Is my Buckmaster annealed?
 

I think mine is an older one and was wondering how I can tell if it has the annealing done to the tang? It is marked "BUCK" "184" "U.S.A" on the tang. It came with a compass in a pouch on it along with a note explaining that the metal handle caused interference with the cap mounted ones. It doesnt have any of the date codes on it. I have the box as well which list it as a "Model No. 184 CAT. #876. Maybe it was between the ones with the compass in the cap and the ones that were "patent pending".Could anyone shed a little light on that for me? I would really appreciate it. Thanks