Help Dating A Model 14 Please (Mid 70's Early 80's?)

[Douglas Wever]

1. Here are pics and specs of the Randall 14 I ordered from Arizona Custom Knives that is due in Wednesday: (https://www.arizonacustomknives.com...ker/randall-made-knives/model-14-1000533.html)

So, on the general forum the closest I got to a date was, "The JRB Sheath dates your knife 60's - 80's, with it being most probably late 70's - 80's."

I was hoping here that date-range might be tightened up a little bit among Randall enthusiasts. Thank you very much.

2. I made an offer on a new old-stock Randall Sasquatch (large version) of $1,200. Pretty sure I'll get turned down as seller just lowered price to $1,400.

 

[Melvin-Purvis]

Doug, you did well on that knife at that price. It's actually a Model #14 Cut-Down Tang (CDT) with a Stainless steel blade, Model #1 brass double-guard (hilt), and single finger-groove (SFG) handle. Spacers tell the story of when the blade was built into a knife, and the looser sheath stitching helps narrow down the date of shipment. In the case of your knife, those spacers were seen on knives made between late 1977 (generally considered 1978 forward), into early 1984. The looser sheath stitching was seen from the late 1970's through the late 1980's, but is generally seen on most Johnson Roughback sheaths made after 1984. IMO, your knife was probably built and shipped in the early/mid 1980's, around the timeframe given. That's the mundane part; the exciting part is that it was finished and shipped during the time Randall Shop foreman Dave Griffin was finishing handles. Dave's signature handle touch is well-worth the price of admittance...