Knives in Vietnam

J

John A. Larsen

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Jan 15, 2001
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In the link on Knives for Afghanistan, Jackknife makes a statement that there were no Randalls floating around in Vietnam. I will agree with him that Buck 110's were very common as were Buck fixed blades as they were available in the PX. I was a knife nut even then and on my four tours in Vietnam, saw lots of Randalls, probably the most common of "Custom Knives". I also saw Hibbens, Drappers, and even a Bill Moran bowie. Lots of Western M49's and of course plenty of KaBars, and pilot survival knives. John
 
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John A. Larsen said:
In the link on Knives for Afghanistan, Jackknife makes a statement that there were no Randalls floating around in Vietnam. I will agree with him that Buck 110's were very common as were Buck fixed blades as they were available in the PX. I was a knife nut even then and on my four tours in Vietnam, saw lots of Randalls, probably the most common of "Custom Knives". I also say Hibbens, Drappers, and even a Bill Moran bowie. Lots of Western M49's and of course plenty of KaBars, and pilot survival knives. John
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I often hear about the Buck 110's in the Viet Nam PX's. There were none there when I was in country (68-69). If fact it was rare to see knives of any kind in the PX's, They were all full of radios and record players for the guys in the rear. I had a 110 brought from home and most of the guys in my unit thought it was fabulous new innovation they would like to have. The only source then was to order one from home. For what it is worth, I considered the Buck my hideout weapon with a large combat knife on my belt and a Swiss Army in my pocket.
 
Sidehill gouger is probably right, I am thinking back and the knives I saw were in the PX on Okinawa. You could even buy a Browning High Power in the big PX at Sukiran, Okinawa. Maybe in the bigger PX's in Vietnam there were knives available but I do not remember going into one of those, and would not be looking for knives anyway. John
 
I've also heard that the SOG/Green Beret guys guys never carried their SOG bowie knives in country. At least one did, he traded his to my dad, a load-master on C-130s, for an off-books passage on a flight to Japan for some R&R. I had a friend who was a SEAL in Vietnam. His preferred weapons were a 22oz Tru-Temper hand-axe, and a Western W49.
 
justjed said:
I've also heard that the SOG/Green Beret guys guys never carried their SOG bowie knives in country. At least one did, he traded his to my dad, a load-master on C-130s, for an off-books passage on a flight to Japan for some R&R. I had a friend who was a SEAL in Vietnam. His preferred weapons were a 22oz Tru-Temper hand-axe, and a Western W49.
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I would disagree with never. I saw a number of them in the field with SF guys. I also saw an entire Viet SEAL unit with American advisers, maybe 50 guys, carrying them on a mission out of Phan Thiet.
 
I honestly wouldn't know, I was 8 in 1970. But I know/have known several guys who were there. I think the majority of guys carrying Randalls and such were probably on their second, or third, or + tour. Not your typical 'got my draft notice, get it over with, hopefully live though it, and get out' troops. The 'multiple tour' guys with custom knives generally either found civilian life boring in comparison, or were just very good at a job description that had no civilian equivalent. (they would be the guys who, when asked why they do this job, say "Because I get to blow shit up!")
 
Those of us in mac-sog carried pretty much whatever we wanted (mini grenades were quite popular in my group). :cool: Firearms ranged from standard 16s and 60s to M79s and Swedish Ks (usually traded from a Seal); my pick was an XM177 (don't know how we came to have it, but I got it). :thumbsup:Knives were all over the map, from ka-bars to gerber to handmade and, yes, even randalls (and a number of hawks). Good times! (sort of) ;)
 
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I find it odd that any doubt exists about SOG-issued knives and Randalls having been carried in Vietnam, as entire books have been written about the topic (with photos and other documentation aplenty).

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CISO purchased 7,600 Bowies and 1,300 Recons during the course of the war. There sure aren't many out there for collecting these days, so somebody must have carried them!


-Steve
 
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My brother in law was over there in the Marines got shipped home and his Randall 14 went missing. His name is on the knife as Papayik if anyone runs across one. Thank you all for your service.
 
Who made the SOG knives during the Vietnam War period? Certainly not the current SOG which I believe started up in 1986. What about EK knives? I feel sure there was a big difference between guys who were mostly support and the guys that hit the field on operations.
 
How much was a Randall back then and what was the wait to get one? Even if it was $100 in 1970, that's equivalent to $618.00 now, that's probably at least two months pay for a Private back then.
 
22-rimfire said:
Who made the SOG knives during the Vietnam War period? Certainly not the current SOG which I believe started up in 1986. What about EK knives? I feel sure there was a big difference between guys who were mostly support and the guys that hit the field on operations.
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I don't know this for sure but I think SOG Specialty told me they used one of the original contractors to make their knives when they started. As for EK, I never saw one in country but Gun World ran an article on them in 69 and a lot of the guys in my unit promptly ordered knives. None had them before I left country. Like a lot of custom makers Ek had delivery problems in those days.
 
Murindo,

That's a great deal for $35 and that equals about $271.00 with inflation now. I guess I thought they were more expensive back then.

How long was the wait to get your Model 1?
 
IIRC, the first US military orders for CISO/SOG knives were from Japan Sword. Later orders had different manufacturers, thus the differences in configuration.

SOG Specialties had their reproductions made by Hattori, in Seki City, Japan. They claimed, in the early days of the company, that their repros were made in the same factory that made the originals. I don't know if this means that Hattori got one of the original contracts, or if they purchased a property where a previous owner had made the knives for the US.
 
I was a USAF non combatant, worked on F-105's. But did have some exposure to Army infantrymen and Marines occasionally. They ALL liked the standard issue USAF/Army Aviation survival knife. Those knifes, with leather sheath made great trading stock. It was many years back and I wasn't the knife nut I am now, but I WAS a gun guy. The little XM 177 was my "wish I could bring one of THESE home" fantasies. Did finally build a faux version a few years back.
 
On my 4th tour I decided I wanted a knife a little bigger than my Ben Hibben Jungle Fighter (440C) so ordered a Randall 14 stainless (440B) from VanSickle (?) in Texas. He bought a lot of Randalls and had a list that you could get and buy a Randall without waiting for about a 20-25% mark up. I still think I only paid $70 for it. I carried that Randall from then, Jan 1971 until I retired in Feb 1991. John
 
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