Blade Blasphemy: Are Randall Knives Users?

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VorpelSword said:
For as expensive as these knives have become, I would think that offering high alloy steels could be a lucrative add-on option with a commensurate mark-up.
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Just a minor point, but as Randall forge their blades, not all (any?) of the new super steels may be suited for the process.
 
Quiet said:
And if we're being honest, if a big fighting knife was what met "the needs of warfighters in the modern battlefield", they'd be issued. Last I checked, they aren't. Sooo...?
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My troop had 110 m9 and 10 m7 bayonets. They were in a box in the arms room, and were dutifully pulled out once a year to be counted and then put right back where they went.
VorpelSword said:
No, indeed; I cannot. My experience is merely anecdotal. I only know that in Feb-March of 2004, the powers that be, whoever they were then at 3rd LAR Bn in 29 Palms down-checked the Randall for field use as too shiny. That was enough. I was deeply disappointed (and other things) to find that Randall Made wouldn't work with me on that. In the end, the fix was a simple thing that a home-garage gunsmith did overnight, pro bono. I bought and sent off a CRK "Green Beret" ASAP, and {they" allowed that knife into the field, in as-bought condition.


"Secondly:" USMC issues a bayonet with an 8-inch blade, replacing the M-7 and M-9 bayonets with the OKC-3S; a little bigger than either the Randall or CRK knives.
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If they think a knife in a scabbard is shiney, wait until they see how reflective a belt of .50 or an LRAS3 lens is. If you could do it in your garage.... why get pissed that a non custom knife maker wasn't doing custom knives? Like... if it didn't suit your needs, why buy the darn thing in the first place? The wal-mart tactical knives that my squaddies carried were painted black, I guess I should have bought one of those instead of a Randall...
Quiet said:
Also, that's interesting that USMC issues a bayonet, because that was news to a couple of my friends who both got out around four years ago (both of whom were in a combat MOS) and neither of them were issued a bayonet. Perhaps that's a new thing. That's neither here nor there, of course.
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I don't honestly think that any given Joe would have known we had Bayonets or Shotguns, they never left the arms room.
VorpelSword said:
Apologies to all Randall supporters. Your passion and brand loyalty is admirable
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I'm a Busse fanboy, not a Randall fanboy. You're just salty about a minor customer service issue from three presidents ago. There's nothing to be made right-- They're not a custom knife shop, have a limited number of options, are pretty open about this, and go out of their way to get knives to troops in the field. That some Captain or whatever told your son he couldn't carry a knife that's too shiny doesn't mean that a shiny knife was only combat effective from 2000bc-2003ad. Randall's aren't the best, aren't the most flashy, aren't the most technologically advanced.... they aren't a lot of things. But they are a quality knife that maintains it's value that will do anything and everything a soldier in a warzone could ask of it. I'd rather have a Randall than a Busse in a knife fight, though the Busse is indisputably tougher than the Randall (they even coat them, so obviously they're better!).
 
VorpelSword said:
Apologies to all Randall supporters. Your passion and brand loyalty is admirable. Yes, I guess I am still pissed-off that Randall Made wouldn't make it right at the time. It is now some eighteen years ago, and I should move on. If I were to look for an heirloom quality knife as a gift to mark a milestone birthday for someone, I will again consider a Randall Made knife, this time with stag, engraved initials and so on.

If I am ever again faced with supporting a loved one about to ship out to an active war zone (Heven forbid), I'll have a better idea what to do.
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As indicated by my earlier comments, I am not a huge fan of Randall but there was no wrong for them to make right. They sell shiny knives. You bought a shiny knife. You got a shiny knife. Stop being a Karen.
 
Niddhogg said:
My troop had 110 m9 and 10 m7 bayonets. They were in a box in the arms room, and were dutifully pulled out once a year to be counted and then put right back where they went.

If they think a knife in a scabbard is shiney, wait until they see how reflective a belt of .50 or an LRAS3 lens is. If you could do it in your garage.... why get pissed that a non custom knife maker wasn't doing custom knives? Like... if it didn't suit your needs, why buy the darn thing in the first place? The wal-mart tactical knives that my squaddies carried were painted black, I guess I should have bought one of those instead of a Randall...

I don't honestly think that any given Joe would have known we had Bayonets or Shotguns, they never left the arms room.

