Recommendation? New Knife Time

[Ruari]

Check out the SOG Pillar. Now available in black and FDE if you don't like the satin finish.

 

[RyanSean97]

That’s why I mentioned it. When I reached the point you are at now. Nothing obvious to buy, have all I need. Time to order a Randall. They are running about a 5 year wait. Worth the wait.

It might be best before that wait racks up to double or triple what it is now. I may look into that today in fact. The weird thing is I have a few that would be no brainers for me but they're pretty much all sold out lol And I just can't draw on anything that I've been lusting after lately. It's like a mental block or something I'm not sure. Either way, a Randall always has room in my collection.

 

[Mister Coffee]

Randall has a great history.

A few questions:

1) Regarding steel, all the site says is "a piece of carbon steel." That's a pretty wide range.

2) By the diagram on the site, it looks like the Model 1 uses a stick tang. Or maybe you could think of it as a full tang that is tapered way, way down.

3) The grind is a flat grind with a bevel.

4) The stacked leather handle is "classic." Is this what you dream about at night?

5) The price is $440.00 and five years' wait. Worth it?

 

[RyanSean97]

Randall has a great history.

A few questions:

1) Regarding steel, all the site says is "a piece of carbon steel." That's a pretty wide range.

2) By the diagram on the site, it looks like the Model 1 uses a stick tang. Or maybe you could think of it as a full tang that is tapered way, way down.

3) The grind is a flat grind with a bevel.

4) The stacked leather handle is "classic." Is this what you dream about at night?

5) The price is $440.00 and five years' wait. Worth it?

I just went on over and browsed their site and wow I didn't realize there was so much customization available for their knives. Most of that doesn't bother me, although I do wish you knew exactly what the steel was before you ordered one, or even at the very least had a few options to choose from, seeing as how they already make each one to the specs of the customers. Nonetheless, in considering all of that I do still believe it is worth the price and the wait, if you want to own a real piece of history. Anyone who truly has a passion for knives I'm sure will agree, but as far as being a user, personally it just won't happen with me. It would be a permanent fixture in my collection, and a pass down to my children in the future. Nothing more.

 

[eveled]

Click on your post to expand it. My answers are imbedded in your post.

Randall has a great history.

A few questions:

1) Regarding steel, all the site says is "a piece of carbon steel." That's a pretty wide range.

It’s an old school piece of carbon steel, tempered to be tough, so a little on the soft side?

2) By the diagram on the site, it looks like the Model 1 uses a stick tang. Or maybe you could think of it as a full tang that is tapered way, way down.

It’s a full length tang. You almost never see one broken. Remember it’s tempered to be tough. They have other models that have wider range. Check out the model 16 sp1

3) The grind is a flat grind with a bevel.

some are flat some are concave.

4) The stacked leather handle is "classic." Is this what you dream about at night?

I like leather or Micarta on a fighting knife. Stag on hunting knives. No body does a better job with stacked leather or stag than Randall does. IMHO.

5) The price is $440.00 and five years' wait. Worth it?

Absolutely worth it. A $50 deposit locks in today’s price. They go up about $25 a year. So in 5 years you pay the remaining balance. ($390) for a knife with a $565 knife.

RyanSean97 Its funny to me that you are worried about the steel, yet admit you’ll never use it. I get it, but it made me chuckle nonetheless. They are meant to be used. I use my “keeper” Randall’s.

They are in the “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” camp. They use the same steel formula and heat treat that made them famous.

The two knives with black Micarta handles in my picture have full tangs. The one with the clip point is a Buxton Fighter, you can see the tang extended out past the handle. That is the width of the tang. The other one is the 16 sp1 it has the same tang.

The top one is a Model 1 full length tang threaded and secured with a nut.

 

[eveled]

A couple with Sambar Stag.

 

[rxavage]

Olamic gives you so many options to customize it's crazy. Piranha makes nice knives at great prices. I wasn't super into out-the-side autos, but after @The Aflac Duck kept posting pictures of his Piranha X I had to have one and I'm glad I bought it. IMO it's a goldilocks sort of thing, not too small, not too big, just right, and the knife feels great in use. Handle is just big enough, blade shape is fantastic, and the thing never gets in the way of what you're trying to do with it.

