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  #101  
Old 10-01-2013, 08:44 AM
big&slow big&slow is offline
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Originally Posted by GRIZZLYBEAR View Post
I use mine. What's the purpose of buying and not using it??

Like anything else. To collect.
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  #102  
Old 10-01-2013, 05:31 PM
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My favorite Randall is the #26 Pathfinder. It has a 4"drop point carbon blade and a Sambar stag handle. Very nice! Convenient and very useful. I will never know who made it, but I will say they are a talented craftsman. I must
say that I may never buy another Randall Made knife. Randall employs 10 to 15 workers some with more experience than others. With a 5 year backlog of production there must be alot of pressure to produce knives quickly. This leads to a decrease in quality. I have had to return knives to the shop because of simple carelessness, this aplies to sheaths as well
Once for the wrong butt cap on a knife I waited 4 years for. A poorly made sheath with stiching that waan't pulled snug. I read the knife forums and know that others share my experience. Sonora



Y

Last edited by sonora; 10-01-2013 at 05:39 PM.
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  #103  
Old 11-19-2014, 04:06 PM
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I recently got a model 27 mini Stainless and model 5 Carbon, everything was done perfectly.
I feel sorry that you are not lucky.
I heard that was a problem for one person with the model 10. He had a crack in the blade - defect steel.
Shop very quickly replaced the knife.
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  #104  
Old 11-19-2014, 10:56 PM
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I have a model no 1 that I bought in the middle or late 70s.I got it to take on fishing camping trips to northern Ontario.I used it hunting hiking camping for over 25 yrs before I retired it.I once told a collector dealer at a gun show that I had used it for everything from gutting deer to cleaning fish and I once dug a latrine in a emergency.He auctualy stuttered when he told me it was for showing not using.
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  #105  
Old 11-19-2014, 11:25 PM
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This one has traveled most of the world with me and skinned more big game than most Randalls. What a great knife, like S&W revolvers they should be used.
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  #106  
Old 11-20-2014, 11:53 PM
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I have just one and I do not know the model number. It does have five or six options. The original owner was Bille H Redburn.

He was quite an interesting and colorful individual. I will paste a piece about him. His life is a wonderful story. It is from an earlier thread. Enjoy it.






RBScrim posted the following on Billie Redburn some time ago. This might give you a little background on the man and the knife. I hope RB (Rick Bowles) doesn't mind me re-posting it. It's a great read.

I wrote the following article for the Randall Knife Society a few years ago. This article presents a man for whom I had the utmost respect. It also relates how I was introduced to Randall Made knives over forty years ago. That day over Redburn's would begin my involvement with Randall knives. In 1981 I began doing scrimshaw on and for Randall knives that has lasted thirty-three years. I became a Randall knife dealer two years later and I've been fortunate to have designed two knives that carry the iconic Randall trademark.

