Help with this Old Randall?

J

Jeff wentworth

Joined
Nov 10, 2020
Messages
4
Hi! I posted this somewhere else but didn't get a response. Hoping someone can help me . I thought I'd ask for some help from you guys in identifying my knife. This knife was give to me by my wife's grandmother. Her 2nd husband was Doug (see engraved in knife). As always, there's what you know and what you hear.

Here's what I know:
Doug was an amazing man. He would take my wife's grandmother (my kid's great grandmother) to his war pilots reunion. She said the general who started the Tigers' family would show. He loved her so and he used to play guitar for her and tell stories of he and his friends "over the hump". This was his 2nd wife and they married late so we don't have any relationships with them although I found a post in Linkdin that talks about him and other flying tiger pilots.

Here's what I've been told:
He flew for the Flying Tigers. He flew in China against the Japanese protecting supply runs(for China) "over the hump". I was told that's WWII but I don't know how he got this knife because it seems based upon what you guys say here that this wouldn't fit the vintage. I was also told he served in Korea so that might be it but I don't know if that's correct.

Anyway, my wife's grandmother gave this to me hoping I could use it on my elk hunting trips. I pulled it out on one of the trips and an old timer told me to put it away, "that's not what this knife is for". Anyway, here it is:


This info is all I have. Very scattered.

uldo8kB

https://i.imgur.com/uldo8kB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/tbAiEN8.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/pmFOXA9.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ZLOlUSj.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/uldo8kB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/kmZuqw8.jpg
 
Looks to be a Model 15 Airman with the Solingen Germany blade. If it is then not WW2, but late 50s early 60s more like.
 
A quick canter through the t'interwebs makes it seem like this is a Randall Model 15 Airman. Solingen, green Tenite handle, probably late 50s to early 60s.
I am no expert, nor do I claim to be, but if you search with those terms (Solingen Randall 15 Tenite) that's pretty much all I see.
 
Pretty sure it is in the 60's when Randall could not meet the demand for his knives to men going to Vietnam, he sourced the blades for some models from Germany. John
 
You might want to post it on the Randall Collectors forum. Go to the Manufacturer's Forum, then to the Collectors Forum, and you will find the Randall Collectors Forum. Again pretty sure you will find it was made during the Vietnam War as Randall could not meet the demands for his knives so outsourced the blades from Germany. John
 
John A. Larsen said:
You might want to post it on the Randall Collectors forum. Go to the Manufacturer's Forum, then to the Collectors Forum, and you will find the Randall Collectors Forum. Again pretty sure you will find it was made during the Vietnam War as Randall could not meet the demands for his knives so outsourced the blades from Germany. John
Click to expand...

Melvin-Purvis is an expert on Randalls.
 
I sit corrected, as I found a article written by Pete Hamilton who was a past shop foreman at Randall. He says the German Solingen made blades first showed up in the Randall catalog in 1954. Another source, a book on Randall says 1953 to 1954, so it is very possible that this knife was from that era. Apparently the two models were the Model 14 and Model 15. John
 
That is a green Tenite model, very scarce. So yes, put it away, and don't let anyone try to buy it.

Here's the '61 catalog (last few paragraphs in the 15 description) -

1961_P6A.jpg
.

That screwed in Tenite model disappears by the mid 60's catalogs. I wish they'd offer that style again in micarta.

Edit - 1954 catalog showing them -

1954_P7C.JPG
.

And the sheath -

1954_P9A.JPG
.
 
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