Dating a Randall Bowie

[hrehhutch]

What a knife collection woooow james

[Ta2bill]

A few of mine.....

[samg]

Here's a configuration on a Smithsonian that you don't see everyday.
What do you think, 1950's. No sheath or stone.
Regards, Sam

[crsides]

Jack, your thread here started me looking for pics of a knive I once owned. Sold it to Tom Clinton around 2002 and Gary remembered the knife and sent me pics. 12-9, ebony handle with the vanilla areas and the coolie cap. Pete Hamilton dated this one to 1959.



Charlie

[samg]

Here is an interesting 12-9 sportsman specimen to add to Jacknolas thread. More for the sheath than the knife. Great looking knife though with scalloped brass collar and coolie cap.
The sheath is very interesting. It appears to be a Brown Button Johnson sheath at first glance. IMO, the way I see it, and I may be wrong, the stone flap has a blunted point, like Heiser/HKL did them, (Johnson's flap ends were more pointed.) the west facing vertical stamp also as Heiser/HKL.
Then when you consider the beveled edge (Johnson), Heiser/HKL sheath edge was tooled from the foot of the sewing machine,and the lack of model/blade length stamp (early Johnson) the sheath is more Johnson looking.
Perhaps this is one of the earlier sheaths that Johnson did, either following the exact die stamps from Heiser/HKL to make his earliest ones, including the west stamp orientation, or perhaps when Randall ended their relationship with Heiser/HKL, Randall acquired unfinished sheathes, and Johnson finished them up.
Either way, this is a very unusual sheath.
Judging the knife and sheath together, with the work Jacknola did in dating the hardware on these Bowie's, and the characteristics of the sheath, I would place this package in the 1962 timeframe.
What do you think?

Sam

[Jacknola]

The knife is about 1962 based on cap, guard, and escutcheon plate. The sheath therefore falls into that gray time period, switchover from Heiser (HKL) to Johnson. I haven't ever seen a Heiser HKL, Randall-stamped sheath without model numbers. But there have been a couple of Johnson sheaths turn up with the stamp facing west ... not many but a few ...say... three?

Keep in mind that Mr. Randall actually used several other sheath makers during this transition time... though if I had to bet I would guess this to be a BB Johnson sheath with logo reversed. The stitching on the butterfly is much more Johnson than would appear at first glance. Heiser HKL sheaths during this time had ... frankly... generally sloppy stitching work.