I'm a Busse fanboy, not a Randall fanboy. You're just salty about a minor customer service issue from three presidents ago. There's nothing to be made right-- They're not a custom knife shop, have a limited number of options, are pretty open about this, and go out of their way to get knives to troops in the field. That some Captain or whatever told your son he couldn't carry a knife that's too shiny doesn't mean that a shiny knife was only combat effective from 2000bc-2003ad. Randall's aren't the best, aren't the most flashy, aren't the most technologically advanced.... they aren't a lot of things. But they are a quality knife that maintains it's value that will do anything and everything a soldier in a warzone could ask of it. I'd rather have a Randall than a Busse in a knife fight, though the Busse is indisputably tougher than the Randall (they even coat them, so obviously they're better!).
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Different units, different armies. We had bayonets issued almost every time our rifles were issued. We even shot with them attached on regular range days a few times, because the sergeants wanted us to appreciate the difference in the barrel weight for target shooting. I think that by the time you're at the point of fixing bayonets or pulling out a knife, you're well past the point of caring about how shiny the blade is anymore.
 
craytab said:
I'm emotionally invested in people not expecting apples to be oranges 😁
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Ive thought about Randalls position on this. You wanted them to buy a bead blast cabinet for their shop, not to mention the compressor to run it. If they even have space for it.

To modify the knife that was exactly like you ordered. To meet some arbitrary unofficial rule. Taking time and effort away from making more knives for other service men.

After they made him what in their opnion was the finest fighting knife ever forged. Did they rush the order through for you?

And the modification was a 1 minute fix for a guy who was set up for it.

I understand your anger is real, but it is not justified. Get over it.
 
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Watching some videos and reading articles on Go-Bags or Bug-out kits or cache-stashes from preppers and such: They won't blink an eye at recommending some really expensive gear. Not just firearms, but all the stuff clamped on as well. Either its one item that gets my attention or maybe its the total trunk full of high-end stuff in an SUV. . .but its often a bundle.

These are folks who spend a lot of time thinking through these choices. The premise is always something like. " . . .tour life depends on it . . .". They NEVEWR recommend a Randall knife of any sort.

During the worst of the lockdown here in Texas back in 2020, I watched several seasons of a survival show. They often used some significant knife to create shelter and cut fuel or prep game. It was never a Randall that I could see.

The professionals do not seem to view Randall Made products as tools for use when the chips are down.
 
Sorry but preppers and tv personalities are not necessarily professionals.

Still even i get what you are saying. The closest comparison i can think of is a Rolex Submariner. I bet you didn't see any of those in the prepper go bags or the survival shows either.

The bottom line is i can get a forged knife for about 3 times the cost of its stamped out counterpart. I will take the forged knife.

Base model Randalls are actually very reasonably priced until you trick them out with exotic handles. Its the wait that seems to put people off more than anything.

Interesting that there is only one picture of a broken Randall on the entire internet. Is that because tgey are superior? Or because there aren't that many of them being used? Who knows?
 
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eveled said:
And the modification was a 1 minute fix for a guy who was set up for it.

I understand your anger is real, but it is not justified. Get over it.
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Your suggestion that i "get over itr" is well meant, I am sure. I find that I am now trying to work through it. As Ms. Clinton once so famously said, "What, at this point, does it matter?". and regarding my now eighteen-year-old issue, she is right.

At the time, aCK IN 2004, there was a sense of national urgency and support for our service men and women. They were widly viewed as first responders and given the same respect given to the firefighters, policed and volunteers who acted on 9/11 and its aftermath. There was an attitude of, "whatever=it-takes". That Randall Made couldn't do the job in-house is understandable. In corresponding with them I asked for other options from them such as a trusted (by them) third party shop or just suggesting a process for me to explore on my own. They wouldn't. Nothing from them. The hope on my side was that whatever the fix turned out to be it would be sanctioned by Randall Made. That I might have had to pay extra was not a consideration for me. My local guy dropped working on a high dollar custom rifle he was building for another man to deal with this issue. I expected to pay him his top-dollar custom gunsmith by-the-hour rate. He wouldn't take it.

The assertion that the knife was just as ordered is correct. Back in 1998 or 2000 when I ordered the knife, no one had any premonition that foreign forces would attack us with four jumbo jets or that our troops would be actively engaged in Iraq or Afghanistan in large numbers. At that time, no one thought that the Hummers would need heavy armor and a gun turret eitherr. When those needs became imperative folks did things to make the changes. A local radio station here in Houston raised money for and facilitated the shipment of what was necessary (materials and tools) to Iraq for up-armoring a significant number of Hummers. I was surprised that Randall Made had no similar sense of urgency or support for our warfighters.

Oh yeah . . .and the Marines didn't like the waxed black leather sheath either.
 
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VorpelSword said:
The professionals do not seem to view Randall Made products as tools for use when the chips are down.
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They need instant gratification on a Blade that's readily available, not one they have to wait 5 years to receive or recommend to the audience.

When I was a punk kid in '68 and went to Nam I had a Randall #1, Uncle Sams Misguided Children(USMC) didn't care, nobody seemed to notice except my Gunny Sgt who wished he had one. That Knife survived and is now Retired along side my Medals as a reminder of my service time. If it was good enough then it's good enough now.
 
