Karsten began producing PING B5 putters by August 12, 1959. PING still has an order of that date that requests both an A5 and B5.  Company records also show that the B5 was not popular at all when it was introduced. The remaining records from 1959 show Karsten received a single order for a B5 as opposed to 427 orders for the 1A (And the Putter Went Ping p 47-49).  These numbers are best viewed as approximations. PING today does not know if there were any other orders that year. It is not known how many Redwood City 1A and B5 putters were made in 1960, before Karsten left for Arizona, but production of both grew. The B5 putter, however, never approached the sales of the 1A and today is far more rare than a Redwood City 1A.

It was Karsten Solheim whose rise in the second half of the 20th century reinvented the wheel for all other clubmakers. This B5 putter stamped "Pat. Pend" and "18" (which Karsten's weight measure) is among the rarest clubs he made in Redwood City. 

Rare, too, is the gold finsh on this clubhead. This finish is found on a small but notable number of other primarily Scottsdale Ping putters. According to Ping Historian Rob Griffen, in an October 27, 2022 email sent to the auctioneer, the gold coating or paint was done by Slazenger. They had an agreement with Karsten to distribute putters in Canada prior to Karsten's 1966 Mark McCormick agreement. Slazenger did the gold coating themselves not the Solheims. For the most part, Slazenger also did the assembly—which would explain the slightly different shaft and Informer grip/collar discussed next. 

This example has a 35 1/2" shaft, different from the ones installed in Redwood City. But the underside of the head is not drilled out and repaired which it would be if this was a reshaft.  Plus it is fitted with a Golf Pride Informer grip with a built in grip collar of sorts that is unlike the newer remade Informer grips. Karsten apparently included older inventory in a shipment of Scottsdale heads to Slazenger.  He did not like selling clubs in the US that did not have the correct address on them, so shipping a few Redwood city putter heads with a batch of Scottsdale heads to Canada makes good business sense.

The head is in clean condition with all marks inside the sole cavity easy to read. The "Pat Pend" and "18" on the toe of the sole are faint by still readable. The 'Ping B5" on the heel end is mostly worn away.  "Ping" is faint, but "B5" is not there. The molds used to cast the A5 and B5 heads were not the best at creating clear sole marks. Even so, given how rare this model is, its a worthy piece of Ping history. 

All in all, this is a pretty neat putter, with some great history.  For more on Karsten's Redwood City Putters see And The Putter Went Ping chapter 2.