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They were about that bad on the '74 F12 I used to own, and the peghead wood grain was almost identical as well. Plus these were the years subject to 'binding rot' so some of that may be repair.
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Does it look anything like this one?

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/threads/120705-Kentucky-KM-1000-Japanese-era-All-Black

The Japanese-built early 80's mandolins did in fact say only...

For the most part you'll pay a good bit extra for an F-style over a similar A-style. There's just more work in them. You didn't say what your budget is, but I'm going to infer that it's around $300...

I have gigged for a couple years with a FP mandolin. I was concerned about durability but I can say that it has held up extremely well. All I do is wipe it down after playing, and occasionally clean...

I haven't been on the forum as much the past few months so I missed this thread. Having owned this instrument for the past 3+ years I can make a few comments, which are hopefully appropriate. In the...

Might be too late to this thread, but I'd recommend you give the Wegen TF 140 a shot if you like this style of pick. It's my personal pick of choice. I really prefer the slicker material of the...

Just picked this mandolin up today. Trying to answer a few questions. I have read all the Japanese-era Kentucky threads I could find. My guess is it was a mid-80's build? It says "Kentucky" and...

I've owned a KM950 and a Morris A5. Although both are long gone from my possession I don't need them side by side to tell you they were very different tonally. The KM950 was a good loud cutting...

One thing to note is the weight of the package (listed on the receipt when you shipped it) and the weight of the package when returned to you. It may show that the package was heavier when you...

I saw that one. It did look pretty good and original. The guy has a weird selling tactic, though. It has been re-listed repeatedly in 1-day auctions. I'd say that has at least something to do...

Just recently picked this up on eBay. S/N 1301, which I think makes it about a '97. Custom A-Plus Deluxe in all black. Great sounding mandolin. The review are all pretty much spot on. Not much...

Marc is a good choice. I've also had work done at Fairbuilt Guitars (who also make mandolins) in Purcellville, VA:

http://www.fairbuilt.com/

I suspect a great many musicians would happily comply with the CITES paperwork, if the government would ever decide what exactly it wants from you. Here's the current excerpt from the Fish and...

If someone is selling an instrument its their responsibility to prepare it for sale. I treat the trial period the same as finding a mando in a music shop or going to see one on craigslist. No store...

Given that the bridge appears to be original, and the string height seems fairly close to what you'd want it to be, I don't believe the top has sunk much at all.

Allen, the case is indeed leather...

Not sure this is the right place to put these, but the band I'm in has been playing around with a webcam mounted to the mic stand to catch some of our playing. Still haven't gotten the sound level...

The truss rod only impacts the neck relief (curvature) from the nut to the body joint (usually 12th fret on a mandolin). Best way to check neck relief is to "note" the G string at the 1st and 12th...

The front and back cover art from our first CD. The band is ClearSpring. The car actually belonged to the guitar player (with the sideburns) at the time. We took it out for pizza after the shoot...