How is the Randall 28 ground?

E

elementfe

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May 3, 2008
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I've been looking over photos of the Randall 28 ever since a friend pointed out (in the Russell's for Men catalog) just what a handsome knife it is.
I thought I'd do something similar for his birthday, but I'm baffled...

Could someone who has one please describe just how the blade is ground?
It looks like it begins near the spine as a hollow grind, then goes flat out to the edge...are my eyes fooling me?
Thanks for any help or insight,
Andy G.
 
It looks like the blade is simply ground at an angle. It appears to be one continuous grind.
 
Your eyes are fooling you Andy - all RMK's are hollow ground, even though some Models have large/long blade 'flats', Models such as the larger Bowie's, the Nordic Special, and others...they're all hollow ground. And how do that make them so exact, time after time, over time? Skilled workers that have been doing the same job over and over for years. As an example, I was told and believe it to be true, that one guy cuts in the blade spine saw teeth - that's his job, and he's been doing it daily for 30+ years... :eek:
 
71743-ran252628.jpg


Set the bevel line parallel to the ground.
 
I have owned 4 Randalls over the years, a 1, 2, 14, and 15. If the are hollow ground, they must be using a BIG wheel.....like 4 feet in diameter. LOL. Perhaps my memory is fuzzy, but they all seemed like pretty flat flat saber grinds to me.
Melvin-Purvis said:
Your eyes are fooling you Andy - all RMK's are hollow ground, even though some Models have large/long blade 'flats', Models such as the larger Bowie's, the Nordic Special, and others...they're all hollow ground. And how do that make them so exact, time after time, over time? Skilled workers that have been doing the same job over and over for years. As an example, I was told and believe it to be true, that one guy cuts in the blade spine saw teeth - that's his job, and he's been doing it daily for 30+ years... :eek:
Click to expand...
 
Joe, my information came from a post made by the current Randall Shop foreman, Scott Maynard - anyhoo, the initial grinding step shown on page #26 of Pete Hamilton's book, The Randall Chronicles, (a former RMK Shop foreman) shows what looks to be about an 18" wheel on a Bowie sized blade; there is likely more than one grinder in use, other wheels may be larger or smaller....

Hope that helps. :)
 
Thanks for the info.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3xdafhVXGV8/TicXkVyl3gI/AAAAAAAABOs/E4hMlvi2gzE/s1600/grind+on+Kpod2.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8pjqfQZRevk/TicXkDMLJ8I/AAAAAAAABOk/sC6T_GoC-Sk/s1600/grind+on+Kpod1.jpg

These pictures illustrate my dilemma- how do you get an even thickness at the edge, when the top grind line that determines the plane of the grind isn't parallel with the edge?
I left the discoloration from heat treating on this one to show what the difference in edge thickness does when you put the sharpening bevel in.
The Randalls look like they have nice, even thickness at the edge, and what I'm trying to figure out is, how did they accomplish that? By changing the plane of grinding along the blade, or what?
 
It looks like you have ground the blade parallel to whatever grinder you used. Instead, it looks like the tip should be pointing to the floor. This would work best on a 2" belt sander/grinder. What did you use to grind with?

It also lookes like you took the temper out of the steel. What kind of steel did you use and what was your heat treat methods?
Jason
 
Yep, grind is parallel to grinder, that's the look I wanted to achieve- done on a 2/72" belt sander.
The discoloration is from the heat treat, I didn't remove all of the oxidisation. (see previous post)
The question I have is, how does Randall get a consistent thickness at the edge, when the upper grind line isn't parallel to the edge?
440c, tempered at 385f

jawilder said:
It looks like you have ground the blade parallel to whatever grinder you used. Instead, it looks like the tip should be pointing to the floor. This would work best on a 2" belt sander/grinder. What did you use to grind with?

It also lookes like you took the temper out of the steel. What kind of steel did you use and what was your heat treat methods?
Jason
Click to expand...
 
Perhaps, but remember that Bill Moran rough ground on a large emery wheel and did some of his finer grinding vertically on a 4 inch wheel and did the full convex freehand without using a slack belt. I have his video and I don't recall him using a platen in it. Charles Ochs rough grinds vertically on a 3 or 4 inch Bader wheel and cleans up on a disk sander. Wheels do not always equal hollow ground.;)
Melvin-Purvis said:
Joe, my information came from a post made by the current Randall Shop foreman, Scott Maynard - anyhoo, the initial grinding step shown on page #26 of Pete Hamilton's book, The Randall Chronicles, (a former RMK Shop foreman) shows what looks to be about an 18" wheel on a Bowie sized blade; there is likely more than one grinder in use, other wheels may be larger or smaller....

Hope that helps. :)
Click to expand...
 
Joe, you are, as always, absolutely correct. Just because two Randall shop foremen, guys with close to fifty years of time between them working at the shop; one current, one past, publicly say, and in print show, the knives as being made hollow ground, that doesn't neccesarily mean they actually are, right? :rolleyes:

Bowing to your brilliance, I'll exit stage left...
 
Melvin-Purvis said:
Joe, you are, as always, absolutely correct. Just because two Randall shop foremen, guys with close to fifty years of time between them working at the shop; one current, one past, publicly say, and in print show, the knives as being made hollow ground, that doesn't neccesarily mean they actually are, right? :rolleyes:

Bowing to your brilliance, I'll exit stage left...
Click to expand...

As I remember it, the ones I saw seemed pretty flat.
What diameter wheel are they?
 
you set your edge 1st . Then you work the top grind line to where you want it and blend all lines .
 
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