One thing you have to consider when using the blade stamp to date a knife. While we can ascertain to a relatively high degree a timeline when the blade was made, there is still the Randall caveat that always has to be taken into consideration when dating RMK's.

Randall often used more that one stamp at a time, so to definitively say a knife was made prior to this date because of this stamp will not necessarily be true 100% of the time. That is a simple fact.

Also, RMK would send a worn stamp out to be re-cut, to again see use in the forge room. That is also a simple fact. So, a stamp that was used on knives we may think from an earlier time frame could also be used on knives from a later time frame.

This can cause problems using the blade stamp as the final word when used solely as the determining factor. That is the reason why it is important to consider several things when attempting to date a knife.