You just talked me into one. Thanks

 

[RyanSean97]

I know I said I was kind of lost, but here is a list of knives that I have gone back to multiple times recently, some out of stock and some not:
(Folding)
-Reate Tribute
-Kansept Knives Reverie
-Peña Knives Mula
-Berg Blades Iron Wolf
-ZT 0560/0561
-MBK Old Guard
-TRM Atom
-WE Knives Miscreant
-Spyderco Native Chief
-Spyderco Shaman
-Spyderco Amalgam

(Fixed)
-CPK DEK1
-Burnley Knives Huck
-White River Hunter
-White River Sendero
-Rainier Fastpak

Like I said these are just pieces that I've been oggling for whatever amount of time, no necessary trend or style in mind.

 

[RyanSean97]

Click on your post to expand it. My answers are imbedded in your post.

View attachment 1553212 View attachment 1553213

RyanSean97 Its funny to me that you are worried about the steel, yet admit you’ll never use it. I get it, but it made me chuckle nonetheless. They are meant to be used. I used all my Randall’s.

They are in the “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. They use the same steel formula and heat treat that made them famous.

The two knives with black Micarta handles in my picture have full tangs. The one with the clip point is a Buxton Fighter, you can see the tang extended out past the handle. That is the width of the tang. The other one is the 16 sp1 it has the same tang.

The top one is a Model 1 full length tang threaded and secured with a nut.

It does seem pretty redundant right? Haha No but really I do get it, they have something that works and has worked for many, many years. In all honesty it doesn't bother me so much as it's just am observation and a thought considering you can pick everything else about the knife.

As for using it, that's just my thought process right now in my life, especially spending that money on a knife like that. Considering the nature of how you get one and who it actually is, that's the only reason I say that. Say you beat it to hell and something happens to it, you can't just get another one you know? As time goes on in life I may change my attitude on that, and i hope I do because that would just give me reason to buy more than one . Alas all these new high end pieces of cutlery have me spoiled in the moment. What can I say.

And I forgot to mention, you have a very beautiful and impressive set of Randall's there. My envy is definitely there.

 

[Cowboyfromhell666]

Chavez 229
Hinderer xm-18
Crk LG inkosi insingo w black linen micarta
Spyderco kapara
Spyderco Gayle Bradley 2
Spyderco endura k390
Hogue Ritter rsk mk1-g2
.....these are my last purchases and I recommend them all.

 

[Dadpool]

Just to offer a little clarification or help, im not new to the community and I have a pretty refined palette for pieces. I hate being a knife snob but let's face it there's only so much time you can be in love with this hobby before you only want the finer things lol. So, we can go big here, skip the "budget" or "entry level" pieces. Crank it up and have fun. (Although I won't turn down a piece packed with value)

I've spent the past few months downsizing and upgrading. I wholeheartedly recommend any of my "big three," and I'll add in two others for good measure: a niche knife that suits its very specific need beautifully, and a just-for-fun choice. I love titanium frame locks, so if that's not your jam I won't be much use here.

Do you like 'em big? The Hoback Husky is outstanding.

For a medium-sized EDC all-rounder, the Hinderer XM-18 3.5 DLT exclusive swedged spear in M390 ticks 100% of my boxes.

The Shirogorov NeOn NL owns my lightweight slot, and in my collection it sets the bar for next-level machining and number of machining steps.

Want to go snorkeling in a salt mine? The rustproof Quiet Carry Drift is a fantastic lightweight slicer.

I like skulls, I like embellished Ti show sides, I like tanto blades, and I like the Chaves Ultramar Redención 229 (the Urban EDC Supply exclusive, in this case).

 

[3fifty7]

The Shirogorov NeOn NL owns my lightweight slot, and in my collection it sets the bar for next-level machining and number of machining steps.

 

[eveled]

As for using it, that's just my thought process right now in my life, especially spending that money on a knife like that.

And I forgot to mention, you have a very beautiful and impressive set of Randall's there. My envy is definitely there.

Ironically when I ordered my first, I could only justify the price by committing myself to use it.

Also like I said they go up every year, the wait is not going away, so even if you use a Randall you won’t lose money on it. I’ve sold a few and never lost a penny. I never charged more than the current list price.

I appreciate the compliment, I enjoy them and they are my only vise. I used to spend more in bars than I spend on my knives. The two Stag ones were presents for getting my 2 plumbing licenses so they are extra special to me.

I hope you take the plunge and order 1.

Best wishes Ed

 

[HARDBALL]

Hey everyone, long time lurker and occasional exchange participant, first time thread maker. There's a lot, A LOT of knives out there, no doubt about it, and I've always got something on the radar. I decided to go ahead and look for my next sharp, pointy, precious toy and found that I kept drawing a blank as to what I wanted to get. I literally cannot think of one knife that stands out to me and it's really blowing my mind.

