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Old 07-28-2016, 12:35 PM
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Jacknola Jacknola is offline
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1963 Johnson baby-dot sheaths

This is a note that relates to case presented in "the Magic Randall" and discussed further recently. These are pictures of a M 3-7 posted on E-bay. The sheath is an example of an early Johnson sheath, partly because of the lack of model and length numbers. The blade stamp is correct for the era, type 2, earlier than 1965-66.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/232029929272...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

This sheath also exhibits a distinctive stitching characteristic of a particular Johnson sheath maker (?)? the meticulous radius stitching and the double interior line within the butterfly. Some/many but not all early Johnsons were stitched this way beginning with his first brown-buttons, and this style continued to be seen into the baby-dot era. I?ve seen a couple of sheaths with this characteristic with later 1960s knives.

The case has already been made, but this is further proof of the connection between the Johnson brown-buttons with east facing stamp and no model numbers, and his baby-dots





The date that Johnson began adding model/length numbers has not been exactly pinned down, partly because sheaths were made in relatively large batches. But I believe he began adding numbers about mid-1963?which means his baby dot sheaths without numbers were probably made in the first half of 1963. Of course some of those sheaths may not have been sold with a knife for months, even year or so later and different models knives would not all run out of no-number sheaths at the same time.

As follow-up, here are some examples I posted recently in another line. These show the continuation of this type stitching into to period when numbers were added to the sheaths ( I suspect that the model-number in butterfly was an early short-lived experiment, but have no proof it was not someone's whim).

Here are three sheaths with numbers in butterfly... left is Ron's, middle is General Westmoreland's, right is Mitchell's. I carefully used a measurement of each Randall stamp top to bottom to try to insure the pictures are the same scale. They are as close to scale as I can get, though angle perspective of the pictures of Ron and Mitchell's sheath has probably introduced a variable in the width of the stamp.



It is interesting to notice the stitching especially in the interior of the butterfly of all of these sheaths. In my opinion, the careful stitch radius and the interior double stitch line is a marker for a particular sheath maker who made a lot of the earliest Johnson's. This marker is occasionally seen on some Johnson sheaths as late as mid/late 1960s. (see "Magic Randall" for early Johnson brown buttons and others that do not have this stitching characteristic).

Here are some examples from the "Magic Randall" line; pages 6-7-8 of very early Johnson's that exhibit this stitching (and no model numbers).





In the next picture, a brown button Heiser-west is on left, brown button Johnson-east on right. The Johnson has no model numbers. Note the brown buttons, identical butterfly stitching, east facing stamp, position of keeper strap, etc., of the Johnson brown button which is exactly like the subsequent baby dot Johnsons. To properly credit the sheaths, these apparently belong to Joe Dorksky, not Mitchell Harrison. The composite picture constructs are mine.



Note: How Someone could think the above two sheaths were made by the same company just because they both have a Randall stamp and brown buttons is difficult to understand. Nothing about them from stitching to retainer placement to stamp orientation, stamp numbers, etc. is remotely similar. In fact those features on left sheath are identical with earlier Heiser stamped sheaths. The one on the right is identical in those features to Johnson baby dot sheaths as documented in the "Magic Randall," and as can be seen in this study. Well, it is a free country, LOL.
Regards.

Last edited by Jacknola; 07-28-2017 at 01:19 PM.
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