Here is an update on blade stamps used to help date Viet era knives. It is a continuation of previous posts.
Concerning the the start of stamping continuing through the Vietnam era, it has already been noted that in about 1966 the font geometry of the blade stamp changed. I?ve now found that from about late '50s-early 60s to late '64-early '65 or so, there were actually two stamps with different font geometries being used apparently simultaneously. So if one is looking at a knife from the Vietnam era (say... 1961-1973), it is important be aware that three different blade stamp geometries exist*. I?ll call these
?type 1, type 2, and
type 3? just for shorthand.
Type 1 has been described in detail previously as the stamp font used from the start of the Randall stamping until 1966.
Type 2 was used apparently concurrently with Type 1 from about 1960, or even possibly as early as 1957, or so (time has not been fully defined) to about late 1964. Most SS marked blades have this type stamp, but not all.
Type 3 has already been noted as the stamp geometry adopted post early 1966.
The
type 2 and
type 3 stamps have some similarities and it is important to be able to recognize the difference between the two ... or else some significant errors in date estimation can be made.
Type 1, used prior to 1966 has been previously discussed. Here are three group pictures, one sub picture has red lines noting the significant alignments: The vertical line of the ?F? in Fla. is aligned with the right leg of the ?M? in ?Made.? The ?O? of Orlando is offset under the ?R? for Randall as previously discussed, and the comma is tall and is below and inside the legs of the "M" with little space between it and the "F".
Note the type 1 stamp is pictured on an SS knife, low S knife and a separate S knife. For what it is worth, almost every low S knife I?ve looked at has this type of stamp. So far, about 20 percent of the separate S knives have this geometry.
Dated knfe 1960, type 1 stamp
Type 3: The differences between the pre-1966
type 1 and the post-1966
type 3 stamp have been previously discussed. For reference, here are some pictures of type 3 stamps including one with red marks showing the key elements of the geometry. Note the leg of the ?F? is beneath the middle of the ?M?, the ?O? is almost directly beneath the ?R?, and the last ?O? of Orlando is more aligned beneath the word ?RANDALL" and the comma is smaller with a notable space between it and the "F."
Type 2: At first glance it looks somewhat like a
Type 3 stamp because the leg of the "F" is beneath the middle of the "M". But that is pretty much the only point in common. The first ?O? in Orlando is indented further than that in the
type 3 stamp , very similar to the
type 1, and the last "O" extends well beyond the last "L" of RANDALL, again like the
type 1 stamp. The comma is smaller than in the
type 1 and located just inside the first leg of the "M" and there is not very much of a space between it and the "F".
The
type 2 stamp was apparently used for a majority of the SS stamped blades that I've seen, but also for a few other blades and appears on some knives documented to as early as about possibly late 1950s, but certainly by 1960-61 But just not very many compared to the
type 1. For some reason, this stamp seems to have disappeared completely shortly after the advent of the ?low S? blades.
Last, the inevitable anomaly. Note that most SS blades have a
type 2 stamp, most low S blades have a
type 1 stamp. And the change from exclusively
Type 1 to
type 3 stamp occurred early in the separate S period. So? how does one explain this knife?
This anomaly shows the value of knowing these stamps. The knife is a low S knife made post 1966. How can we tell? It has both the low S and a
type 3 stamp? which shouldn?t have been forged given the already completed transition to "separate S."
The explanation is
probably that in 1966-67 or so, the blade was forged and then stamped with the RANDALL MADE stamp while cherry red. The knife-maker then picked up the ?S? stamp and instead of stamping it next to the RANDALL MADE stamp, reflexively stamped it in the old low ?S? position. Perhaps he accidentally put the RANDALL MADE stamp too close to the hilt location, and with minimum space to stamp the "separate S" he just defaulted to the low S position. But, sometimes I wonder if he chuckled while thinking..
?this will REALLY throw them off 50 years from now.
As a summary, here are the "Cliffs notes" which directly compare the three types of stamps.
*
Actually there were four blade stamps during Vietnam era, if we count the "integral S" stamp adopted late '60s. But that stamp is not part of this discussion.