I get what you are saying and I remember those times vividly. I appreciate your sons service.

The first Randall I ever saw was given to a Marine Sergeant friend of mine as he shipped off to Desert Storm. A Vietnam used model 1. It was engraved with the owners name. He was told to use it hard with no worries about losing or breaking it. But to return it to its owner if it came home.

My friend and the Randall returned unscathed. The original owner sent it back to Randall and had my friends name engraved under his. Then gave it to my friend to keep.

He used it for the next 20 plus years until he retired.
 
I think their knives are good and well made but i would never wait 6 years for their waiting list no knife is worth that wait i guess the secondary markets the best way to go..
 
VorpelSword said:
Your suggestion that i "get over itr" is well meant, I am sure. I find that I am now trying to work through it. As Ms. Clinton once so famously said, "What, at this point, does it matter?". and regarding my now eighteen-year-old issue, she is right.

At the time, aCK IN 2004, there was a sense of national urgency and support for our service men and women. They were widly viewed as first responders and given the same respect given to the firefighters, policed and volunteers who acted on 9/11 and its aftermath. There was an attitude of, "whatever=it-takes". That Randall Made couldn't do the job in-house is understandable. In corresponding with them I asked for other options from them such as a trusted (by them) third party shop or just suggesting a process for me to explore on my own. They wouldn't. Nothing from them. The hope on my side was that whatever the fix turned out to be it would be sanctioned by Randall Made. That I might have had to pay extra was not a consideration for me. My local guy dropped working on a high dollar custom rifle he was building for another man to deal with this issue. I expected to pay him his top-dollar custom gunsmith by-the-hour rate. He wouldn't take it.

The assertion that the knife was just as ordered is correct. Back in 1998 or 2000 when I ordered the knife, no one had any premonition that foreign forces would attack us with four jumbo jets or that our troops would be actively engaged in Iraq or Afghanistan in large numbers. At that time, no one thought that the Hummers would need heavy armor and a gun turret eitherr. When those needs became imperative folks did things to make the changes. A local radio station here in Houston raised money for and facilitated the shipment of what was necessary (materials and tools) to Iraq for up-armoring a significant number of Hummers. I was surprised that Randall Made had no similar sense of urgency or support for our warfighters.

Oh yeah . . .and the Marines didn't like the waxed black leather sheath either.
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So you basically saying the problem was one Marine CO was being unreasonable. A waxed black leather sheath sounds like a good idea for any kind of jungle use. I have no idea why it would not work in the desert.
 
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Are Randall knives users? I hate to say it, but that's really a dumb quetion. If they weren't, we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place.

The Marines didn't tell him he couldn't use his Randall, his commanding officer told him it was too shiny for desert work. Had the sheath been kydex, the same officer would also likely have told him it makes too much noise.

Too shiny? Too noisy? Certainly possible, even if unlikely. But, a good officer will know about minimizing risks.
 
Re-reading these 6+ pages of comments, I see that at times I have let myself criticize the knife itself. My dissatisfaction is/was less about the knife itself and more with the lack k of response from the Randall Made outfit even at the very top of the organization.

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Along another line of thought: I have never served in the Armed Forces of the US. Many of my classmates from high school did as have many of my friends found in adulthood. From 1991 through 2001 i worked at a major VA teaching hospital doing cardiac treadmill testing with isotopes and other similar imaging procedures. In that time, I got to know service men and women from all periods from 1939 through 2002 or so.

Many of the patients that came my way could easily have been my father, Uncle, or classmate. After six months or so my daily work ceased to be "just a job." I have a deep respect and appreciation for those who have served our country.

Please understand that I respect their opinions and preferences based on their experience and service. Based on my exposure to several hundred veterans a year from a significant slice of our military history, it is evident that there are constants; similar things experienced by each warfighter regardless of the year. Yet there are significant differences in the details. the how and what-with. What was "good enough" in December of 1941 was different from the "As good as we can do right now" in June of 1945.

A close friend viewed a few photos of our son in Iraq in 2005, and this was his immediate reaction: "Wow! Look at that web gear. We never had anything like that in Viet Nam." It is hard to tell from that image, but a close look shows the Randall #16-1 in a sheath on a drop-leg rig. And after the high polish had been bead-blared to a dull grey, it was again deemed to be "good enough" for EDC in a combat zone in the 21st Century.
 
I love the new argument that a certain brand of knife isn’t good or user grade if you don’t see it being used on TV

😂👏🏻

You’ve succeeded in making your position on the subject even dumber now. Of course you could just trust Bear Gryls and buy cheap ass clamshell knives from Walmart to use, I mean, he survives everything on TV because of them.
 
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