RE: this Bowie line. On the other board I've posted some discussion of comparative ages of two King Faisal repro sets ... I'm happy to report I maintained my temper and equilibrium in the face of the usual insults, sarcasm, and disrespect from the resident. Whatever...I will probably move those key posts here later so that Bowie information is captured in one line on this board, for whatever that is worth.
In the meantime, I thought I'd post this unusual and photogenic knife for discussion. Dax0007 (Don) sent me an E-mail saying he had purchased an unusual Bowie and had just received it.
This 12-11 Confederate Bowie (originally called the "light Bowie" until named in 1959) seems to have most of the traits of an early Randall. Note that some of the pictures also include a late 1960s (?) vintage 12-11 Confederate which allows a handy comparison.
Key features of this presentation blade are the thick 1/8-in leather spacers, the widely spaced tear-drop shaped flutes on the collar and coolie cap, the massive, thick guard... sans lugs
(probably this was the "braised lug" era and in this case, the lugs were never welded on for some reason), the oblong custom escutcheon plate. All these things, especially the thick leather spacers, seem to indicate a very early Bowie... possibly during the first year of production ... say... 1954, or so. Additionally, this knife has an impressive-sized ivory handle that is not checked or cracked, which is pretty unusual.
Presentation 12-11 Confederate Bowie (PCB), chromed blade, no lugs on hilt, and late '60s (?) Confederate.
Handle of PCB and late '60s (?) Confederate Bowie
Pommel of PCB and late 1960s Confederate (?)
Don bought this knife thinking there was no Randall stamp on the blade ... and truth is the stamp did not show up on the offer pictures (see first picture in post) ... But
it has a stamp, just faintly imprinted possibly because of the chrome plating...it is a "type 1" stamp.
Blade stamp of PCB
Note the massive size of the hilt. I think that is an early marker... I think the hilt was made thinner about late '50s, and lugs ceased to be braised, according to Hunt.
knife hilt PCB
Here is the Heiser sheath and old stone... probably original.
Sheath and stone of PCB
Here is the back of the sheath. Moore apparently made the first Bowie sheaths (1953), but Heiser was making sheaths for the new knife models, apparently by 1954 or so.
Back of sheath for PCB
And here is a close up of the original stone of PCB.
PCB Stone
I am not an expert regarding mid-50s knives, sheaths, stones. However, I would feel pretty confident saying this knife to be 1954 or so, a presentation blade that is beautiful and interesting... too bad its companion, 13-12 also without hilt lugs was sold separately to another party (see below). And the companion knife is in a Moore sheath, another indication this was a very early pair.
Don mentioned that he would welcome input on date estimate. Advice on care and preservation of the sheath and the stone would also be appreciated. The blade is chromed and has a few minor scratches. Does anyone know about chromed blades? Can they be polished without damaging the blade or value.
I posted these pictures for him and will let him ask further questions. Your help and comments are appreciated.