Randall Made Knives are a collection of the most valued collectibles among real knife buffs. The business is well known for creating a collection of the best hand-made blades worldwide.
History of Randall Made Knives
W.D. "Bo" Randall started making blades in his spare time. He rapidly learned to hand-craft exceptional-quality forged blades for various outdoor uses. He started marketing them casually in the era prior to World War II.
In the early stages of the war, a journalist was introduced to these blades and printed an article about Bo. This led to overpowering interest and forced Bo into the knife-making business full time. This worked out to be lucky for knife buffs!
Randall continued to hand-craft every knife despite the demand and lure of mass-producing his merchandise. He received more positive attention throughout WWII as a handful of war heroes, including Ronald Reagan, carried his knives.
Subsequent to the war, Bo was contacted by NASA to create a survival knife for its early-stage space program. The result was one of Randall's best-known knives -- The Model #17 also known as the "Astro".
Bo Randall passed away in 1989, but left his firm in the competent hands of son Gary. Today, Randall Knives enjoys an excellent reputation for creating some of the finest hand-made blades around the world. Their products are genuine collectibles, frequently escalating in resale value instantly after purchase.
The Knives
Randall produces over fifty styles, some of which have been in production for many years. The knives fall into several categories: Outdoorsman knives are for hunting, fishing and all-purpose wilderness tasks. The Model #5 and #25 "Trapper" are in this department.
Seawater blades are for underwater tasks, fishing and common utility use. The "Salt Fisherman" and Model 16 "Diver" are the most popular items in this category. Survival blades include the famous #17 "Astro" and #18 "Attack And Survival". Military style blades include the #15 "Airman" and the #14 "Attack". Bowie knives include the #12 "Bear Bowie" and #13 "Arkansas Toothpick".
Knife Construction
The method that Randall Made uses to create blades has been advancing as time goes by. The present technique consists of seventeen steps. It's a tiresome procedure, but the final result is an extraordinary product. The steel is high-carbon and is hand made to fit strict specifications. The knife that appears is polished repeatedly. You can visit Randall's website if you are interested in delving deeper into the process.
Where to Buy Randall Knives
If you're looking into buying a Randall Knife, there are several ways to go about it. If you have the patience to wait for it, you may add yourself to the purchase list on Randall's web page and get your knife in five years or so. Alternately, you can find an authorized Randall distributor. However, as these distributors are strictly limited in the number of items they can purchase from Randall, the specific knife you want is likely to not be carried. For customers who want a specific model, or need a knife sooner, the only alternative is to find one on eBay.
You'll find plenty of Randall Knives available on eBay -- many new, some used. You might have to search around just a bit to identify the ideal blade, but you will almost always find what you're searching for. Be sure to check the seller's feedback rating before committing to buy -- you'll prefer to deal with a person who has obtained a 98% rating or more.
Learn More about Randall Knives
Randall blades are so popular, there are multiple books written about them: an excellent reference book by Sheldon and Edna Wickersham, "Randall Military Models" by Robert E. Hunt and "Randall Made Knives: The History Of The Man And The Blades" from Bob Gaddis.
For a rough rundown of Randall Made Knives, check out the Wikipedia's entry on Randall Knives. It's brief, but does offer up a few references to more definitive pages.
About the Author
Greg R. is a knife buff and amateur historian. He's also a regular author at OnlyKnives, where he loves to offer opinions about top-notch knives like those from Randall Made.
His writings have been published and recognized far and wide, so check out his thoughts on all types of outdoor blades, pocket knives and more.