Jim, thanks for your compliments! The Model 4 was back at the shop for Scott and the team to install the name plate, and while it was with them, they spruced it up a bit as well. Outstanding work as usual!

what is good enough for one guy is not good enough for another....

That is a really big difference in quality of work between those examples. Stainless then was not the stainless of today, and stainless of my youth was primitive in cleanliness to much of what available today, even in same exact named alloy.

It might have been with the rough example that all attempts at finesse ceased as soon as metal started having problems, and finished up to just to have something functional, maybe never even originally sold, but instead just given away.

May even have been a very earlier attempt with the stuff (big difference in handle style), which most assuredly does not react at all the way a normal carbon steel steel does to forging, especially if lousy alloy to begin with. Randall used the clean Swedish alloy O-1 to get around those sorts of problems even with domestic carbon steel.

Personally would just feel that as soon as the rough knife started having problems, as little more time was wasted on it as possible, and quit while ahead before something worse happened. It seems obvious is was trying to come apart.

As anyone from gulf coast will attest, with exception of H-1 steel, no such thing as truly rust proof, and it still would have "seemed like a good idea at the time" to anyone thinking a lot of salt water in their future. Maybe not so much, once they realized some fish with big teeth really like shiny things thinking it a favorite meal.

I think you missed Lofty on your analogy.

Provenance is based in fact, supporting documentation if you will, in this hobby to put a knife with a specific owner, place, and/or time.

Beauty on the other hand, is in the eye of the beholder relative to the aesthetics you prefer whether it be cars, knives, or woman.

The two are not synonymous nor a valid comparison, provenance is objective, beauty is subjective.

Link to an article I wrote several years ago:

http://www.rmkcollector.com/the-randall-collector/provenance

I know this is supposed to be about knives rather than provenance, but I can have a knife of granddaddy's and know from stories, and write down those stories, or even have granddaddy write down those stories, and it might be I lied or he lied. I could even have photos of him with a similar knife, and for all we know, he borrowed a friend's knife for photos and then liked it so much that he bought one like it....it is all about what buyer believes, wants to be true, and is willing to pay for....still very subjective, and only changed by degrees as evidence mounts.

Back to the nice old knife, clearly and simply a difference of opinion on what that bar height might be, and it keeps sidetracking a really interesting thread.

You answered my question as to what the old girl was sent in for, and how much was done, tune up, new tires, oil change, etc.....looks great!

Thanks again, my friend!

"Wants to be true"? Seriously? You can believe in unicorns if you like, but that doesn't make them real. A claim was made about the "provenance", use, intent, etc. of this particular type of knife. It is pretty simple really so I don't see why you are having such a hard time grasping the concept.

Did you read the article on provenance I linked? That would probably clear it up for you.

That being said, I asked a simple question about what is a nice example of the type, not for me, but nice nonetheless. I was lambasted as though my question was without merit and how dare I question the claimant. Not only on this forum, but on another forum I am told, where "historical accuracy" is supposedly held to the highest standard. If someone is going to claim John Wayne carried a knife, show me how you came to that conclusion.

There is an old adage, "Buy the knife not the story". That often holds true, but if you can back the story up, it is even better.

Just kidding. LOL

One more shot for your viewing pleasure......

Sorry Lofty but Joe's right. There are no unicorns. The Sasquatch ate them all. Everybody knows that.