hospital, in rehab where she came down with something that developed into pneumonia after she got out and went back into the hospital for another 2 weeks (so Mar, Apr and May were crap), my gout flared up, I dinged my back laying bricks in a patio and in July I came down with the China flu for the third (maybe 4th) time despite having 3 vaxes in my arm and........ Throw in 127 days of no rain (40 over 100F and 12 over 105F) and having to haul water to keep the orchard alive, I've been delayed a bit in finishing it up.

Life sometimes throws curves at us and projects have to be put on the back burner for awhile .I pray that your mothers health as well as your health takes a turn for the better .I would also like to offer an apology for not taking the proper time to clean the tang stamp up before making this post and getting your excitement up at finding a new stamp for your chart . I do have some stampings that are not knife related that you may or may not have pictures of that may spark your interest .I try and pick up anything I can western states western .IMG_2436.jpegIMG_2435.jpegIMG_2434.jpegIMG_2431.jpegIMG_2429.png

Is the "Federal Quality" stamp on a pair of scissors?

Yes the stamping is on the only pair of scissors I have ran across.on the reverse side they are stamped #73 .As to what year the scissors or Bison clippers were produced and offered for sale still remain a mystery to me?

[Thomasg]

There is one on ebay right now and it has the plain WESTERN marked sheath as do both of mine. I still say the bronc sheath is earlier than the knife. Western State's first fixed blades were made by Case, Marbles, and KA-BAR, and I have seen the KA-BAR and Case made ones in bronc sheaths.

Thank you for your response . I think you are correct . As a matter of fact the more I study the sheath I can see that the fit is poor and it belongs to another knife ! Now if I could just find one of those case ,Marbles , or KA-Bar I would be as happy as a pig in mud.

Beginners lesson learned

[Gunsil]

Yup, those early Western States hunting knives made by Marbles, Case, and KA-BAR are some hard to find! I once passed up a KA-BAR made one and it was pretty mint with a bronco sheath that had a KA-BAR snap on the retainer strap. That knife has haunted me for twenty or more years. I have two of the KA-BAR made ones, always looking for another.

[zzyzzogeton]

Life sometimes throws curves at us and projects have to be put on the back burner for awhile .I pray that your mothers health as well as your health takes a turn for the better .I would also like to offer an apology for not taking the proper time to clean the tang stamp up before making this post and getting your excitement up at finding a new stamp for your chart . I do have some stampings that are not knife related that you may or may not have pictures of that may spark your interest .I try and pick up anything I can western states western .IMG_2436.jpegIMG_2435.jpegIMG_2434.jpegIMG_2431.jpegIMG_2429.png

Is the "Federal Quality" stamp on a pair of scissors?

Yes the stamping is on the only pair of scissors I have ran across.on the reverse side they are stamped #73 .As to what year the scissors or Bison clippers were produced and offered for sale still remain a mystery to me?

The Bison clippers are in the 1925 price list, but NOT in the 1925 catalog. Western usually had more items of various types in the price lists than they did the catalog. The Bison came in what I am assuming are sizes 00 and 000 with prices of $12.00 and $14.00 EACH. They were not cheap. That's $209.26 and $240.67, respectively, as adjusted for inflation.

I have not found anything that indicates the differences between the 00 and 000. I suspect that they refer to the length of hair left after clipping. That supposition is based on the modern barber clippers guard sizes.

Also in the 1925 price list are the Ace and Ace Jr clippers. The Ace model came in sizes 1, 0, 00, and 000. The Ace Jr. came in 0, 00, and 000 sizes.

Now here comes the conundrum/mystery/irritation - the model 73 scissors are not listed in the 1921 or 1925 catalogs, but neither are they listed in the 1925 catalog. They MIGHT have been in the 1921 price list but I have never found one of those.

The 1925 catalog also depicts 6 additional hair clippers NOT LISTED in the price list. These are the Paragon, Liberty, Master, Success Pilot and Sterling models. They are NOT listed in the 1925 price list. Very, very irritating.

Now, if one enlarges the picture of the Master clippers in the 1925 catalog, a stamp or etch is depicted - E.S. HOTCHKISS - AMERICAN. Edward S. Hotchkiss had a company based in Norwalk, Conn (1896) and later in Bridgeport Conn, that made scissors, shears, clippers, wrenches, traps, staplers and other metal tools. Advertising shows that one line of tools was "HOTCHKISS AMERICAN".

I suspect that many of Western's scissors, shears and clippers were made by Hotchkiss.

[zzyzzogeton]

Is the "Federal Quality" stamp on a pair of scissors?

Yes the stamping is on the only pair of scissors I have ran across.on the reverse side they are stamped #73 .As to what year the scissors or Bison clippers were produced and offered for sale still remain a mystery to me?

The Bison clippers are in the 1925 price list, but NOT in the 1925 catalog. Western usually had more items of various types in the price lists than they did the catalog. The Bison came in what I am assuming are sizes 00 and 000 with prices of $12.00 and $14.00 EACH WHOLESALE. They were not cheap. That's $209.26 and $240.67, respectively, as adjusted for inflation.

I have not found anything that indicates the differences between the 00 and 000. I suspect that they refer to the length of hair left after clipping. That supposition is based on the modern barber clippers guard sizes.

Also in the 1925 price list are the Ace and Ace Jr clippers. The Ace model came in sizes 1, 0, 00, and 000. The Ace Jr. came in 0, 00, and 000 sizes. Both were priced (wholesale) at $1.60 each or $18.00 per dozen.

Now here comes the conundrum/mystery/irritation - the model 73 scissors are not listed in the 1921 or 1925 catalogs, but neither are they listed in the 1925 catalog. They MIGHT have been in the 1921 price list but I have never found one of those.