REDBURN

Randall Made knives have a mystique, history and following that, in my experience, is unprecedented. Time after time I hear folks describe their emotions regarding Randall knives with a reverence that is usually reserved for a beautiful woman or a new born child. I experienced this for myself back in the 70s while visiting an old gun collector friend of mine. Then 60 years old, give or take, Billie Redburn was a tall slender man with a full head of white hair and a matching beard and handlebar mustache. He was proud of the fact that he still wore the same size jeans that he had worn in high school. Like one of his idols from an old western movie, Billie was always dressed the same outfit. His 20X silverbelly Stetson was worn and dirty and sported a rattlesnake band. The remainder of his standard apparel was as you would expect, plaid shirt with yokes front and back, Wrangler jeans and handmade boots from a small shop in Texas. The boots were cowhide, not some exotic critter but they did have custom silver toe and heel caps. His hand tooled belt carried a silver tip, keepers and buckle. The waistband on his right side always, and I do mean ALWAYS, bulged with an ivory handled pre-war National Match Colt .45 auto. Any handgun that Billy would or could possibly ever carry was equipped with ivory grips like General Patton, another hero of his. In the watch pocket of his jeans rested his model 110 Buck folding hunter which, like his guns, had been fitted with ivory scales by knifemaker P.J. Tomes. Billie was an old school collector. He only added to his collection, he never sold. He still had the first gun he'd ever bought, a martially marked Artillery model single action army Colt that he had pulled from a pickle barrel full of surplus handguns and for which he paid five dollars. He also still had his first "real" knife. In his kitchen, next to his sink was an oversized wood cutting board. Above this, firmly stuck to a magnet that had been secured between the cabinets was a six inch belt knife with a stag handle. As my hand was uncontrollably drawn to the seemingly misplaced tool I asked Billie "what the hell kind of kitchen knife is this"? That's a Randall knife, he replied, in a tone of respect that, prior to this, I had only heard him use while oiling his 1911 A1 SINGER government model .45. I pried the carbon blade from the magnet and as the right handed stag found it's proper seat in my hand I instantly noticed the heft and balance of the knife. I wanted to cut something.... It was magical! My eye was drawn down the blade from point to hilt. There was no hint of rust though it was stained in spots from years of cutting everything from fresh juice oranges for breakfast to Sunday's dinner ham. Billie believed in using his tools. Then, as I turned the knife back and fourth with my hand, never changing my grip on the old yellowed pinned stag, I noticed the name in two lines, bracketed by scimitars, deeply stamped on the left side of the blade. Randall Made Orlando Florida I said out loud. Without realizing it, I heard my own voice adopt that same respectful tone. "You like that" Redburn said? Yeah, I answered quietly, my voice still in respect mode ... now that's a knife. Come with me he said, I'll show ya something. Billie was a retired Navy man. He had been an armorer aboard U.S.S. Hornet and spoke with great pride about how, in the predawn hours of April 18, 1942, he had loaded the bombs on Jimmy Doolittle's B-25 in preparation for the first U.S. air raid on the Japanese home islands .
He still kept most of his possessions, with his gun collection being the most notable exception, in sea bags which he called his Amelia Earheart luggage. It was as if he half expected to be called back to his ship at any moment. Laced up and locked, he kept everything locked with tiny pad locks, they lay about the spare bedroom which, before her death, was his wife's sewing room. I followed him into the room and watched as he walked straight to one of the olive drab bags resting next to a well worn recliner. As he sat he pulled a tiny key from his pocket and lifting up the sea bag he inserted the key and opened the lock. I couldn't help but wonder if that one key fit all those little locks or if this key was special, residing in his jeans pocket with other required items such as his pocket knife, truck keys and plastic, clamshell change purse. I soon had my answer as the lock dropped and the bag opened to reveal it's treasures. One by one Redburn pulled Randall knives from their canvas hideout. Each still in it's sheath, he tossed them unceremoniously on the floor. The knives piled up on the brown shag carpet until the sea bag lay flat and empty next to what I guessed to be around thirty Randalls of varying models, handle configurations and blade lengths. Redburn glanced my way. "One knife won't do it all, you need a bunch of'em" he said as a wry grin began to grow under his white, handlebar mustache. Like I said earlier, Redburn liked to use his tools. Several of the knives were handled in ivory, several more carried stag, a few in leather and poking noticeably out of the pile was a massive Bowie with a beautiful burl walnut, commando shaped handle. I grabbed the Bowie. Why is it that boys of any age love knives and the bigger the better? "That's a Raymond Thorp Bowie" he said, as if I should have known who Raymond Thorp was. We spent the remainder of the afternoon in that room. I would pick one from the pile and while cleaning the green stuff from the hilt that had accumulated from years of storing it in it's sheath, Redburn would educate me on that particular model. I was hooked. I had caught the bug from Redburn with which I would remain infected for the rest of my days. As I finished cleaning the last Randall, a model #1-8" with ivory and a compass in the butt, I asked the question. "So Billie, what's a knife like this gonna cost me"? As we began to put the carbon steel treasure back in it's GI safe, Redburn pulled a small yellow catalog from a side pocket of the sea bag and handed it to me. "Twenty-four dollars for the knife and six dollars more for the ivory handle?" At that price I had already ordered three models in my mind when I noticed Redburn's mustache start to twitch again. "Yup, he said, that ain't a lot of money now but it was a bunch back in 1950 when that catalog was printed"!
Billie Redburn, my friend of thirty years, passed away peacefully yesterday at the age of 86. He was a hero of the greatest generation. He led a full life and he will be missed. Good ride cowboy.
===========================================================================

It resides in my safe now. I know that if I ever sold it for any amount I would regret it until the day I die.

