How is the fit and finish of Randall Made Knives

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bluelighthawaii

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Aug 29, 2011
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I would like to order a Randall Made Model 16 Dive Knife. Before doing so, I wanted to know how the fit and finish is? It looks good online in the pictures people take, but never held one in the hand. Thank you.
 
They're handmade knives so there is evidence of that in the F&F.

Honestly the few Randalls I have held I have been very impressed with and I can see why people like them. At the same time there were striation marks along the spine from the hand grinding which some might complain about.
 
Order through a dealer and they will check it out before delivery. There are a couple that sell at Randall pricing that deliver within seven months. I just got a 5-4 that was perfect, and own several more. I've always been very pleased with mine, they have a distinctive look.
 
Every one that I have looked at has been very well constructed. I consider the three I own as just about perfect.
 
Lapedog said:
They're handmade knives so there is evidence of that in the F&F.

Honestly the few Randalls I have held I have been very impressed with and I can see why people like them. At the same time there were striation marks along the spine from the hand grinding which some might complain about.
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I have a brand new Model 14 in carbon that was purchased from an authorized dealer for catalog price. According to the dealer it was fresh from the Randall shop a few days prior to me buying it. That said.....I feel that the knife is crude. It is not sharp bordering on dull with a tiny little edge bevel, and the tip is blunt. The grind lines are wavy, and the whole blade is covered with "scratches". It looks like it was polished by a high school kid with a wire wheel. The finger grips have "air bubble holes from the epoxy" as per Michael Randall along the top of the tang. The whole 1/4 inch stock is misleading. Finished knives are barely .20 in thickness. Blade length is also 1/4 inch short. The dealer, and Michael Randall said "these are handmade knives they are supposed to be like that". Also if you call the Randall shop with questions regarding their knives, and speak to Michael Randall be prepared for major attitude. Good luck.
 
I bought a Randall from Nordic Knives, A camp and trail in carbon steel
I used it in a multi-knife test on manila rope along with several other handmade knives from well known makers.

The Randall paperwork says - "This knife is sharp and ready for it's intended use"
As S scottyj mentioned about, it was not sharp, bordering on dull.

I would never ever deliver a knife I made with the edge in such a condition.
The rest of the knife was fine and generally well made,

The blade and edge were too thick for my liking.
Certainly the dive knife at 1/4" will be indestructible as advertised
But I can't imagine it will actually cut anything.
I still don't understand a thick blade.

here's my writeup from the test, I was asking other maker's their thoughts on something specific
see post #20 here - sharp knife correlation (possibly)

If you are going to use the dive knife, be prepared, you might have to initially sharpen it,

regards
 
All the Randall's I've handled have been nearly butterknife dull. You're supposed to be pro enough to put your own edge on it.

They're coming out with a new series where they sell you a bar of steel and you grind away all the steel until you are left with your ideal Randall knife. This way you get a fully customized Randall to your liking!
 
scottyj said:
I have a brand new Model 14 in carbon that was purchased from an authorized dealer for catalog price. According to the dealer it was fresh from the Randall shop a few days prior to me buying it. That said.....I feel that the knife is crude. It is not sharp bordering on dull with a tiny little edge bevel, and the tip is blunt. The grind lines are wavy, and the whole blade is covered with "scratches". It looks like it was polished by a high school kid with a wire wheel. The finger grips have "air bubble holes from the epoxy" as per Michael Randall along the top of the tang. The whole 1/4 inch stock is misleading. Finished knives are barely .20 in thickness. Blade length is also 1/4 inch short. The dealer, and Michael Randall said "these are handmade knives they are supposed to be like that". Also if you call the Randall shop with questions regarding their knives, and speak to Michael Randall be prepared for major attitude. Good luck.
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Pretty much exactly what I observed, except all mine were consistently 1/10 of an inch short, not 1/4". Still 1/10" is annoying at this price...
So-called 1/4" blades were indeed 0.20" thick on my model 18, and the front half of the Model 14... Even the Model 12 was only 0.22" thick, but was far, far better made than the 18s style blades, with a sharp point geometry and excellent overall straightness and symmetry: The 12s seem a whole different level of quality level to my two 18 style blades...

Point on my 18 style Model 14 was incredibly blunt, and took two major full blade re-grinds to even be useable...

My Model 18 hollow handle had it handle off-centered to the blade (tang way more on one side), then misaligned looking down from the top, and the guard was askew to the blade axis (looking from the front) by something like 8 degrees lining up through the holes...: No, I am not kidding (have photos of it, but I have to change my photo account). It was quite strong despite the multiple layers of obvious crookedness!

Even my Clinton dagger was not perfectly lined up, on the plane of the two edges in relation to the guard axis (looking from the front), but this was slight and the Clinton was much closer to the perfection of the Model 12 than to the awfulness of the 14s and 18s...

The micarta handles were all superbly executed, but the Commando handle on the 12 was impractical

Yes, they all had the same amateurish scratchy uneven steel wool finish on all of them (which never shows up in photos, and is mildly shocking in person), but even this was better done on the 12: I had all of them painted except the 12, the Cerakoating easily obliterating this eyesore of a finish...

