Thank you Buck.

Not certain what that means.

Joe,

Looking at the photo of the sheath stamp, is it in the correct position?

Maybe I should have written, "the stamp was not facing in the correct position".

All members,
I have spoken with Buck, prior to posting here. ANYONE who buys this knife needs to send it to Joe Dorsky (Cruchtip) to have it authenticated. This knife is "not" what it appears to be to some...period!
Caveat Emptor,
Capt. Chris
PS: ANYONE selling RMKs and misrepresenting them with stories and theories is doing "all" of us in the Randall knife community a disservice... CCS

I received only three comments on this Forum as to the possible maker. I got three different answers.

I took it to the Blade Show for what I had hoped would be a concensus of experienced opinion as to the individual who finished it. But among five or six friends there was no agreement. One dealer said the sheath was made by Byrd, two said definitely Johnson.

I like to be truthful in all my dealings with customers to the best of my knowledge. I am not interested in passing off a counterfeit piece or something it's not.

I sold it to a customer who wanted first refusal, and I simply stated that only the blade came from the Shop and in the '80's. The sheath was possibly a M. Johnson production. The knife was rehandled by an unknown individual, since five or six friends could not agree on the craftsman who finished it..

Current production Randalls are my forte. Historic Randalls from the '40's through the '70's are another balliwick. That concerns me for nailing down age and value; which is why I lean on Joe Dorsky, Mitchell Harrison, Chris Stanaback, Gary Clinton, and Art Green just to name a few.

If I had known this Model 14 were to put me in league with folks who take advantage of a knife's questionable "pedigree", I wouldn't have bought it.

I purchased it thinking it was maybe a "one off" from the Shop or a customer's request to "Bo" Randall, to make. That's what knowledgeable friends are for, to "take it apart" & agree to its origin.

Chris's is right on the advice. I hope the new owner will send their new purchase to Joe Dorsky to appraise & substantiate. That would be the smart thing to do.

Buck,

As I told you in an email, you sold the knife on the up and up. You made no claims and raised concerns over it's origins.

You are in no way in league with folks who take advantage of a knife's questionable "pedigree".

What happens next is another story.

This knife appears a bit later than when Bish was working on knives. He was done probably around the late 70's. The blade and hilt appear to be 80's-90's anyway.

I think the sheath stamp orientation is a non issue. There were some questions as to whether it was a Byrd copy, and they can be tough to spot, with many passing as original Johnson's.

I wasn't at Blade to see this knife, but the several folks I spoke to that did see it alluded to a re-handle. None thought it was done by Leschorn, White, or Bish. FB would be capable of doing it, and IF it was one of his sheaths, that would pretty much confirm it.

One thing you have to consider, those three guys that did Randall work outside the shop generally worked on smaller blades, with the only full tang model i know of being a 15 that Leschorn worked on. Leschorn did do some Bear Bowies, and Bish did some full sized knives like 1-8 & 2-8, but other than the 15 I know of, no other full tang models, even as a CDT version of that model.

The black & brass spacer arrangement would be uncommon for the early to mid-80's, not impossible, but uncommon, and is a real departure from what one would expect to see from Leschorn, White, oe Bish and their "trademark" spacer arrangements.

Again, I didn't see it, so going on what others told me with no official opinion w/o seeing it in hand.

I am enjoying the solving of the mystery/history of this knife. Leaning the fine details of the original craftsman along with what doesn’t match up and why.