Joe

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  #107  
Old 11-24-2014, 12:35 AM
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Yes and no. I'd pined for a Randall since I was a teenager. When I got to Ft Bragg in 1983 I found the old Cumberland Knife and Gun shop, one of the few stocking Randall dealers back then. I'd tossed and turned many a night deciding between a Model 1 and a Model 14. I ended up with a Model 14, stainless, sawback. I kept it in my wall locker, "in case anything ever came up where I'd need it". That Fall Grenada "came up" I strapped it on my pistol belt and didn't take it off for the rest of my enlistment. Jumped it plenty of times but I generally looped 550 cord over the top of the handle before a jump. Carrying a Randall said something back then. After I got out, I sent it back to have it cleaned up and a new sheath. I retired it in favor of a true hand forged Bowie from John Smith that I carried on me most of the time in Korea and later a Bowie from Jerry Fisk that I carried on and off. I carried another Fisk Bowie in Afghanistan a couple of years ago, but it was in my daypack most of the time.
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  #108  
Old 07-14-2015, 10:35 AM
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I'm a little updated its collection of knives.
Bought Model 8 (1971) and model 3 (1991).
I was happy like a child for several days.
Then I cut a little excess metal model 8 that the balance was closer to the blade.
Now I will use them until I die and pass on the legacy
In the picture there are still EKA "Big Swede" very nice folder.
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  #109  
Old 07-14-2015, 11:45 AM
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This one was delivered to me from Randall in 2008 to Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. The fruit was about the extent of its "use" but I sure felt good about having it with me. An Afghan elder gave me the pomegranate.
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  #110  
Old 05-22-2016, 11:12 AM
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have a randall model 5/5"s with walrus handle. also have 3" craig made randall foulder with blk micarta .any interest?
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  #111  
Old 05-22-2016, 11:51 AM
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have a randall model 5/5"s with walrus handle. also have 3" craig made randall foulder with blk micarta .any interest?
You might ought post this in the classified section and find out . . .

As for actually using Randall knives, my Model 10 with a 3" blade is my constant companion in the outdoors . . .
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  #112  
Old 05-22-2016, 08:01 PM
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I have a Randall #14 attack w/green micarta that I've had a few years. I use it on occasion but lightly, only because I have others that are a bit more practical (pocket-knives etc). I'd love to pick up one or two more Randall's but can't justify the prices since I already have one.
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  #113  
Old 05-22-2016, 09:39 PM
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I carried a #5 5inch for 25 years hunting. Got tired of having to sharpen it when quartering an elk. Went back to My old Morseth and sold the Randall along with 5 other randalls.
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  #114  
Old 05-22-2016, 10:12 PM
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When in high school and early college, I lived in Orlando. I bought a model 3 5" blade at Praegers Gun Shop on Orange Avenue in Orlando in 1967. It has cleaned a lot of animals and I still have it. A few years ago I picked up a NOS roughback sheath for it on Ebay. The original sheath is well worn but servicable. That knife had a stag handle. I took it down to the Randall shop right after I bought it and had them put my name on the blade, file in the thumb notches, and polish in finger grooves. It's an old 7 spacer model that is now collectable. The blade is still in good shape, despite all the antelope, deer and elk it has done over the years. I bought my son a new model 19 for Christmas in his junior year in HS and he has used it but not as much as I use mine.
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  #115  
Old 05-22-2016, 10:25 PM
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I owned this one for about a year.
Couldn't bring myself to use it.
Museum grade Ivory handle.
I ended up selling it to fund another gun purchase.





Chuck
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  #116  
Old 05-23-2016, 07:15 AM
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My Randall Made model 8 has been all over the U.S. with me as I fought forest fires. Definitely a user.
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  #117  
Old 05-23-2016, 09:15 AM
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I owned this one for about a year.
Couldn't bring myself to use it.
Museum grade Ivory handle.
I ended up selling it to fund another gun purchase.
I hope it was one heck of a gun! That is one of the most beautiful knives I have ever seen!
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  #118  
Old 05-23-2016, 09:58 AM
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This is the only picture I have right now of my Model 23, alongside a 3-screw Ruger .41 mag. I do use mine, it skins and quarters deer and hogs every year. My wife gave it to me for our 25th anniversary (we're at 37 now, might need to remind her of how much I like that Randall, maybe another one could come along for anniversary 40. Ha.) I do love it - and just an occasional touch-up on a ceramic stick keeps it wicked sharp.

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  #119  
Old 05-23-2016, 11:04 AM
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I have collected knifes for a few decades now and have owned a few Randall's, but for the life of me I do not understand the allure. I sold each of mine shortly after I acquired them. Though I own very few custom knives, as antique American made blades are what trips my trigger, I have seen and owned some custom blades that far exceed the Randall's for construction, design and materials. I guess I need a public flogging, but I just do not see it.
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  #120  
Old 05-23-2016, 11:10 AM
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I have gotten about five likes on this recently so I figured I would bump it back up.
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  #121  
Old 05-23-2016, 12:01 PM
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Default Curtis here is one that shows some use...............

........I can not say what kind of use but I know where it has traveled.

Bill Young was my boss once, and later I was his Boss. When he first came to work with us he showed me this Randall and I teased him about leaving it to me, little did I know some 20 years later he did just that.

Bill served in the United States Marines and purchased this Randall before he went to Viet Nam.

Rest in Peace Amigo.

