Mint Randall WW2 Brass Thong Clip Fighter with Clarence Moore sheath

[samg]

I recently came into possession of a mint Randall WW2 brass thong clip fighter with a mint Clarence Moore Sheath. I believe this one pretty much looks like it did the day it left Bo Randalls home in 1943.
The knife blade itself has a double struck stamp, and some forging marks, which speaks to the fact that it was hand forged and hand stamped.
The blade is 6 3/4" long.

Regards, Sam

[samg]

The stitching is so clean on this sheath, as the wrist thong is on the knife

[jeepster]

Either Randall spelled his name wrong or the owner spelled his name wrong. See spelling on the back of the sheath vs. the blade spelling.
Fascinating knife and sheath.

[samg]

Hi Ronnie. I noticed that too. Probably the engraver misspelled it. The back of the sheath was probably done by Mr Obermu"e"ller. Not a common name.

[Sligo]

Astonishing ! The sheath looks like it was made today, perfect and the stacked leather handle equal to the sheath. I am thinking there can't be many Moore sheaths in that condition. Very very nice Sam !!

[Moosehead]

Hi Sam!

Great catch! The knife and sheath are truly fine examples of of early Randall and Moore history.

It would appear your trip to Blade was well worth it.

Cheers!

David

[samg]

Thanks Sligo and David.
David, I didn't let that knife get anywhere close to blade! I had contacted the owner a couple weeks ago and inquired as to whether he happened to have an early fighter for sale. He emailed me back, said he did, sent pictures, and my jaw fell to the floor. I have never owned a Randall in a Moore sheath, as rare as they are, but one in this condition....I'm in awe!
So once I regained consciousness after seeing the photos, after being told that he was going to bring it to blade to sell it, we came to an agreement, and he would hold it for me, which I had no doubt that he would have. But knowing he would be coming my general direction to get to blade, I began to consider and plot how I would get my sweating, anxious hands on it before it made it to blade.
So I drove a couple of hours to get a good look at it. That's all she wrote.
Talking about being in the right place at the right time!
Anyhow, that's how the aquisition occurred.

Regards, Sam

[BoBlade]

Sam,

I'm speechless! I never thought a WWII Fighter would ever see daylight in that condition. Good things happen when you make them happen.

Best,

[Jacknola]

Boy, that is nice Sam. You ought to be able to do some tracking on the owner, if that is his name. Of course it could be a nickname or fau-title. But what a find and congrats on sealing the deal quickly. Now if it just had a Delrin handle...

[samg]

Thanks Ron and Jack. It's an amazingly preserved knife. Perhaps some very light use...it also plays with your mind too, because it has that familiar old smell, but you expect with it looking recently made, that it would have that leather smell.
Interesting sideline, as I was showing it to someone at blade, they took the sheath in hand and at the foot end, flexed it just a very little bit, and it had that bright leather crackle sound, like you hear with new leather, so this Moore sheath has just not been handled much.

Regards, Sam

[william768]

WOW ! Incredible knife there . The high keeper strap configuration i would think is very rare ? The few that i have seen have been mostly Heiser.

[samg]

Thanks William. The number that I have heard is that approximately 20% of Randalls '43 Thong Clip Fighters were fitted with Clarence Moore sheaths.
Here is a photo of a rare early '43-'44 Thong Clip Hunter in a Moore sheath. The keeper is down lower on that one.




Perhaps our more knowledgeable guys has it narrowed down to approximately when Moore dropped the keeper down. I wonder why he did? Perhaps to close the space between the mouth of the sheath and the keeper to make it a bit easier to keep the keeper open to prevent the blade from slicing the leather on the keeper?
Thanks, Sam

[samg]

A collector at Blade said the keeper rivet that Moore used were called "buggy rivets".




Thanks, Sam

[JE6245]

Amazing indeed. Congrats and thanks for the great pics. Did the seller know anything about the history of the knife? I know it would just be hearsay but it might be interesting. The knife and sheath must have been stored in a near perfect setting.

[samg]

Thanks Jim. No history on the knife, nor have I found anything on the original owner. Just one of those mysteries.
I agree, the maintenance of it for 74 years was outstanding. I carefully cleaned off the verdigris​ on the sheath snaps, but not much of it to clean.
I have posted many pics of the sheath because of the rareness and condition, but the final polish on the blade is clean and prominent too!
Some carbon peppering and carbon spiders, but hey, it's a 74 year old knife.