Randall Made Knives - My newest addiction. (Pic Heavy)

[45Wheelgun]

3 months ago I didn't own a Randall knife. Then a friend gave me one in exchange for some work I had done. That was a fateful moment.

This November while in Orlando visiting Universal I had the opportunity to visit the Randall knife shop. What a great experience that is. It only made the sickness worse.

With the help of Rick Bowles our forum's resident Randall Made Knife expert (Randall Dealer as well as Randall's Official Scrimshander) I have now managed to have the start of a mini Randall Knife collection.

This was the first knife a #3-7:

Next up is a special knife that Rick was able to secure for me. I have several guns from the Redburn Collection so I was very pleased to secure this from the collection as well - a #12-9 with a #14 Grind:

Then somehow I came across three more...they are kind of like potato chips...

#1-7

#27

#14

And a few "artsy" pictures:

I you can see I have dove off the deep end. I couldn't have done it without Rick's help. I look forward to the next Randall in my future. Five in three months...I might have to wait a bit.

I think the Redburn knife is my favorite, but it is really hard to judge.

 

[BearBio]

The misses just got a Randall carving set to go with her new kitchen for Christmas.

 

[s&wchad]

Wow, very nice!

It looks like the first two have Johnson roughback sheaths and all have carbon steel blades. Does your friend recommend wax or oil?

 

[opaul]

Very nice indeed sir, thanks for sharing!

 

[rburg]

Its a sickness. I have no solution for you.

About 1990 I picked up a pair, as in two, of the carving sets. At that time my goal was to use them as wedding presents for my two sons. Didn't work that way. A few years later one of my buddies was getting married. His uncle had worked for Randall for years and years. I knew he'd appreciate the set so I gave it to them. Its been 20 years now and they still say its the best wedding present they got. And only one of 2 they even remember.

So time moves along. Somewhere in that period I came up with a pair of individual steak knives. Then I saw another and then another of the 6-4" knives and bought them. Life was good. But the 2 different pairs of individual knives were never together. One set lives in the plastic tub that serves as a casket for my other Randalls. But 2 of them live in a backpack that travels on vacation with us. Then a couple of months ago a knife purveyor came up with a single knife. So I bought it.

And then the other carving set went to a neighbor who got married. Yeah, it was a nice present. I don't think he or his bride knew what it was (except a knife and fork, with sharpening steel). Her father clued them in. And even I didn't know what the current value on ebay was. Nor did I care.

Gunshows are a good place to buy one from time to time. Last weekend we were sitting at our table, fat, dumb and happy. And along a guy comes with an older Model 14 in a smooth back sheath. He wanted $350 for it, so I ponied up the funds. It looks all the world like sheath and spacers on my Solingen fighter. I guess that means 1970s or 80s production. I guess that was cheap enough. So I went home with another new knife.

And now the question becomes when I eventually croak, who's going to help her dispose of all this junk? I know cheating widows and children is the time honored tradition among gun nuts. I guess she could set up a WalMart card table out front and sell them to passersby for $10 or so each...

 

[rburg]

Oh, the OP. Don't cut a watermelon with the 3-7 mild steel blade. It doesn't do well. I know because sometime about 10 years ago we were in the desert, near Green River, UT. One of our group was a guy with a pickup truck. So as we exited the interstate, he pulled into a convenience store and bought 2 big bags of crushed ice. Nothing unusual, except the guy seemed really intelligent (unlike me). And instead of dumping them in his cooler he just tossed them in the bed. It was summer in the desert. The temp when we pulled into Utah was 114. So his plan, half baked as it was, included a fruit stand down the road. There he bought a really big and nice looking watermelon. Then he put it in his oversized cooler and dumped the ice in and around the melon.

So off we went into the wilds. I really wanted to see the black dragon, as in the namesake of Black Dragon Canyon. No joy. But after hours and hours of driving we pulled up under the huge I-70 bridges that carried traffic over head. And it was then we discovered no one had a knife to cut the melon. But the light in my tiny brain clicked on and with some searching out came my 3-7. Paid no attention to the mild steel status, we needed that ice cold melon divyed up, right then. Think temps over 100, cold melon. OK, it really was the best melon I'd ever tasted. So we all drove off, refreshed and happy. A few weeks later we got home and unpacked the jeep. And there was the knife, a little worse for wear. The melon juice, even if wiped off, turned into a really nice bluing solution.

But a little Flitz removed most of the discoloration. Rules you learn the hard way sometimes are the ones that stick.

 

[RonJ]

Can you afford groceries now?

 

[BearBio]

Its a sickness. I have no solution for you.