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Old 05-23-2016, 12:08 PM
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I have gotten about five likes on this recently so I figured I would bump it back up.
MAKE IT 6!
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Old 05-23-2016, 01:13 PM
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I have had many Randall's , custom made to my specifications and every one ordered with the intention of actually "using" them....but when push comes to shove, the nice fancy ones are just BBQ knives , worn and shown but not really used .
Except for the first one I bought a Pathfinder, made before it was a production model and picked up at the Randall shop...it was sitting in the display case and called out to me...you have to answer the call !
The other users are a 5 inch and a 3 inch model 10 Salt Fisherman and Household Utility knives . The 3 inch goes fishing with me and the 5 inch gets a lot of kitchen duty. You have to cook and I enjoy using the utility knife.
Gary
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Old 05-23-2016, 01:20 PM
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Quote:
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........I can not say what kind of use but I know where it has traveled.

Bill Young was my boss once, and later I was his Boss. When he first came to work with us he showed me this Randall and I teased him about leaving it to me, little did I know some 20 years later he did just that.

Bill served in the United State Marines and purchased this Randall before he went to Viet Nam.

Rest in Peace Amigo.

That looks very similar to the one I posted in the OP...nice!!!
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  #125  
Old 06-08-2016, 08:31 PM
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I have a couple of Randall's that I have used over the years. My 12-9 Bowie is a beast and I carry that when I am out at the ranch, checking fences.

I carried the model 14 when I was an active LEO. The model 16 I used when I was an avid kayaker. I gave that to my daughter and son-in-law on their wedding day and they used it to cut the wedding cake

The model 10-3 is usually carried in my gear bag:



The Randall I find myself packing the most now a days is a model 5-5.

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  #126  
Old 06-08-2016, 11:35 PM
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I have never met Bo or Gary Randall, but I've always been under the impression that they made their knives to be used. Of course, I can certainly understand the exception, e.g. the scrimshawed knives by Rick Bowles.

I have some Randall knives and all of them are used, but the the ones I use most are a Model 25-5 Trapper....


A Model 5-6 Camp and Trail....(Bradford Angier style)



And a Model 21 Little Game...
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Old 06-08-2016, 11:35 PM
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I had one many years ago, took it in on a trade and it went back out on a trade for profit. Probably didn't own it a week after folks found out I had it.

In the late 80's a machinist made some really nice custom knives in his home shop after work.

I had 2 made up, engraved with mine and my sonds names. Dro[ point skinner, blood red Micarta handles and D2 steel. I've used it many times on Mule and white tail, I quartered one and butchered/boned one elk with it. It holds an edge really well. It still looks almost new, I protect it when using it. My son broke his blade prying on something. It was made on a thinner blank than mine.

It is not a Randall but used correctly it will do all my son and his son ever need done. My son has grown up and it will be in better hands this time.

When I was about 13 dad bought him and I a Herters hunting knife. It looked just like an Old Hickory butcher knife. I carried it for years, dulled quickly and sharpened easy. I bought a Case Stag handled 5" Fixed blade and carried it for some years, Dad "borrowed" it and I got it back 20 years later.

I think if I had bought a Randall of a pattern I liked I probably would have had one knife. A good knife and a good custom knife will last a life time or 2 when taken care of.

One deer season we were getting our knifes sharp, had checked zero on the deer rifles and going through the nite before the season opened excitement. Dad couldn't find his Herters Knife, looked high and low, finally he found the sheath in a kitchen drawer. Mom had used it for kitchen duty since we cut up his deer the year before. I can still hear him squalling about his knive being ruined, Mom would wack the top of the blade with the meat tenderizer when she found something stubborn. The top of the blade was bradded over.

I had my new Case hunter, Dad borrowed it and I used my Herters. Like I said Dad laid claim to it, gave the obglatory guilt trips when I wanted it back, Why I've never had a knife this nice, It needs to stay with me so you don't tear it up. I always wanted one of these Case Stag handled ones, I said Dad the local LGS keeps them in stock, you're just too tight to go buy one.

I used the Herters for a while and used several different lockbacks until I bought the custom one.

The Case looked sharp on Dad's belt. But my bro and I dressed and cut up his deer while he smoked his pipe. One year I stepped up behind him and grabbed my Case and gutted his deer with it. Oh you'l get blood on it, you'll have to sharpen it, don't hit any rocks. He took real good care of my Case. I have about 5 or 6 fixed blade knives I keep in a bag deer season and several in my truck, several are Solingen Steel old ones, they hold a really good edge.

I like knives, they were one of my first loves. I guess I'll have to start looking for a Randall. But I'll be choosy on the price, I think it's something I learned from my Dad. And my Son and Grandson are too smart to buy one and let me see it...