They are very thin-edged (0.020" at the edge) and perform superbly as a result, but they really look rough in a way that never shows in photos. They are basically rough pieces (with perfectly finished highly polished handles) meant for good function: The idea of keeping them in a safe is a bit strange given how rough the cheaper models seem to be... All mine were new recent production, and my Japanese made Cold Steel Oyabun (about $200) puts them to shame in finish: Rough steel wool spinning is exactly what it looks like, with extra ugliness here and there like inconsistent hollows partially done as a tight series of flats(!): Very rough, but fixable with a full re-grinding... Again the Model 12 had a lot of sophistication in its grinding precision (like a well-executed slight "swell" just above the edge for extra strength, this done just right throughout the edge) a sophistication that seemed absent on the comparatively crude 14s and 18s.

The dull edges mean nothing, owing the thin hollow grind on all. It is sad to think many are kept unsharpened for value, since they are quite useless as delivered...

The claimed stock thickness is true in the exposed tang of the 14, but not elsewhere: This is so severe it makes the knives quite a bit more blade light than you would expect, which hurts chopping ability... Again the Model 12 performed superbly owing its size, but would have been even better at the claimed blade thickness.

Gaston
 
I cannot thank all of you enough for the honest info. Feel a lot of support from all your feedback and the valuable information. If there is more, please feel free to keep sharing.

I really like the design of the Model 16 Dive Knife with the Border Patrol Handle. Hearing about the scratch marks in the finish, air bubbles in the epoxy, and uneven grind lines makes me apprehensive. Sadly, the few knives I did order, whether custom/semi-custom, couple were dull. Almost expect it now. Fortunately, the Curtiss F3 came extremely sharp and had excellent fit and finish.
 
My Randalls have been very sharp out of the box, but I haven't purchased one in 10 years+. Maybe things have changed. My interests shifted.
 
I would look at AG Russell and believe it or not.... Spyderco. Check out their website as they always seem to have some Randalls for sale. I have a #15 with the border patrol handle. That is my preferred handle for Randall's.
 
Gaston444 said:
They are very thin-edged (0.020" at the edge) and perform superbly as a result,

Gaston
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It's always awkward to respond when I see things like this....,
but I have to ask how you can say or think that .02 is thin edged?

have you ever tried anything thinner?
I haven't made a knife thicker than .008 at the edge.
 
Fit is fine. Finish is shruggable, I've seen worse from some higher end makers and I've seen better from lesser knowns. Sharpness on the ones that I've handled from the last decade has been decent, I'd class it as toothy on most. As mentioned above, they sorta shoot for something in the middle, and expect the user to fine tune it. Where the Randall line shines is with design.

I'd advise you to go to knife and gun shows in your area if possible, and actually handle them. Handle shape options can totally change the feel sometimes.

Not sure if you can mention dealers, but Rick Ward, Tom Clinton, Wayne Buxton, and Chris Stanaback are authorized dealers that sell at or close to catalog price. Blue Ridge Knives also did at one point.
 
HSC /// said:
It's always awkward to respond when I see things like this....,
but I have to ask how you can say or think that .02 is thin edged?

have you ever tried anything thinner?
I haven't made a knife thicker than .008 at the edge.
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Almost all such fixed blade knives of the past 40 years, factory or custom, are around at or over 0.040" at the edge shoulders of the V-edge (like the Martin knives, Liles -0.030" for one, 0.040" for another- big RJ Martins, or the Reeve one piece range, which broadens to 0.050" at the tip like almost all similar knives do). Big Busse, Bokers and Neeleys often go over 0.060", at the rear, to around 0.070"-0.080" at the front.

0.020" at the V-edge shoulders is desirable but borderline too thin for such heavy use outdoor fixed blade knives, which is why it is almost never seen: So far, among expensive knives (excluding Bucks and so on), I have seen only a few Al Mars, a one-off Colin Cox, and apparently most Randalls to be delivered this way. Even my lightweight Cold Steel Oyabun is a fair bit over that, probably closer to 0.025" or more.

You ask me how can I say or think 0.020" is thin edged? To that ridiculous question I can only ask: Have you ever seen or handled an outdoor knife before?

Gaston
 
I'd say the edges of mine are serviceable as delivered but not razor sharp, easily resolved. If I had received one from a dealer or Randall with some of the issues mentioned I'd send it back.
 
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I can't afford Randall, but lust. I've handled many but never seen a dull one. I've been to the factory in Orlando and saw them doing final sharpening with a stone. That's not done by many manufacturers. I agree with tllt "Fit is fine. Finish is shruggable, I've seen worse from some higher end makers and I've seen better from lesser knowns." If you buy a Randall and want a perfect mirror finish, you're buying the wrong knife. He's also correct "I'd advise you to go to knife and gun shows in your area if possible, and actually handle them. Handle shape options can totally change the feel sometimes." I've seen the dive knife at more than one gun show.
 
Lapedog said:
They're handmade knives so there is evidence of that in the F&F.
Click to expand...
I've seen people say this about things,not just knives, over the years and it's a BS excuse. In this case the knives are way overpriced for what they are and there is a wait time well into several months and they use "hand made" as an excuse for shoddy work? How the hell are these popular? Is it because people's grand pappy owned one and they just need a nostalgia fix? Sorry for the rant but I just don't get it.
 
I ordered my Model 5 (Branford Angier style except 4.5" SS blade) in 1981 as a graduation gift to myself. It is, and has been, perfect in every way. Razor sharp from day 1 and continues to hold its edge with only the slightest of touch ups needed. Has gutted, cleaned and helped butchered well over 100 deer, plus a number of bear and antelope, so it gets used as a hunting knife should. Still holds its beauty so I don't understand these other comments.
 
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