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Old 04-01-2015, 09:30 PM
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Jacknola Jacknola is offline
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I'm probably going to limit my research in this "font-ology" line because (1) we cannot shed more light on the Johnson brown button sheaths because Johnson did not stamp his brown buttons sheaths with model or length numbers. (2) to connect the Heiser-H-K-L sheath fonts directly to those used on Heiser-logo sheaths will require a pretty deep knowledge of Heiser-ology... and that dictates extensive research into a Randall time period that is not my primary interest... the 1950s.

That said, here is some interesting number font data that supports the FACT that the Hesier/H-K-L sheaths were not made by Johnson.

First are a few examples of the font used by Johnson on his sheaths. This font was apparently unchanged from earliest use in about early 1963 at least into the 1970s. I've only included a few examples because it got boring...they all were alike. Unlike Sam, I focused on the "seven" not the "three" because the "7" is a more commonly found number. Note the font of these Johnsons.



Now let's look at the font used on Heiser/H-K-L sheaths with both horizontal and west facing Randall stamps. I looked at a lot of these sheaths and they all had this font... Again focus on the seven, but of course you can also look at the "four."



It is pretty obvious that the fonts used on the Heiser/H-K-L sheaths is different from that used by Johnson... and that holds for all the numbers, not just 7s and 3.s Is this proof that Johnson was not the maker of those H-K-L sheats? No, but it is a strong indicator, because now in order for Johnson to have made those sheaths he would have to have done all of the following:

He would have had to have begun making a lot of sheaths in 1959-60; used the west and horizontal stamps with a particular number-font; constructed his sheaths with the center placed keeper; used stiching on the butterfly on the back of the sheath that looked exactly like that used on Heiser-stamped; made a bunch of canteen snap sheaths; etc....

AND then SUDDENLY sometime in late-1962 he would have had to have changed everything. He started not using model numbers and then when he resumed adding them, he changed the font from what he had previously used; he changed the keeper strap location; changed the orientation of the stamp on the back of the sheath; suddenly changed the stiching to run deep into the butterfly; introduced the large tack rivet instead of the canteen snap, etc.

The obvious difference in the fonts of ALL the numbers used on Heiser/H-K-L and those used later by Johnson is just additional data saying that it would be highly unlikely for Johnson to have made those Heiser/H-K-L sheaths... we already had concluded that, this just adds some more kindling to the fire

Now, are the numbers used on the Heiser/H-K-L sheaths the same as those used on the Heiser-stamped sheaths that immediately proceeded them? Well that is another story because there were a LOT of different fonts and even sizes of numbers used on Heiser-stamped sheaths. Take a look at this hodge podge of numbers used on Heiser stamped sheaths.



In order to know if the Heiser/H-K-L sheaths used the same fonts as the late 1950s Heisers, one would have to know what the time period was when Heiser used each of diverse group of fonts ... in other words, you would have to be something of an expert on the marking of Heiser sheaths. Perhaps there is a body of knowledge that can ID the time period of those sheaths by the difference in their number sizes and fonts. I just don't know much about Heiser stamps.

However even without direct knowledge, we can make some good deductions based on probability. It appears that the most common font number stamp on Heisers is shown below top, yellow circles, Those sevens seem to be a dead ringer for the fonts used by Heiser/H-K-L. Case closed? well, trouble ... the fonts of the numbers on the sheath at bottom right seem match no other Heiser sheath I've seen. Those fonts are different from the most common Heiser ones, and they seem to be close to the fonts used by Johnson. Confusing?



But here is another method. Gary Clinton posted these sheaths which we now know is a grouping of Heiser/H-K-L sheaths with a couple of Heiser sheaths mixed in. Note the tiny numbers, round "3" etc., on the second right Heiser... But more importantly, notice the fonts and numbers on the Heiser second left and compare those to the Heiser/H-K-Ls in the group. The font on that Heiser seems to exactly match the fonts on the H-K-L sheaths.



Conclusion: Using font-ology, we cannot say precisely that there a direct connection between Heiser-stamped sheaths and the Heiser/H-K-L sheaths because we (read "I") don't know enough about the time period and way Heiser used the many different stamp fonts that we find. However, we can say that the model number stamps on the Heiser-H-K-L sheaths are completely different from those used by Johnson when he began stamping his sheaths with those numbers.

AND... we have already listed a great many other obvious characteristics that Heiser and Heiser-H-K-L sheaths have in common... These are more than enough to say with confidence that the Heiser/H-K-Ls were indeed made by Heiser.

Last edited by Jacknola; 04-08-2015 at 09:24 AM.
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