I like the looks of Mule Packers 25-5. And the model 5 in 5" further up. threads like this are one distinct reason I never looked at a Randal catalog.

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Old 06-09-2016, 12:37 AM
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That looks very similar to the one I posted in the OP...nice!!!

Solingen blade?
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Old 06-09-2016, 12:48 AM
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I have never met Bo or Gary Randall, but I've always been under the impression that they made their knives to be used. Of course, I can certainly understand the exception, e.g. the scrimshawed knives by Rick Bowles.

I have some Randall knives and all of them are used, but the three I use most are a Model 25-5 Trapper....


A Model 5-6 Camp and Trail....


And a Model 21 Little Game...

I love your Model 5! I had to order my similar one with a five-inch blade, as Texas limits blade length to 5.5 inches.

Those who like a similar knife and who can't find or afford a Model 5 should look at the Fallkniven Model S -1 Forest Knife. There are several sheath options, leather or Zytel. Kydex is no longer offered. The blade is very like a Randall Model 5. I think you can find them in the USA for about $150. There are several Online dealers. Want the same idea, but bigger? Model A-1. www.fallkniven.com Work the buttons and see some fine knives. No, I don't own stock in Fallkniven, a Swedish firm. But I sure like their knives. You can find Online reviews. Check YouTube.

I like Randalls, too. Just thought that I'd mention a good alternative.

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Old 06-09-2016, 03:46 AM
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Would really like to thank all those people who posted in the Radall theme. Some really beautiful knives there. When I got off active duty in '67 wasn't making much money but I promised myself tow things. Rollex watxh and a Randall knife. Some years later while vacationing in Puerto Rico I took a small plane trip to the virgin Islands and while taste testing all sorts of booze I found a little shop by the name of "Little Switzerland" and finally after all those years I had my Rollex. In a substitute for the Randall I have a Puma "Buddy" as my hunting knife. I have a small file cabinet and one drawer has an assortment of bayonets and knives. Probably the most expensive one I have to date is a Benchmade Griptillian ,there is a Spyderco all stainless Mariner, at least two other Benchmade knives. Along with my West German parachutist knife. a couple different models of Gerbers MKI & MKII but the most prized one in the whole bunch is the pilots survival knife with leather sheath and sharpening stone pocket. Got that when we made a Wespac cruise on my carrier the USS Franklin D Roosevelt CVA 42. Have had that one the longest going on 45 years. Keep going on with the randal threads. Frank
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Old 06-10-2016, 12:00 PM
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Default randall #15 tenite

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A recent thread prompted me to ask the question. I have been a Randall knife lover since I saw my first one when I was 10. It is the knife pictured which was bought by a good friend of the family before he shipped out to SEA in 1965 with the USMC. He let me "safeguard" it growing up, but it did not become officially mine until I shipped out in Sept. 1984. It did 3 tours with him and I since passed it to my best friend who served in the Corp during the 1st sand box war. I figured a Marine bought it...a Marine should have it, I was Army. This is one of the few Randalls I have seen that has actually been used. Having sold a few lately I know if you use one you lose quite a bit on value. I would love to see what you all have out there that you love and cherish as much I have this knife and have actually used it....would love to hear the stories too.

in 1960 i ordered a randall airman green tenite, was delayed 6 months while they were making the astronauts, was sharpened once then was a safe queen till 2001, sold it to a MA collector for 3 trout&bird for my 3 sons and quite a bit of boot. the hilt had a cut out filled with bondo, felt it was a astro reject.
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Old 06-10-2016, 12:10 PM
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I took this one in on a trade deal.
Non-cataloged model 26 Pathfinder....I think.
I have owned an swapped many over the years.
I only have about $200.00 in this one so it will be used.
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Old 06-10-2016, 12:52 PM
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Default stainless vs carbon steel

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Many Randall knives that have been used are eagerly sought after by Randall collectors as long as they've not been abused. Collectors seem to favor knives with carbon steel blades over those with stainless steel, does anyone know the reason for this? I know that SS is harder to sharpen and hold and edge, but that would make sense for a user not a collector where the knife would sit in a vault.
I'm new to putting stuff on fourums so if I do anything wrong please let me know. The reason carbon steel is so much better, & perferred by people who have knowledge of metalurgy, other than the rust resistance aspect of stainless is- carbon is needed to make the edge hard during heat treating so it doesn't roll the way stainless does. The reason stainless is hard to get sharp and keep it that way, is because when it gets thin it wants to roll to one side or the other. That being said Randall definitely uses a better grade of stainless alloy than most. The reason stainless doesn't rust as easily as carbon steel is that oxygen attacks carbon. The more pure alloy the stainless is like say 304 the less carbon content, therefore less rust. You just can't Harden stainless the way you can high carbon steel so the cutting edge is definitely less desirable. Just like everything else nowadays people like stainless for the ease of maintenance so you don't have to worry about it so much. I would think if you spend the money on a randal that you would want to take care of it and if you ever have to use it have a much more serviceable tool. You can actually make high carbon so hard and brittle during the heat treat it will break if you drop it. That is the reason a lot of high-end knife makers use high carbon steel for the cutting edge and laminate milder steel around it for flexibility so the blade doesn't break with use but will hold an edge for a long time. I have one that I skinned a deer, split the ribcage, & butchered it, you could still shave with it. Try that with stainless & you will likely stop sometime during the process to sharpen it probably more than once.
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Old 06-10-2016, 04:05 PM
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Default Knife collector.

