Charlie Flick Posted August 23, 2015 Share #1 Posted August 23, 2015 Gentlemen: I had some spare time today and used a little bit of it to take a few pics of one of my favorite knives...the Western Cutlery L76 Commando. It has a 7 inch double edged blade. To my eye it is one of the most graceful designs of the WW2 era knives. I looked for one of these knives for decades. I saw only two. The first was not for sale, but I took the opportunity to examine it as if I would never see another. The second came up many years later when a knife collecting acquaintance decided to let it go. I did not hesitate, and it has found a welcome home in my collection ever since. The ricasso marking. Why is this knife so rarely encountered? Author Mike Silvey speculated in one of his blade books that it was because of the difficulty of grinding it as compared to a single edge blade. Its brother blade, the much more commonly encountered L77, is single edged and surely was much easier, faster and cheaper to manufacture. A view of the polished aluminum pommel showing the lanyard hole. MH Cole's US Knives Book III has a drawing of the L76 but indicates that it had a blued blade. The blade on my example is bright and, almost miraculously given the passage of 70 years since the end of WW2, has never been sharpened. Cole also shows a copy of the Western brochure printed after the end of the War which includes the L76 as among the knives it made in WW2. A view of the L76 in its Western sheath with the characteristic double stitching. I consider myself very fortunate to have been at the right place at the right time in order to have had the opportunity to add this blade to my collection. Do any of our members here have another example? Regards, Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchcollector Posted August 23, 2015 Share #2 Posted August 23, 2015 Beautiful knife and sheath.Great pattern with that nice long blade.That is quite a formidible fighting knife! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1SG_1st_Cav Posted August 24, 2015 Share #3 Posted August 24, 2015 Beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Walters Posted August 24, 2015 Share #4 Posted August 24, 2015 Charlie, Here are three additional L76 stilettos. The first one is also from Ernie's collection and used in Cole's book. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Walters Posted August 24, 2015 Share #5 Posted August 24, 2015 Charlie, It has been a long time since I posted, so overlook my shortcomings in posting photos. This big double edge is about the size of the Western 8". The sheaths were made specifically for the knife. It could have been a sample. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Flick Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share #6 Posted August 24, 2015 Wow! Now I know why it took me so long to find one of these...it turns out that Bill owned all of them! Beautiful blades, Bill. Congrats on a gorgeous lineup. Regards, Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdk0911 Posted August 24, 2015 Share #7 Posted August 24, 2015 the is one beautiful knife!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops369 Posted August 24, 2015 Share #8 Posted August 24, 2015 Did they make hanger sheaths for the L76? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Flick Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share #9 Posted August 24, 2015 Did they make hanger sheaths for the L76? Yes. I have not seen one firsthand but Mike Silvey's book on WW2 knives shows an L76 with a sheath bearing the M1910 double hook for affixing to a web pistol belt. Regards, Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Walters Posted August 24, 2015 Share #10 Posted August 24, 2015 Here are some of the sheaths that I have seen for the L76-77. #110 Western L76-L77 Hanger Sheaths.jpg] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Walters Posted August 24, 2015 Share #11 Posted August 24, 2015 Here are the more commonly seen sheaths for the L76/77. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still-A-Marine Posted August 24, 2015 Share #12 Posted August 24, 2015 Speechless! Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony-in-NH Posted August 24, 2015 Share #13 Posted August 24, 2015 Speechless! Bill You think those are impressive, you should see the rest of his collection. I have and it is jaw dropping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sactroop Posted August 24, 2015 Share #14 Posted August 24, 2015 Great knives! We've seen some really special ones from Charlie, Bill and Tony here, and it's one of the things that makes this place special. Bill do you have any history regarding the L76 with the Black Beauty hilt, I guess that would make it an F76? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocksome Posted August 24, 2015 Share #15 Posted August 24, 2015 A beautiful and pristine example. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byf41 Posted August 24, 2015 Share #16 Posted August 24, 2015 Those are some beauties guys . Heres my humble example . Among my favorite style of WWII knives also . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccyooper Posted August 24, 2015 Share #17 Posted August 24, 2015 Ha, Ha... there was a time when I thought Bill and I were competing for all of the Westerns out there... I still have a few left and I think Bill does too. I used to have a couple of L76's but I let one go a few years ago... I think these are all different without any duplicates. The beautiful bluing does not show up to well in the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdonzi Posted August 24, 2015 Share #18 Posted August 24, 2015 wow very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted August 25, 2015 Share #19 Posted August 25, 2015 Beautiful knives guys I have a couple L77 but no L76 would love to find one someday hopefully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Walters Posted August 25, 2015 Share #20 Posted August 25, 2015 Great knives! We've seen some really special ones from Charlie, Bill and Tony here, and it's one of the things that makes this place special. Bill do you have any history regarding the L76 with the Black Beauty hilt, I guess that would make it an F76? No, I don't have any other info on the Black Beauty L76 other than that it came from Ernie Modlin's collection and Cole used it in his book. Wish I had more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Walters Posted August 25, 2015 Share #21 Posted August 25, 2015 Those are some beauties guys . Heres my humble example . Among my favorite style of WWII knives also . You have a very nice L76. When I started collecting in the early 70's the Western L76 and L77 were nearly impossible to find. Yours is a nice one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Walters Posted August 25, 2015 Share #22 Posted August 25, 2015 Ha, Ha... there was a time when I thought Bill and I were competing for all of the Westerns out there... I still have a few left and I think Bill does too. I used to have a couple of L76's but I let one go a few years ago... I think these are all different without any duplicates. The beautiful bluing does not show up to well in the picture. A few years ago, Curt sent me this photo of his Westerns. My mouth watered. I tried to buy them from him, but no luck. He has one of the best collections of L77's and L76's that I have seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccyooper Posted August 26, 2015 Share #23 Posted August 26, 2015 Bill, thank you for the kind words but as evidenced by your photos, your collection was or is still second to none. Charlie has also displayed an excellent example of a hard to find knife. Guys like you, Tony, Frank, Gary C, Charlie, Adrian, Vince, et-al., have made this a great forum and exciting hobby. Regards, CC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les George Posted August 28, 2015 Share #24 Posted August 28, 2015 the L76 may as well be a unicorn, for me! Beautiful examples here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les George Posted October 30, 2015 Share #25 Posted October 30, 2015 well now! Its not as pretty as the rest of the knives in this thread, but there is one thing you can assume about an old beat up knife like this. It's a survivor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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