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iKC Member in need - Knife info requested

The Need

My Father has a bunch of knives he has accumulated over the years for hunting, fishing, meat preparation, shop work, and what have you. I have long waited to inherit the “drawer of knives” someday, however, the time has come that he needs to convert some personal assets to cash, so I offered to assist in – dare I say – selling his knives.

We Poles have a saying that wisdom comes in two parts; knowing what question to ask, then knowing who to believe the answer from. When it comes to seeking knowledge, counsel, guidance and advise about knives, I know to leverage the full weight of iKC – that is to say all of you and your vast knowledge and experience. If nothing else, here is the opportunity to strut your stuff and share what you know with me.

So if you would, please take a look at this or the other postings I have similar to this one and share with me what you know about it. My goal is to use the information you provide to properly market and sell these knives to get a reasonable sale price while letting the buyer enjoy the full value of the piece.

First up is this Western 062:

Western 062 – What I Think I Know About It

This is what I believe to be true so far about this knife:

In 1956 the company name was shortened to Western Cutlery Co.
In 1961 Western started stamping Western U.S.A. on their tangs
This knife is stamped WESTERN over Boulder CO over Made in USA on obverse tang; 062 on reverse tang
No single letter for year of manufacture (so it’s earlier then 1977)
No lanyard hole
Blade pitting indicative of carbon steel rather than SS
Nickle silver bolsters
Match strike nail nicks

What I want to Know

Based on the bullet info above and judging the best you can from the photos, I would like to know the following:

Is my information above correct?
Estimate year of knife manufacture – my guess is between 1956 and 1960?
Are the scales jigged Delrin or Redbone?
Are the blades Carbon steel or badly pitted SS?
In knife lingo, what does “walks & talks” mean?
Should I clean & polish it or leave it as is?
What, in your opinion, is the value of the knife?
What, in your opinion, is a good sale price?

Please feel free to ask me questions, request additional photos, or whatever in order to assist you in your evaluations. Please also feel free to correct my understandings with additional facts, as I want the best info I can get to support a sale.

I will more than likely offer these on Etsy in my wood craft site with some sort of stand or box to add value to the sale.

Thank you for your comments and assistance – it is greatly appreciated!

Tags: 062, Folder, Western

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lars Ray on April 8, 2015 at 20:42

Of course it would help if I added some photos, right?

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Permalink Reply by tim payne on April 8, 2015 at 21:55

will get back and check these out later lars!

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Permalink Reply by tim payne on April 8, 2015 at 22:44

knice to have you back lars......

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on April 10, 2015 at 14:01

Lars-The name was shortened to Western Boulder Co. in 1951- Your knife dates to circa-1951-1976-Hard to get any more accurate than that on Western knives of that period. The handles are jigged bone-They switched to Delrin in the late 70's.The blades are carbon steel-( if they were SS it would say Stainless on the shield as they made both versions.In good condition these sell for around $70-80. A plus is you still have the matching belt sheath-I would say you could still get $50-60 for yours. I would only lightly oil it or lightly clean off any surface gunk and leave the restoration to the buyer-- Store the knife outside the sheath. I will tell you about "walks and talks" in a separate post.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on April 10, 2015 at 14:24

Lars--" Walk and talk" is a term most often overused by guys hawking knives on late night TV,LOL. The term actually refers to the fitting of the blade to the backspring on slipjoint folding knives.

The "Walk" is the firm solid feel of the blade when it is opened or closed- A properly fitted blade will hesitate slightly about halfway when opening or closing the blade.This is also a safety feature-- One that doesn't show any resistance could indicate a weak backspring , while you don't want one so tight that you break a nail trying to open it-- Just an indicator, there are great knives out there that don't do this-- Opinel comes to mind, for example.

The "Talk" is the satisfying sound the blade makes when it is firmly closed- The sound should be bright and clear, not muffled or dull-- A muffled or dull sound could be an indicator of a weak backspring or blade fit problem. Once again, just an indicator-- There are great slipjoint knives out there that don't have the "talk" as well.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on April 10, 2015 at 17:28

John has correctly identified "walks & talks".

I would add to the "walks" portion .. the proper interaction between backspring & blade will require force be applied .. to open (from a fully closed position) or close (from a fully open position). A cam is inherent in the backspring/blade interaction. The "walk" is the action that causes the blade to snap shut or open when not located @ the apex of the cam lobe. On either side of the maxima of the lobe .. force from the backspring causes a rotational action of the blade .. causing the blade to either snap shut or open .. depending on which side of the cam lobe the system is @ when the blade is released (from fingers).
The "talk" portion is indeed the sound one hears when the blade snaps into either the fully open or closed position.
Lack of "walk & talk" is indicative of a worn system .. worn to the point the backspring no longers applies enough pressure to cause the desired camming action.

Walk & talk is not relative to knives lacking this cam relationship .. i.e. obvious exceptions are friction folders that have no backspring.

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Permalink Reply by Lars Ray on April 10, 2015 at 23:07

John & Dale - Thank you for the details on this bad boy...particularly the Walk & Talk segments. The knife itself is loaded up with surface junk, so I'll only perform surface cleaning as recommended.

Thank you for the attention to the details, it is very much appreciated.