Joe,

It is good to see you posting again!

Blade grinds:

I think there are some generalized statements that can be made about choils during the decade of 1955-1965: ~ Mid 60's they were the shallowest in Randall history. Early 60's they were fairly deep, elongated and parallel to the plane of the blade. Late 50's they were deeper and shaped like a fish hook. Take a look at the choil on this 4-6 that just came up on e-bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260483168442&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Where would you date that knife based on the blade grind? Also, take a look at the accompanying sheath: If that had a Heiser stamp on it and not a Randall stamp I don't think you'd think twice about accepting it as a Heiser.

Not so fast my friend! The nape I mentioned was not what I was basing my opinion on. The finished leather appears different, and Heiser leather is different than Johnson leather. You have it in hand so I can't say for sure

Sooner or later I'll put both sheaths in your hands.

No, you can't base it on the set of the snap, but there was a period where the middle seemed to be the norm. The shop only sets the female portion of the snap on the keeper strap. The male portion is generally set at the sheath makers.

10-4. Thanks.

What makes you think the Heiser with the metal snaps is earlier than the blonde one in the photo, which by the way is a good example that shows the difference in Heiser leather vs. Johnson leather.

I was referring to my two metal snap sheaths and not the Heiser on the far right with BB's.

Your last comments:

As we discussed on the phone, there is no way to rule out either scenario. I do agree with your key questions and I sure hope some day they get answered.

Best,