I've recently used the information about escutcheon plates to help date a King Faisal set. And I've developed some additional information. Here are the key points as I see them now.
Prior to about early-mid 1960, the escutcheon plates were not uniform... they were oblong, ad-hoc and custom to each knife, but gun-metal or nickel-silver colored. Example below, probably late '59 early '60.
NOTE: the time span between the above knife and the one pictured below probably covers the change from ad hoc oblong escutcheon plates to standardized oval-rugby football shape
In early-mid 1960, RMKs introduced the oval rugby-football shaped plate. This was silver colored. The catalog did not change the wording of the escutcheon plate option until the 18th edition when they began listing the plate as "oval." Example below:
Above is Ron Mathew's knife and his description was as follows: "
very early '60s because of choll cut," ... oval escutcheon plate, Heiser-HKL Randall 'west' stamp on sheath.]
I have found some evidence that while the oval nickel-silver plate rapidly became the standard after its introduction in about 1960, there may have been some overlap of the occasional use of oblong shaped escutcheon plates possibly into mid-1961 or so.
As best I can determine, the first brass escutcheon plate appeared in late 1965. Perhaps there were some earlier ones, but I haven't found one. This is also the date approximated by Sheldon in his book for the appearance of the brass plate. Note that the availability of the brass oval plate was not cataloged until the 18th, published in 1967 for knives to be delivered in March, 1969.
Here is the first brass oval rugby-football shaped escutcheon plate that I've found. It is on a huge presentation Bowie given to Dick Van Sickle by Randall documented in December, 1965. I would welcome any input that could shed light on the any earlier use of the brass plate... or documented knives from the 1960 transition period.
Van Sickle Bowie
