Here are a couple more early Astros, including one with a lift a dot sheath
Here is an early Astro with a lift a dot sheath.
Interesting about the above photo with the lift a dot sheath is the bevel on the Micarta slab. It has a narrower flat surface than any that I have seen.
Here it is enlarged, with a typical handle in the photos below it.
I was illustrating in an earlier post about how close the back bolt was to the thing hole to facilitate the larger tang storage cavity. It appears that the earlier Astros had this similarity. I will track other Astros to see if that observation holds up.
Regards, Sam