The 1925 catalog also depicts 6 additional hair clippers NOT LISTED in the price list. These are the Paragon, Liberty, Master, Success Pilot and Sterling models. They are NOT listed in the 1925 price list. Very, very irritating.

Now, if one enlarges the picture of the Master clippers in the 1925 catalog, a stamp or etch is depicted - E.S. HOTCHKISS - AMERICAN. Edward S. Hotchkiss had a company based in Norwalk, Conn (1896) and later in Bridgeport Conn, that made scissors, shears, clippers, wrenches, traps, staplers and other metal tools. Advertising shows that one line of tools was "HOTCHKISS AMERICAN".

I suspect that many of Western's scissors, shears and clippers were made by Hotchkiss.

[zzyzzogeton]

Yes the stamping is on the only pair of scissors I have ran across.on the reverse side they are stamped #73 .As to what year the scissors or Bison clippers were produced and offered for sale still remain a mystery to me?

The Bison clippers are in the 1925 price list, but NOT in the 1925 catalog. Western usually had more items of various types in the price lists than they did the catalog. The Bison came in what I am assuming are sizes 00 and 000 with prices of $12.00 and $14.00 EACH WHOLESALE. They were not cheap. That's $209.26 and $240.67, respectively, as adjusted for inflation.

I have not found anything that indicates the differences between the 00 and 000. I suspect that they refer to the length of hair left after clipping. That supposition is based on the modern barber clippers guard sizes.

Also in the 1925 price list are the Ace and Ace Jr clippers. The Ace model came in sizes 1, 0, 00, and 000. The Ace Jr. came in 0, 00, and 000 sizes. Both were priced (wholesale) at $1.60 each or $18.00 per dozen.

Now here comes the conundrum/mystery/irritation - the model 73 scissors are not listed in the 1921 or 1925 catalogs, but neither are they listed in the 1925 catalog. They MIGHT have been in the 1921 price list but I have never found one of those.

The 1925 catalog also depicts 6 additional hair clippers NOT LISTED in the price list. These are the Paragon, Liberty, Master, Success Pilot and Sterling models. They are NOT listed in the 1925 price list. Very, very irritating.

Now, if one enlarges the picture of the Master clippers in the 1925 catalog, a stamp or etch is depicted - E.S. HOTCHKISS - AMERICAN. Edward S. Hotchkiss had a company based in Norwalk, Conn (1896) and later in Bridgeport Conn, that made scissors, shears, clippers, wrenches, traps, staplers and other metal tools. Advertising shows that one line of tools was "HOTCHKISS AMERICAN".

I suspect that many of Western's scissors, shears and clippers were made by Hotchkiss.

OK - for some reason when I edited my post, it got listed as a quote of myself. Don't you just love technology sometimes?

[Thomasg]

The Bison clippers are in the 1925 price list, but NOT in the 1925 catalog. Western usually had more items of various types in the price lists than they did the catalog. The Bison came in what I am assuming are sizes 00 and 000 with prices of $12.00 and $14.00 EACH WHOLESALE. They were not cheap. That's $209.26 and $240.67, respectively, as adjusted for inflation.

I have not found anything that indicates the differences between the 00 and 000. I suspect that they refer to the length of hair left after clipping. That supposition is based on the modern barber clippers guard sizes.

Also in the 1925 price list are the Ace and Ace Jr clippers. The Ace model came in sizes 1, 0, 00, and 000. The Ace Jr. came in 0, 00, and 000 sizes. Both were priced (wholesale) at $1.60 each or $18.00 per dozen.

Now here comes the conundrum/mystery/irritation - the model 73 scissors are not listed in the 1921 or 1925 catalogs, but neither are they listed in the 1925 catalog. They MIGHT have been in the 1921 price list but I have never found one of those.

The 1925 catalog also depicts 6 additional hair clippers NOT LISTED in the price list. These are the Paragon, Liberty, Master, Success Pilot and Sterling models. They are NOT listed in the 1925 price list. Very, very irritating.

Now, if one enlarges the picture of the Master clippers in the 1925 catalog, a stamp or etch is depicted - E.S. HOTCHKISS - AMERICAN. Edward S. Hotchkiss had a company based in Norwalk, Conn (1896) and later in Bridgeport Conn, that made scissors, shears, clippers, wrenches, traps, staplers and other metal tools. Advertising shows that one line of tools was "HOTCHKISS AMERICAN".

I suspect that many of Western's scissors, shears and clippers were made by Hotchkiss.

OK - for some reason when I edited my post, it got listed as a quote of myself. Don't you just love technology sometimes?

Thank you for the information on the Bison clippers .The BK43 shows up in TKMWWW. Catalog pages years 1931,1936,1941. The O.P. knife , the knife Ridgegrass posted , and two I have viewed on flea bay do not have any stampings referencing a patent # or PAT APPD FOR on the Mark or pile sides of the blade ? I have 3 different guesses not based on fact as to why .1 the Bakelite knifes were all produced before the patent was Applied for and appeared in catalogs Until the stock was exhausted.2.The Bakelite knifes had a different frame build
(Unlikely). 3 the knifes simply were not stamped for an unknown reason .

[zzyzzogeton]

I have never gotten a bakelite handled version with a damaged enough handle to warrant breaking it apart to examine the construction methods. No one ever lists a busted up one on fleabay. I guess they just trash busted ones.

I have seen a few bakelite handled knives that had reference to the patent number. I also saw somewhere on the internet (and foolishly forgot to bookmark it) that showed the bifurcated tang being inserted into the handle and that the tang segments had little hooks that clipped behind ledges molded into the bakelite.