About 1990 I picked up a pair, as in two, of the carving sets. At that time my goal was to use them as wedding presents for my two sons. Didn't work that way. A few years later one of my buddies was getting married. His uncle had worked for Randall for years and years. I knew he'd appreciate the set so I gave it to them. Its been 20 years now and they still say its the best wedding present they got. And only one of 2 they even remember.

So time moves along. Somewhere in that period I came up with a pair of individual steak knives. Then I saw another and then another of the 6-4" knives and bought them. Life was good. But the 2 different pairs of individual knives were never together. One set lives in the plastic tub that serves as a casket for my other Randalls. But 2 of them live in a backpack that travels on vacation with us. Then a couple of months ago a knife purveyor came up with a single knife. So I bought it.

And then the other carving set went to a neighbor who got married. Yeah, it was a nice present. I don't think he or his bride knew what it was (except a knife and fork, with sharpening steel). Her father clued them in. And even I didn't know what the current value on ebay was. Nor did I care.

Gunshows are a good place to buy one from time to time. Last weekend we were sitting at our table, fat, dumb and happy. And along a guy comes with an older Model 14 in a smooth back sheath. He wanted $350 for it, so I ponied up the funds. It looks all the world like sheath and spacers on my Solingen fighter. I guess that means 1970s or 80s production. I guess that was cheap enough. So I went home with another new knife.

And now the question becomes when I eventually croak, who's going to help her dispose of all this junk? I know cheating widows and children is the time honored tradition among gun nuts. I guess she could set up a WalMart card table out front and sell them to passersby for $10 or so each...

Just to show you how wrong you are about us......I'll give her $25 apiece, right now!

 

[45Wheelgun]

Wow, very nice!

It looks like the first two have Johnson roughback sheaths and all have carbon steel blades. Does your friend recommend wax or oil?

Yes the first two are older knives, the #3-7 is from the 70/71 according to Randall, I'm not sure about the #12-9, but it has the white compass so it is older. The others are modern.

Rick recommends Renaissance Wax.

 

[BlackAgnes]

I ordered these (most of 'em) back in the 1970s. When my kids were born, I ordered each of them a Trout and Bird Randall--they are in their 30s now and I just ordered one for my first grandchild.

How the time flies.

The Model 14 at the 5 o'clock position went with me when I deployed to the Colombian jungle. At 100 degrees and 100% humidity--that knife rusted every damn day, and every day I carded it off with some gun oil so it wouldn't pit. The finger grooves were pretty sharp, so I sandpapered them smoother. Heresy, eh?

An indig army type offered to trade me his hat for it. Right.

I can't afford them anymore and I'd hate to sell them, so I hope the kids and their kids get a kick out of them--that's where they're going!





Tim

 

[Nightowl]

First off, about the only thing I really know about Randall's is that they are beautiful knives, and expensive. My question is what is that makes them so great, and expensive. Style? durability? hold an edge? More?

I really would love to have one, but already have a bunch of knives I will never use, and would rather pay $700 for a new gun than a knife. Just wondering.

 

[Cyrano]

The first one's my only Randall, and probably the only one I'll ever have. Thes second one was a Chistmas present for my son this year.

 

[jubela#4]

They are certainly an addiction. You have some nice Randalls there. The amber colored stag looks great!

 

[rburg]

First off, about the only thing I really know about Randall's is that they are beautiful knives, and expensive. My question is what is that makes them so great, and expensive. Style? durability? hold an edge? More?

I really would love to have one, but already have a bunch of knives I will never use, and would rather pay $700 for a new gun than a knife. Just wondering.

Your first paragraph pretty well covered the field. They've pretty well set the standard for all those things. Its pretty much how a fine knife should look and perform. Even the sheath is top notch (try buying a well made sheath some time, it will cost more than a lesser knife!) Randall has never really been the one to make new and untested things. They just adopt and then do it better. Not even a custom knife, its a factory semi custom kind of deal. You can order options, but it also takes about 5 years now to get the knife you order today. There is a shortcut. You buy your knife through an authorized dealer. He's got places in line reserved. He can change his reservation to the knife you want and even add in options you need.

Its how the knife business seems to work. The factory doesn't add capacity, they just plod along. Kind of like the 22 ammo business, except you can find a Randall (just not at WalMart.)

Randall knives are interesting to say the least. Like an RM, everyone should own one. If you're only going to own one knife, it might as well be the best (see a Filson garment ad.) The reality is folks who only own one usually own junk. Make your own mind up.

