This is a nice example of the World War II production fighting knife, manufactured by the Western States Cutlery & Manufacturing Company. Western Cutlery was originally founded as Platts & Sons Cutlery in Gowanda, NY, in 1896. Charles Platts, who was an immigrant from Sheffield, England, founded the company. He had been employed in the knife making trade in Sheffield and knew the manufacturing process well. Charles Platts died in 1900, but his sons continued to run the company until 1905, when his son H.N. Platts bought out all of the family owners and moved the company to Bradford, PA. In 1911, Platts moved the company to Boulder, CO, with the intention of taking advantage of the continuing western expansion in the United States. At this time he re-established the company with the new name: Western Cutlery & Manufacturing Company. With the coming of World War II, Western Cutlery’s business expanded dramatically due to wartime production needs. Western Cutlery received a number of US government knife contracts during World War II and produced thousands of combat knives during the war years.

Knife measures 13" total length, clipped point blade is 8". Ricasso is deeply marked in three lines, ”WESTERN / BOULDER, COLO. / PAT’D.” Blade has light mottling in areas and a couple of very tiny chips on the true edge. Cross guard is slightly loose. The round steel pommel cap retains much of its original bright blued finish, and shows a pair of roughly peened tangs. The leather washer grip is in nice shape, showing only normal handling marks and light scuffing. The grip is bookended by a pair of black and a single red, Bakelite washers at the cross guard and pommel cap.

A correct, Western Cutlery leather sheath accompanies the knife, and shows two lines of stitching around the perimeter, reinforced with blackened, domed rivets. The sheath is in good condition with the majority of the stitching in place, although the thread is missing at the two areas by the point. All of the rivets are present and secure as well. The hilt-retaining strap is in place, a feature that is often missing from these scabbards, due to use, wear and age. The sheath retains the majority of its original finish, but does show a number of scuff and wear marks, and some areas of darkening, as would be expected. There is a 1 ½” tear in the leather at the mouth of the scabbard, along the edge of the blade.

Overall this is a wonderful example of a real WWII production Western “Fighting” knife. These knives are very scarce today, as Western did not produce nearly as many as some of the larger blade manufacturers did. These knives are highly sought after today for military edged weapons collections. This one will be a fine addition to a collection of WWII fighting knives. [sm]

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