[WASP]

Originally Posted by crutchtip

I will chime in on this subject. While most know any of this stuff is not an exact science, with knives and sheaths made in small shops, hand made. So while the theory of standardization in manufacturing (probably the incorrect term in this case) is the goal for consistency of products, I don't think it is wholly applicable in the traditional sense with a hand made product like Randall Knives. That being said, most of the nuances of blade grind, stamps, spacers, handle material, sheaths, and stones, are a guide, not necessarily a definitive in all cases.

There is a problem in the collecting community that still exists, that being matching up, often incorrectly, a knife and sheath that were not original to each other relative to "manufacture" time solely to have a "complete" package. The worse is when a sheath is purposely paired with a knife it doesn't belong with to enhance collector interest and/or the value. I know of one specific case, but I won't go into it here.

Personally, I agree to a certain point with Jack that the model number stamp was used less on Johnson sheaths later in their production years. Not completely, but for the most part. That is not to say though that earlier sheaths from the 60's were made sans model number. I have had numerous examples.

I believe the sheaths in question are original to the knives, an example of what I stated above.

I have in my hand as I write this a Johnson brown button with no model or blade length stamp, along with a late 70's to early 80's Johnson sheath with both model and blade length. There ya go.

For sure is not exact science. Although if the seller is not cheating, with all the components: grind, stamp, spacers, pommel length, sheath, stone, you can have at least one approximate year of manufacture.