I have this image in my little mind. Some guys are out in the field hunting. Up by the parking area is a guy with a levi jacket. His pants are down like a plumber, he's got a cheap flea market survival knife, about a foot long in a plastic sheath. His shotgun is a streetsweeper. Then out in the middle of the field is a guy with a Carhartt jacket, a Chinese made Buck, and a Remington 870. And our last guy is hunting the fencerow. He's got the Filson jacket on. He's got his Randall #8 on his belt, and a Browning double.

OK, which 2 probably have a hunting license and are using appropriate size shot for the day?

 

[Malpasowildlifer]

Great Randalls, I'll have to post mine

 

[Nightowl]

Your first paragraph pretty well covered the field. They've pretty well set the standard for all those things. Its pretty much how a fine knife should look and perform. Even the sheath is top notch (try buying a well made sheath some time, it will cost more than a lesser knife!) Randall has never really been the one to make new and untested things. They just adopt and then do it better. Not even a custom knife, its a factory semi custom kind of deal. You can order options, but it also takes about 5 years now to get the knife you order today. There is a shortcut. You buy your knife through an authorized dealer. He's got places in line reserved. He can change his reservation to the knife you want and even add in options you need.

Its how the knife business seems to work. The factory doesn't add capacity, they just plod along. Kind of like the 22 ammo business, except you can find a Randall (just not at WalMart.)

Randall knives are interesting to say the least. Like an RM, everyone should own one. If you're only going to own one knife, it might as well be the best (see a Filson garment ad.) The reality is folks who only own one usually own junk. Make your own mind up.

I have this image in my little mind. Some guys are out in the field hunting. Up by the parking area is a guy with a levi jacket. His pants are down like a plumber, he's got a cheap flea market survival knife, about a foot long in a plastic sheath. His shotgun is a streetsweeper. Then out in the middle of the field is a guy with a Carhartt jacket, a Chinese made Buck, and a Remington 870. And our last guy is hunting the fencerow. He's got the Filson jacket on. He's got his Randall #8 on his belt, and a Browning double.

OK, which 2 probably have a hunting license and are using appropriate size shot for the day?

Dick: Thank you for your response.

Nightowl

 

[chief38]

These Randall knives are absolutely beautiful! I know a bunch of people who collect them but can't say I know anyone who actually uses one. They are almost too pretty to use........

 

[Texas Star]

These Randall knives are absolutely beautiful! I know a bunch of people who collect them but can't say I know anyone who actually uses one. They are almost too pretty to use........

I used a Model 3, and my son used a Model 14 in Iraq.

An outdoor writer named Erwin Bauer used a Model 3 or a Model 7; I forget which. Many others see use. Aha! I think Leonard Lee Rue had a Model 3 with 7-inch blade and Bauer had a Model 7. Neiher seems to still be writing. The late John Wootters, Jr. knew a LOT about knives and wrote about them. He had Randalls, but moved on to what he felt were better made knives of better steels.

Today, I'd still buy a Randall. They do have their own appeal. But I'd use a Fallkniven in the field, or a Buck, if funds were limited.

Still, I'd very much like to have a Model 5 with Micarta handle and wrist thong, in stainless. Five-inch blade, partly for legal reasons where I live. (The equivaalent Fallkniven is Model S-1, or they have a leather-handled version in their NL line. The NL line have leather handles much like Randalls.

I've handled and owned some very fine knives, but can say with conviction that very few hold their value like a Randall.
You can almost always sell them for more than you paid. The downside is, you'll miss that knife!

 

[BearBio]

Simply put, they are almost, positively, undoubtedly the best knife in the world. In almost every poll I've seen, they are always rated the top. Handmade, exquisite, durable.

In 71-72, almost EVERY Special Forces, Air Cav trooper or Ranger I met had one. A LRRP friend told me one of his mates drove one through an NVAs skull. Most knives will break before they penetrate a skull! I did see guys open 50 gallon drums for use as latrines with a Number 1.

I've done several elk, a few deer and a lot of wild pigs with my Number8 and Number 23. Porcupine got the handle on the 23, so I re-stocked it in buffalo horn to match my Blackhawk And I still use it today (30 years later)

 

[Texas Star]

First off, about the only thing I really know about Randall's is that they are beautiful knives, and expensive. My question is what is that makes them so great, and expensive. Style? durability? hold an edge? More?

I really would love to have one, but already have a bunch of knives I will never use, and would rather pay $700 for a new gun than a knife. Just wondering.

THey're tough, they do hold an edge well (although not as well as some other expensive benchmade knives) and they look good and hold their value. They 're well designed for their purposes. And they're an art form. And they're a legend.