I have over 200 knifes in my collection and I get constantly ribbed about having a bunch of "Trailer Queens". I can't help it! These knives are works of art and craftsmanship. Not all are Randall's but a variety of old, new, and rare. My pleasure is to preserve the knives as history and uniqueness. I carry a Buck Lightning (discontinued) and use it with wild abandon.... LOL It's your toy, you do what you want with it...... ; )
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Old 06-10-2016, 04:53 PM
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I've owned quite a few Randall's over the years, mostly safe queens, and all but three of them have moved on to other homes. The one user out of all of them is this one:

Model 14 Airman, sawteeth, and finger-grooved black-micarta handle. I ordered it new from the now-defunct San Francisco Gun Exchange back in November of '95, and picked it up three months later. Had Blade-Tech make a kydex sheath for it, and carried it as part of my SWAT gear for years.

NEVER going to part with this one.............

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Old 06-10-2016, 06:02 PM
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My Randall model 10-3, is the hardest knife I have ever sharpened.

This is not the same stainless used in swiss army knives.
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Old 06-10-2016, 07:06 PM
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I've owned quite a few Randall's over the years, mostly safe queens, and all but three of them have moved on to other homes. The one user out of all of them is this one:

Model 14 Airman, sawteeth, and finger-grooved black-micarta handle. I ordered it new from the now-defunct San Francisco Gun Exchange back in November of '95, and picked it up three months later. Had Blade-Tech make a kydex sheath for it, and carried it as part of my SWAT gear for years.

NEVER going to part with this one.............

That's a beauty!

I spent a lot of time (And money!) at the SF Gun Exchange back in the day......
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Old 06-10-2016, 08:06 PM
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Default Randalls

I have three all users, my #16, I got it in 1986 along with a #3-5.

I was working in Orlando for a few weeks and watched the Space Shuttle Challenger launch and explosion January 28, 1986.

I went to the Randall shop while I was down there and was told the #16 and #3-5 had been ordered but when they tried to contact the buyer they never go a reply, they had one more week left so I told them I wanted them, left a deposit and when they contacted me I sent the money and they mailed me the knives.

My #8-4, I picked up used this year without a sheath, used.
Found a sheath online to make it whole again
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Old 06-11-2016, 03:33 AM
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Quote:
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So Joined the Randall knife Society, went to the next meeting in Atlanta at the Blade show. Met Pete Hamilton the shop foreman and he introduced me to Tom Clinton, one of the top collectors in the day. I could tell from the letter and Pete's reaction that it was a special knife. Tom saw it, said how much, I said I think its a $3000 knife. He turned to his wife and said "Honey, hand me my money".

We had quite a crowd by then, and a guy behind me asked if I had any other Randalls. told him I had a fake one, and he paid me $200 for it.

This covered a lot of bad deals I made in my day.

Charlie
Charlie,

Very cool story! I remember good ole' Tom Clinton well. He was at every Great Western Gun Show in southern CA. Before gun shows were banned from the LA County fairgrounds in Pamona maybe 15 + years ago.

Bought my first Randall from him, 2nd one down:

# 8 Bird & Trout, old catalog grind
#1 5" All Purpose Fighting Knife
#1 5" All Purpose Fighting Knife
Custom stainless Bowie grind, one-of-a-kind dad gave me



My son special ordered the first one, the #8 for my birthday and waited a year. Couldn't order finger grips because not offered on its short handle. Had to add them myself:

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Old 06-11-2016, 09:19 AM
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"Solingen blade?"

