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Old 10-26-2020, 10:17 AM
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WASP WASP is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Wildwood, Fl
Posts: 8
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jacknola View Post
You will need to ask Mitchell whether those are original sheaths. Mitchell is quite knowkedgable and one of the top 2-3 leading experts on vintage model 1 knives .. but that doesn’t mean he has not paired up some knives with incompatibly dated sheaths and or stones. Many old knives are now in newer sheaths.

In my experience industrial and craft mass production of any item is rarely done using two or more variants in basic signature details. I consider it unlikely that Johnson stamped some model 1 sheaths with the length number only, while at the same time stamped others with length AND model number. Few if any manufacturers of anything allow their production workers to do things ad hoc in that manner (though Heiser may have done it to some degree).

The recognition of that basic production rule was a key to solving the issue of Heiser/Johnson sheaths with Randall stamps. I suspect those sheaths for Mitchell’s knives are not original to those low S knives.... but I readily concede I have not deeply researched this because I thought the single number stamp came after US Vietnam commitment was essentially over. I only collect knives that could have been carried in Vietnam. I don’t have any with just length number on sheath... but again I am a “collector” with small “c.”.

There are two types of “white” stones and stones are the least reliable marker for dating purpose for obvious reasons. Also even if original, there seems to have been considerable overlap in stone usage. The bear stone I think went from about 1970-73 or so. The other began use in 1968 and continued off and on to about the same time.
Thanks Jacknola for your reply.


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