Randall Bore No. 7: CJ Moore sheaths

[BoBlade]

OK: I've come up with something boring for you guys today: If you've read Randall Giant Robert Gaddis' book, you know that Clarence J Moore was Bo's first sheath maker, and that he was one of Florida's finest leather workers who had a one man shop behind Bumby's hardware store in Orlando. There was a significant difference in the construction of his sheaths vs. Heiser's in the 40's that another Randall Giant Robert Hunt points out in page 12 of his first book: Moore sheaths typically did not have rivets at the throat while Heiser sheaths did, which Bob says "were probably thought unnecessary on Moore's well made and functional knife scabbards". When I got my hands on my first Moore sheath, I attempted to determine just what there was about Clarence's sheaths that made them hold up so well to the abuse they would see in combat conditions without throat rivets. The differences in fit and finish were readily apparant: Moore's sheaths were truly "works of art" (at the same time, Heiser couldn't hope to compete with the product of a master leather worker who made one sheath at a time and who in many cases had the knife in hand when the sheath was made). But did this fit and finish difference translate to the primary difference in functionality? I looked at my Moore sheath a little closer and noticed that his stitching was "zig zag" while all of my Heiser sheaths had "linear" stitching! With a zig zag stitch, Moore was able to get "more stitches per inch" than Heiser did using a linear stitch (there is a finite limit how close you can place the next stitch before you actually start weakening or even cutting the leather). Subsequently I've been fortunate enough to pick up two more Moore sheaths and both of these had the zig zag stitching. I know that's not much of a statistical sample, but at the same time the era of these three sheaths spanned 10 years. I'm not sure how much difference the stitching really made, but I'm pretty sure it was at least a factor. Note the 1st close up photo is of a Moore sheath and the 2nd is of a Heiser sheath. I hope you enjoyed this bit of trivia

Best,

Ron