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  #46  
Old 02-07-2017, 05:13 AM
BoBlade BoBlade is offline
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Jack,

Here is the "whole knife". The stamp is not good enough to make use of it for dating, but all the other features indicate very early 60's. I've only seen one other Model 3 in brown Micarta. I agree with Joe that the material is scarce as hen's teeth.






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  #47  
Old 02-07-2017, 09:05 AM
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Jacknola Jacknola is offline
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Really nice knife Ron, handle looks much better, slick, in these pictures. And I think the finger grips are instructive in this line... they are well done and seem to be intact despite the use of the laminated handle material. And they have a passing similarity to the shape and location of the finger grips on Sam's Bowie. Here are comparison pictures of the two handles. I enhanced the contrast and lighting on the picture of Ron's knife to be able to see the grain of the Micarta...



There is easily enough blade stamp to date Ron's knife (and Sam's). both have a type 1 stamp... notice that the last "O" in Orlando is not beneath the last "L" of Randall, but is offset to the right. The upright of the "F" aligns with the last down right of the "M" above it. That makes it type 1, which was pretty much the standard stamp throughout the early times until early 1966.

If the last "O" was offset as above, and the "F" was centered on the "M," it would be type 2.. which is confirmed used only from about 1960 to 1965... with one possible outlier taking it back to 1957.

If the last "O" is pretty much directly beneath the last "L", it is a type 3 stamp that was used exclusively from early 1966 forward. Looking at the area underneath the last "L" and the "M" is the easiest way to determine type. I have continued to examine more and more pictures, hundreds of knives, from this Vietnam era. This has only reinforced my belief in the stricture of this blade-stamp dating. (I have seen two/three knifes with a type 3 stamp and a low "S". But they are so unusual that they are likely a case of a RMK maker just using the low S later in the decade rather than a separate S.)

But of course the blade stamp only dates when the blade was forged. It does not indicate when the knife was made (handle, hilt, spacers, etc.) or sold (sheath-stone). However, the high demand for Randalls during the middle '60s, makes it is unlikely that a lot of blades languished in bins for any significant time before being finished and shipped. (There are a few known cases however..., especially Bowies).



Just for comparison, here are the other two blade stamps used during the Vietnam era, 1960s






Regards

Last edited by Jacknola; 02-07-2017 at 01:37 PM.
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  #48  
Old 02-07-2017, 03:15 PM
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samg samg is offline
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Thanks Ron for posting pics of that beautiful model 3 in brown Micarta.

Here is how the brown Micarta was offered in '61-'63

1961 light brown Micarta on model 12, only available on 6" blade



1962 light brown Micarta offered on all knives



1963 dark brown Micarta offered on all knives



So question is, if Randall was experimenting with laminating Micarta in late 50's, why wasn't it offered on big Bowie's? Judging Ron's model 3 being 3 laminated pieces totaling 3/4" that was enough to do a smaller knife. My Confederate is a finished width of 1" at the butt cap, so that would have required just over 4 sections of 1/4" Micarta, creating a weird look on the outside curve of the knife. So it looks like it was available in the blocks, wide enough to do the big Bowie's in 1962. Does that sound about right?
Maroon Micarta has never been available on the big Bowie's. No blocks I guess.
Jack, again I appreciate your input and keen eye on this thread.

Sam
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  #49  
Old 02-08-2017, 05:53 AM
BoBlade BoBlade is offline
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Jack: Thanks for schooling on the stamp.

Sam: Thanks for schooling on Brown Micarta.

This is a really nice thread!

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