Yes it is.
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Old 06-13-2016, 11:36 AM
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Back when we had The Great Western Gunshow here in Pomona (East of L.A.) there was a guy who always had a huge spread of new (and a few used) Randall knives in the first big building on the right side when you entered the show---prices were CHEAP back then (70-80s) and I had a thing for stag-handled knives---I'd buy one every time I went (the show ran twice a year sometimes)---I kept them unused and oiled out of their sheathe---many, many years later I found out what a great investment these were getting many times the purchase price!
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Old 06-17-2016, 09:36 PM
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--many, many years later I found out what a great investment these were getting many times the purchase price!
I still follow that policy. There are 4 or 5 gun shows a year and If I'm having a good day, I try to buy a Randall before I leave. The times I don't, I'm usually sorry afterwards. Over the years its easy to discover you've got way too many knives. I only wonder if the same economics will apply in the future. I've never made a screaming deal on one. The best was paying $150 for an early trout and bird. The worst was a few months ago when I paid $1100 for a Smithsonian with an ivory handle. Since my goal wasn't to resell it, I'm good. I sure bought a few in the early 1990s for the then outrageous price range of $300. I've even got a Soligen Fighter for that.

I've also bought other brands, Gil Hibben's custom have caught my eye for a long time. I see his designs all the time with Browning names on them. One day I bought a Hibben "White tail hunter" and paid probably $350 for it. Its still like new. So on we hiked at the gun show. And a few aisles over there was a guy selling knives. Somebody's old collection was being liquidated. And there, in front of me, was a knife with a clear Hibben design and logo. I got it for maybe $20. Sure, its a little rough.

So time passed and there was a Ken Po Karate shop opening about 20 miles away. And Gil only lives down in LaGrange, and he was at the grand opening, pushing his fantasy knives. I went to the shop and he had a line of maybe 8 or 10 people. Mostly they were buying new knives and he was signing the boxes. As the line moved up the guy about 4 in front of me asked about his custom "line" of knives. Gil's young wife was standing there and she started laughing. She told the others in line that I got a free pass to move up. I was carrying the 4 or 5 Hibben's I'd bought along the way. He kind of turned his nose up at the high dollar knives but zoomed in on the $20 rough one. He looked at me and asked where I'd gotten it. I told him and he was smiling.

He said its a steak knife. He'd made 3 sets over the years and that 2 of those sets were still intact. It seems the knife I have was from the 3rd set, the one owned by Steve McQueen. After his death, the hired help probably stole the silverware. Regardless, it got scattered to the wind. This is the first and only one to have ever turned up. His explanation was that McQueen and Ali McGraw weren't veggies. They liked steak and entertained often. His conclusion was that more than a handful of stars had probably used my knife. Cool, but you can't take it to the bank.
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Old 06-22-2016, 02:45 PM
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Solingen blade?
Yes it is, I think he bought it in about 1965
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Old 06-24-2016, 01:37 PM
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Default Anyone Actually Use a Randall Knife

I worked in RVN as a contractor from 1968 through 1973. Purchased three Randalls in 1968. I switched off carrying the #1 and the #2 pictured below. The third Randall is the Jim Thorpe Bowie also in the photo. I regret that I sold the big bowie recently. I picked up the other Randalls one at a time. Notice that they all are trimmed in brass and have brass butt caps and red micarta grips.



The old style trout and bird is my favorite.
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Old 06-24-2016, 05:20 PM
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I have a Randall bought in 59-61? Haven't even looked at it for 30 years or so and as I am not young, should sell. Anyone interested get in touch: [email protected]. Jerry
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Old 11-18-2016, 02:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fastguns32 View Post
I'm new to putting stuff on fourums so if I do anything wrong please let me know. The reason carbon steel is so much better, & perferred by people who have knowledge of metalurgy, other than the rust resistance aspect of stainless is- carbon is needed to make the edge hard during heat treating so it doesn't roll the way stainless does. The reason stainless is hard to get sharp and keep it that way, is because when it gets thin it wants to roll to one side or the other. That being said Randall definitely uses a better grade of stainless alloy than most. The reason stainless doesn't rust as easily as carbon steel is that oxygen attacks carbon. The more pure alloy the stainless is like say 304 the less carbon content, therefore less rust. You just can't Harden stainless the way you can high carbon steel so the cutting edge is definitely less desirable. Just like everything else nowadays people like stainless for the ease of maintenance so you don't have to worry about it so much. I would think if you spend the money on a randal that you would want to take care of it and if you ever have to use it have a much more serviceable tool. You can actually make high carbon so hard and brittle during the heat treat it will break if you drop it. That is the reason a lot of high-end knife makers use high carbon steel for the cutting edge and laminate milder steel around it for flexibility so the blade doesn't break with use but will hold an edge for a long time. I have one that I skinned a deer, split the ribcage, & butchered it, you could still shave with it. Try that with stainless & you will likely stop sometime during the process to sharpen it probably more than once.
It is not so, nearly

And the fact that stainless steel is inferior carbon,
it's just the old prejudices. It can be said - the inertia of thinking.
This statement is gone 20-30 in the early years, when the level
of steel was approximately equal of a modern stainless steel
AISI 420 (most cheap Chinese knives). Then indeed the level
of heat treatment was low and carbon steels were better.
Now the situation has changed, but the momentum bad
history about retention edge has remained.

