The 2 shots below illustrate handle questions I've had since owning the knife. The seller said he bought the knife in ~1998 from the original Randall dealer, and he thought it was "near-new" at that time (he was adamant about the date...).

He also said the contrast in the handle coloring had not changed over time - i.e., it came that way from the dealer, and had always been stored away from sunlight in a display case.

I'm certainly no expert, but I've thought the handle was actually AGM; however, I can't reconcile that assumption with what the seller said - any thoughts as to what's really the case?