Anyone actually use a Randall Knife

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.

29aholic said:

I have gotten about five likes on this recently so I figured I would bump it back up.

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MAKE IT 6!

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

lawandorder said:

........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.

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That looks very similar to the one I posted in the OP...nice!!!

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.

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...

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.

29aholic said:

That looks very similar to the one I posted in the OP...nice!!!

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Solingen blade?

Mule Packer said:

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...

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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.

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

randall #15 tenite

29aholic said:

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.

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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.

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.

stainless vs carbon steel

Marksman said:

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.

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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.

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...... ; )

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.............

My Randall model 10-3, is the hardest knife I have ever sharpened.

This is not the same stainless used in swiss army knives.

VoodooSan said:

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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That's a beauty!

I spent a lot of time (And money!) at the SF Gun Exchange back in the day......

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

crsides said:

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

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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:

"Solingen blade?"

Yes it is.