There is one more thing, while steel, as now 420, was 0.4-0.5% carbon. Most of the carbon blades that time correspond to
the steel 0.6-0.9% carbon. Their comparison is simply not correct.

It all depends on the quality of heat treatment.
You can harden steel 440A, 440B or 440C
with using cryotechnology, thermal cycling
and other special techniques, so that the edge retention
is better than most carbon steels.
Wherein this is easy sharpening. If we consider the modern
powder steel, it features much more capabilities.
But it is quite expensive. You can compare the prices of
standard industrial knives, for example, knives Phil Wilson,
Bob Dozier and other custom masters from same steel
and then compare the results of the real work him.
Industrial knives are behind.

According to my observations, Randall makes a high-quality heat treatment. I do not see much difference between stainless 440B and O-1 in retaining edge.
In this case there is one point O-1 have ~1% C.
440B have 0.75-0.95% C - such variation laid down
in the standard for this steel. So I do not rule out that sometimes Randall knives made of stainless steel can
be a little bit softer or harder, depending on the instance,
which naturally affects the edge resistance.

There is also another factor that rare mentions - this quality of sharpening and sharpening angle.
If you sharpen the knife on rough abrasive - it is well cut,
but not for long. If you choose too small an abrasive,
the knife good cuts tree, but the skin, the fat,
film on the meat it will just slip as if blunt.
Sharpening is also very interesting topic, bit of an art,
akin to cast bullets and weighing required number of homemade black gunpowder.

Now I bought a rare version Buck 110 with S30V.
A very good stainless steel. I use it in city like EDC
and as an additional assistant for my Randall 3-5.
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:34 PM
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I have never used this Randall, but I'm sure this WW2 era Randall saw a lot of use. Does anyone have one like this?
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:51 PM
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Hard to say, like a fake in my opinion..

But I'm not a pro, pro here
Knifetalk Forums - Forums powered by UBB.threads™

But it is only at first glance, it is too little used, it is very rare, very-very rare.

If possible, please take a photo of the back of the sheath,
sharpening stone and handle end (pommel or butt cap, by different names)

Additional photos will help a lot. Do you have any additional documents on it?

Last edited by failbot; 11-18-2016 at 04:00 PM.
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  #149  
Old 11-18-2016, 04:03 PM
Lee's Landing Billy Lee's Landing Billy is offline
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On the wall of my gun room there is a picture of a much younger me and Bo Randall at his shop in 1981. While they finished my knife that he had them do while I waited, he took me and my wife to his house right behind the shop. Inside the door there was a Japanese sword that I guess was his security system. He treated us like we were somebody and showed us the orange groves and the little museum that has now morphed into a larger museum. I still have the first #1 I got that day. It has cut a lot of stuff I should have used something else for. I carry on my belt a #1 mini that gets used for everything that a normal person would use a knife for..no abuse for this little fellow. There are 21 others in the safes that do not get used, that's not what I bought them for. I have found a man that can get any model in any configuration that I want in 5 months instead of 5 years. He charges STRAIGHT catalog retail prices. He is a gentleman to deal with and at this writing I am waiting on 2 for Christmas to be gifts for shooting friends. Randall says in his catalog..there is no product that can not be made cheaper and more inferior. I know what happened to Mr. Randall but I wonder what happened to that nice young fellow in the picture with him??
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  #150  
Old 11-21-2016, 09:18 AM
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mic214 mic214 is offline
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I come back to this thread often to check out (And drool over) all the great knives that are posted. I figured I would add a few more photos of my Randalls.

I recently picked up a Colt New Frontier single action in .44 Special. I thought it made a great companion to my Randall 12-9 Bowie. I would like to get a set of elk horn grips for my Colt to go with the Bowie:



I carry the Bowie with me out at the ranch when I am checking fences. We do come across a snake or two out there:


Even though I love my large Bowie, I find myself carrying the Model 5 on a day to day basis:



Here is the Model 16 in action that I gave to my daughter and son-in-law on their wedding day:


My son is getting married next July, so the Model 14 will be handed down to them.....

Last edited by mic214; 08-24-2018 at 06:51 PM.
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beretta, casull, centennial, colt, engraver, heiser, kit gun, leather, lock, micarta, military, model 1, model 14, model 16, model 26, model 29, model 40, randall, ruger, scope, sig arms, stag, tulsa, wwii

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