Description
Vietnam War Western W49 Bowie fighting knife, rosewood handle scales, complete original leather scabbard included. Scarce late 1960s manufacture large fighting Bowie in rare UNUSED condition, this type is hard-to-find this nice and complete.
Scarce Western Cutlery model W49 Bowie in rare unused condition. This is an early manufacture type with high-carbon steel blade, laminated rosewood handle scales on “thick” brass pins; original leather sheath in excellent condition is included. This is a nice full-size working Bowie with a large beefy handle that comfortably sits in a hand. Because of its wide and heavy blade which would chop through just about anything and the well-designed heavy duty sheath it came with, Western Bowies had quickly developed a large fan base with the GIs serving in Vietnam. See a scan of 1968 Western Cutlery catalogue advertising the W49 Bowie attached. A lot of these handy Bowies were privately purchased by the troops heading to Vietnam and saw action in the jungles of South-East Asia – see a period photo of a serviceman holding a Western Bowie just like this one (the photo is a curtesy of Wikipedia and is not included with the lot).
The knife is about 14-3/4″ / 37.4 cm overall; the blade is about 9-1/2″ / 24.2 cm; it’s about 2-1/8″ / 5.3 cm wide at the widest point. The blade has not been re-sharpened; original factory edge is razor-sharp; the tip is intact. Thick solid brass S-guard is stamped W49 on one side, WESTERN / U.S.A. on the other. The guard is solid with no play; all handle parts are tight with no play. This big boy weights 1 pound 8.1 oz (about 0.68 kg) with the sheath. Original-issue brown leather sheath is in excellent overall condition, considering the age, just a couple of minor scuff marks here and there. All original rivets, keeper, and swivel belt loop are intact; minor stitching loss near the tip is noted for accuracy. These vintage 1960s Western Bowies are getting harder and harder to find; this attractive Vietnam War Western W49 bowie specimen would make an excellent addition to any collection.
This Vietnam War Western W49 Bowie fighting knife has not been cleaned or tampered with in any way, it is in 100% original “as is” condition. These are the actual photos; Garand clips are nor included with the knife 😉 I have a number of Vietnam War era militaria collectibles and vintage American-made collectible knives in the store, please take a look at the store’s American Blades section. Also, please don’t forget to check out our Militaria section for other WW1 and WW2 era combat knives, including German WW1 era trench knives, vintage USAF WW2 Pilot Knives and a couple of nice WW2 era British fighting daggers available for sale.
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USPS PRIORITY MAIL SHIPPING WITHIN THE U.S. WITH SIGN-FOR DELIVERY CONFIRMATION WILL BE $19.95 FOR THIS ITEM
International shipping for this item will be $67 and up to most countries on our “ship-to” list.
