I haven't followed all of the nonsense as close as Larry has...BUT...(I know..I know)...I was certain that the "proposal" would be enacted and made "into efect". I was also "fairly" certain it would / could / should be impossible to enforce.
It seems as though I have been correct...so far! One big, nasty, growling paper tiger! My old man always told me that "90% of what you worry about doesn't happen". Well...I worried some about this. Guess we need to watch some old "Kung Fu" episodes..."Patience, Grasshopper".
Best, Capt. Chris
Well, I thought I would share with everyone my recent experience with the US F&W Dept regarding my ivory Randall's. Mine are a matched set, Model 25 and 26 that I bought from Rick Bowles. I was able to obtain an affidavit of origin from his ivory dealer to certify that the ivory used for these two knives are "pre-ban". He is a long time dealer and always documents each piece and provides an affidavit to RMK with the ivory. I submitted copies of these documents along with photos to the US F&W and requested assistance in getting a certification for these two knives. They were helpful and advised that I didn't need a formal certification, I just needed to maintain my records and document "chain of ownership" if I want to sell. The documents should go to the new owner. If anyone is interested I will be happy to share the email response from the US F&W. I am confident now that this matched pair is "legal" to sell, should I ever want to. Currently I don't.
That's all well and good for me, but I've also been thinking about other Randall collectors that don't have access to a certificate of origin for the ivory that went on their knives. I sent an email this morning to Capt Chris to try to develop a solution that may just help everyone. In short, if its true that RMK had a policy to require documentation of pre-ban ivory than its logical that all Randall's made pursuant to that policy include only "pre-ban" or "pre-convention" ivory. If someone close to RMK could request that this policy be documented in the form of an affidavit than ALL genuine Randall's with ivory should be OK in the eyes of the US F&W. All you would have to do is have your knife checked out by an appraiser or "authenticator" and obtain an affidavit or certificate that it is an original handled genuine Randall knife. Keep a copy of the RMK's ivory policy along with a copy of your affidavit and document change of ownership. Similar to a car title. I mentioned to Capt Chris, we might even be able to use the RMK policy affidavit to obtain a letter ruling from the US F&W that all genuine ivory Randall's or OK.
Interested to hear other's thoughts...