Wally -

I have been watching the progression of this "project" you have been working on with great interest and admiration. I have spent the better part of my collecting life working on the often very difficult task of gathering any history available on a knife. You have done a stellar job!!

I went thru the "sock drawer" period long, long ago and no longer have too much interest in collecting mint knives unless there is a story with it or some rarity. Otherwise, named and/or carried knives rule the day for me. Aside from the fact that this is Westmorland's knife, I would take this knife if it could be attributed to a serviceman of any stature (as long as I could document it) over a "new" one that sat in a drawer for 45 years. This has been my evolution in collecting.

I will say this again as I have many times, the BEST, I repeat the BEST Randall knives I have seen are carried pieces. Case in point, Mitchell's recent acquisition of his Zacharias fighter and Will Talbot's purchase of the Harold "Tex" Mahaffey model 15.