Finally, I came across a Western "Bowie" that met all my criteria; in order of importance, it had to be Vietnam War vintage, it had to be not-too-pretty, and it had to be reasonably priced.

 

After receiving an excellent education on my 'quarry' from sactroop and mayralphie (you guy's should be charging me tuition ) and quite a bit of searching I snagged this one -

 

 

 

 

 

The blade definitely shows some patina, but, where the knife's beauty really shines is with its handles -

 

 

 

Tim

And, of course, what good is an awesome "Bowie" without an equally awesome scabbard.

 

This one is the swing sheath with leather strap and "D" ring which Western introduced in 1968 -

 

 

 

 

The scabbard as rivets on the back and a grommet at its tip -

 

 

 

And the scabbard is dyed black, a common feature of many leather field gear used during the Vietnam War.

 

Tim

Nice knife. I really like the blade marked W49 vs. guard marked. Bill

Very nice find, congrats :thumbsup:

 

Tony

I like it! :thumbsup:

Nice one!

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

Very cool!!

 

Mine is direct from vet was engraved by a Vn street vendor.

Very cool!!

 

Mine is direct from vet was engraved by a Vn street vendor.

 

Wow, a Bowie with an engraved blade sounds pretty cool. Can you post some pictures for us?

 

Tim

Wow, a Bowie with an engraved blade sounds pretty cool. Can you post some pictures for us?

 

Tim

 

 

Probably just you basic Zippo engraver.... I need to wait till daylight to get a good pic, OH lights are killing it.

 

Probably just you basic Zippo engraver.... I need to wait till daylight to get a good pic, OH lights are killing it.

 

AK101,

Could you include either images or information on the factory made markings on your knife along with an image of the handle? Some of the guys on this forum will confirm that I have some kind of a fetish when it comes to the W49 . But seriously it often helps when trying to gather information about the history of these Westerns.

Thanks. :thumbsup:

Tim,

The knife looks great! I’m glad you finally found an example that fits your criteria. It looks from the pictures that the black coating on the sheath was applied after the sheath was assembled. Below is a picture of what we were using in the service to keep our officers and NCO’s happy about the condition of our boots. However it’s been known to find it’s way onto more than one object that a G.I. wanted to darken up.

i have a western bowie just like this,1st line reads western 2nd reads u.s.a. w49 and third line reads A I KNOW THE A IS PROPABLY A DATE CODE CODE,CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT YEAR IT IS FROM?(HOPEFULLY VIETNAM ERA)MY SCABBARD IS TAN THOUGH. THANKS IN ADVANCE AND SORRY FOR HIJACKING THE THREAD

i have a western bowie just like this,1st line reads western 2nd reads u.s.a. w49 and third line reads A I KNOW THE A IS PROPABLY A DATE CODE CODE,CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT YEAR IT IS FROM?(HOPEFULLY VIETNAM ERA)MY SCABBARD IS TAN THOUGH. THANKS IN ADVANCE AND SORRY FOR HIJACKING THE THREAD

 

Not too worry, it's not hijacking and you are asking a good question. Unfortunately, you may not like the answer. Actually, your blade stamping is different from mine pictured above and from what I have learned the date coding began in 1977 with the letter "A". So, your knife is post-Vietnam War manufacture.

 

If I have this wrong I am sure the Western Bowie gurus with correct me (they know who they are ).

 

Tim

Tim,

The knife looks great! I’m glad you finally found an example that fits your criteria. It looks from the pictures that the black coating on the sheath was applied after the sheath was assembled. Below is a picture of what we were using in the service to keep our officers and NCO’s happy about the condition of our boots. However it’s been known to find it’s way onto more than one object that a G.I. wanted to darken up.

 

Thanks for sharing. This is is a really cool picture :thumbsup: . I had never seen what the black dye looks like that was in such ubiquitous use.

 

Tim

Yes, Western letter date coding began with A in '77 and ran through J in '86

Thanks for sharing. This is is a really cool picture :thumbsup: . I had never seen what the black dye looks like that was in such ubiquitous use.

 

Tim

 

Lucky me, from the time I got out of AIT until I ETS'd, no one said a word about what my uniform or equipment looked like. Stateside, I kept my boots clean when I could and my uniform fairly sharp...plus it helped that I usually was on duty at times and places where keeping a low profile was fairly easy. One time I did walk into the mess hall for late dinner in civies (which I normally avoided as I had separate rats) when I was at Ft. Hood and had an O-3 on OD duty ask if I was in some reserve unit, as my hair was a tad long. I told him no, this was my unit, and he replied that I should get a haircut before he saw me again. About 2 hours later he walked into the Bn. SCIF and saw me on duty, hair under cap (as I was under arms), eyed me a second, and never said a word.

I guess he just figured if you're one of only 3 people on duty for the night shift, it goes quicker if you don't pick each other apart.

Not too worry, it's not hijacking and you are asking a good question. Unfortunately, you may not like the answer. Actually, your blade stamping is different from mine pictured above and from what I have learned the date coding began in 1977 with the letter "A". So, your knife is post-Vietnam War manufacture.

 

If I have this wrong I am sure the Western Bowie gurus with correct me (they know who they are ).

 

Tim

thanks..no worries.i picked it up a few years ago for a 5.00 bill always been a little curious about it..thanks

thanks..no worries.i picked it up a few years ago for a 5.00 bill always been a little curious about it..thanks

 

A whole $5 :w00t:. So, when are you going to invite me to hang out in your neck-o-the-woods?

 

Tim

Thanks for the additional pictures AK101. Looks like a mid-60's era knife to me.