hello all,
question, I'm in the market for custom, exotic sheaths for many of the knives in my collection. I've come across some that have solid, black button with no randall stamp on them. The randall Gutcher/Sullivan stamp seems to be the same on other custom sheaths I'm looking at.

does anybody know when and or why Randall used Black buttons instead of the normal Randall stamped buttons? Would a sheath be worth less with the black buttons everything else being ok?
I appreciate any and all advise on this matter, thanks
jim

It means when Greg Gutcher built the sheath, he did not have a knife in hand that was going specifically to that particular sheath.

Thus the RMK button was not installed, and a generic black button was used. Same maker, same qualities, just doesn't have the correct button on it.

I also "believe" it does not get the RMK stamp on the sheath either, just a "Custom by Gutcher" stamp.

In answer to your question, does it make the sheath any less valuable, IMO Yes, to me it does......

A buyer could request a logo, black, silver or brass button on his custom sheath. I preferred non-logo buttons on the custom sheaths that I have had Greg make throughout the years. And yes, they still have both stamps on them when constructed.

Will have to check with Stikman, but I think Greg required that the knife be shipped to him in order to earn the Randall Made Stamp.
I recall having to do that with all the custom sheaths he made for me.

If there is no RMK stamp on a sheath we did not have the knife, and Greg , My Dad , would use plain, non logo , snaps when he thought it looked better or the customer requested it.

Front and back

If I remember correctly, soon after Greg's shop burned down, the Model 28 came out, and Greg had a sale on #28 high rise sheaths and didn't need to send the knife if you could verify you had one. I bought 3. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Pap

I had Greg build me three high ride left hand sheaths. one for a 5-4 one for a 25-5 and a Mod.14 7-1/2 and I don't remember if I send the knives or not. I must have sent the knives or Greg did me a favor as mine have Randall Snaps. I got the left hand sheaths so I could carry my knife and rifle at the same time without damaging the stock on my rifles.

Sidney--

Left hand sheaths make sense for such reasons.

Larry

Hi,
thanks for all the comments!!!
I just looked at a sheath that's for sale on ebay that has black buttoms and both the RMK and Sullivans stamps on it. I gotta admit i prefer the Randall stamped buttons.
thx
jim