#17 - Astro

flava

flava

Joined
Mar 3, 2000
Messages
2,785
Ordered in december 2003, got it this evening :)
Feels surprisingly good in hand, balances almost on the guard, a tad handle heavy. The sheath is well made, as usual with Randall.
Perfectible blade finish and edge, I had better on a #1 I got a few years ago. If I wanted to use it I'd definitely sharpen it first.
Anyway, it's a nice little knife with a cool history.

 
Nice Model 17.:thumbup: I've been thinking about ordering one my self but I want to get a Model 18 and a Buxton Fighter first.

Dan
 
I like the Astro's stainless steel guard. Wish Randall would offer these as an option on other knives.
Does anyone know why the more recent Astros have a funny "hook" on the forward part of the spine?
 
Esteban,

Where ya been bud, the #17 Astro blade grind with that funny 'hook' has been the standard offering since the early 1980's ;)

Oh yea, I 'member now, you're an 'old guy'... :eek:

Seriously though, I bet that hook is a big part of why the shop guys don't like making the Astro, or the A.G. Russell Special for that matter...

Cool knife Flava :cool:
 
The very obvious "bulge" or "hook" in the current design (shown on the single black & white Astro) is the main reason I waited quite a while before acquiring an Astro, Sheldon. A few years ago, Perry was offering an older Astro with a nicer blade shape—and JRB sheath, too. I bought it (upper of the two knives in color)—and I think the very slight bulge is fine; after all, the knives the astronauts were given didn’t have a “hook”, did they (black & white picture of seven knives)? What I would like to do is make a #15-style handle and attach it without epoxy in the Astro style (lower of the two knives in color). That way, I wouldn’t be permanently altering the knife, since the change would be totally reversible by unscrewing the handle and replacing the regular Astro scales. I’m looking for the right knife-maker to make my tenite-colored slotted epoxy block into that shape.
-Steve

survival-astro.jpg


30526-2-Astro-versions-%2895K%29.jpg


randall2
 
OMFG!!! :eek:

WOW! That potential rehandle (for lack of a better word) is ever soooo freakin' cool! If/when you find someone to do it (like the Behrings, or the guy that made up the Model #25 rehandles)...let me know, I'd like to do the same :cool:

-S
 
A friend gave me a beautiful Astro handle made by Fred Perrin (white, nicely polished, wider with finger groove). He had it made for his Astro and kept it when he eventually sold the knife.
Big surprise, it doesn't fit my Astro. His handle has 117mm, my knife's handle has 111mm. The difference is mainly in the front side, the center of the first bolt is 17mm from the guard for his handle and about 10mm on my knife.
If I cut the front 7mm on his handle, it's still not good as the tang would stick out 1mm at the butt.
Is there anyone who has this model and can make some measurements of the handle (length, distance from center of the bolts to guard respectively end of the tang)? I'm trying to figure out if Randall modified the Astro lately.
Thank you in advance. :)
 
handle length = 116 mm
distance from center of the bolts to guard = 15 mm and 85 mm
distance from center of the bolts to end of the tang = 31 mm and 101 mm
 
Thank you!
Your measurments are very close to those of that extra handle, only 2mm shorter on the front side.
I guess each Astro handle is a bit different.
 
All Randall Made Knives, after all, are hand-made, so dimensions from one to another can be expected to vary to some degree. In the case of the Astro, it seems to me that the rough handle material may very well be attached first then, together with the tang, ground to final shape and polished. This is only my guess; someone else may know better whether things work this way with the Astro.
 
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