Ron,

This from the 12 Knife of the week thread. A quote from Gaddis.

.The first order for this knife [Bear Bowie] was recorded in the journal on 6 February 1964, with nine more orders following during the next six months. This is quite impressive for one of the most expensive Randall models, especially when it wasn't even listed in the current catalog! These orders... appear to have been the direct result of one magazine article.... in the February 1964 issue of ArgosyMagazine....

So was this one of the first from eearliest vintage?