Soooo I decided to turn to you guys and let you bombard this post with your "would be" next knife picks. Be it for yourself, or just a recommendation of something that you already have in your own collection. I need ideas and you might jog my memory of something that got lost in the pit of my memory.

Now there are no real guidelines, all I ask is that it be something that you can edc and carry with no problem. So anything fixed or folding, let's sayyyy no more than 5 inches of blade length. Thanks again for anyone that jumps in here and let's see what we can throw out!

- Ryan T.

Hi Ryan,

I have for (MANY) years wanted the following Knife. Whoa! ON SALE! I have NEVER seen this Knife being offered "On Sale". Lookie what I now own!
Original GROHMANN #1 Canadian Belt Knife!

Best of luck in your search.

HARDBALL

 

[dirc]

fwiw, randall uses 440b for their stainless ... (at least they did the last time it was 'known', I doubt it has changed)

as for the carbon, it's said to be o1, which is a nice all around choice for carbon, much better than 1095 imho (additions of small amounts of vanadium, tungsten & nickel work well, overall tougher & better wear resistance than plain 1095)

http://zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.php?nm=o1,440b

 

[Mister Coffee]

I just went on over and browsed their site and wow I didn't realize there was so much customization available for their knives. Most of that doesn't bother me, although I do wish you knew exactly what the steel was before you ordered one, or even at the very least had a few options to choose from, seeing as how they already make each one to the specs of the customers. Nonetheless, in considering all of that I do still believe it is worth the price and the wait, if you want to own a real piece of history. Anyone who truly has a passion for knives I'm sure will agree, but as far as being a user, personally it just won't happen with me. It would be a permanent fixture in my collection, and a pass down to my children in the future. Nothing more.

Agree. I get why anyone would want to own a Randall knife. They are beautiful, and they have history, and that's the sort of stuff that brings guys like us to forums like this. But I'm done with buying for the sake of collecting, and there are better knives to buy for the sake of using. The steel of the 1940s might be just dandy, but there have been developments in metallurgy since then. I don't rely on no 1940s car, and I don't need to rely on no 1940s steel (of some undisclosed kind). And, as for history, that's why I married my wife. She's got a ton of history. But let's not get into that.

 

[RyanSean97]

Chavez 229
Hinderer xm-18
Crk LG inkosi insingo w black linen micarta
Spyderco kapara
Spyderco Gayle Bradley 2
Spyderco endura k390
Hogue Ritter rsk mk1-g2
.....these are my last purchases and I recommend them all.

I almost got a Chaves 229 in a trade the other day but the fellow had already sold it. I will have one of those one day. An Xm-24 and CRK Sebenza are both grail knives for me as well. The others you mentioned have all been on my mind at some point in the past and eventually they too will be in my collection. Excellent choices!

 

[RyanSean97]

You've got excellent taste!! That Hoback Husky is very cool and beefy looking. I don't see too many of his knives as I would have expected to be out there, but he's been on my radar for years now. The xm-18 and xm-24 have both also been a grail hard use knife for me. Anything from Shirogorov most likely has caught my drool in the past lol. As mentioned above I nearly had a Chaves in a trade a few days ago and it had been sold. I was super pumped about that one though. Thank you for your picks and I like them all!

I've spent the past few months downsizing and upgrading. I wholeheartedly recommend any of my "big three," and I'll add in two others for good measure: a niche knife that suits its very specific need beautifully, and a just-for-fun choice. I love titanium frame locks, so if that's not your jam I won't be much use here.

Do you like 'em big? The Hoback Husky is outstanding.

For a medium-sized EDC all-rounder, the Hinderer XM-18 3.5 DLT exclusive swedged spear in M390 ticks 100% of my boxes.

The Shirogorov NeOn NL owns my lightweight slot, and in my collection it sets the bar for next-level machining and number of machining steps.

Want to go snorkeling in a salt mine? The rustproof Quiet Carry Drift is a fantastic lightweight slicer.

I like skulls, I like embellished Ti show sides, I like tanto blades, and I like the Chaves Ultramar Redención 229 (the Urban EDC Supply exclusive, in this case).

 

[RyanSean97]

fwiw, randall uses 440b for their stainless ... (at least they did the last time it was 'known', I doubt it has changed)

as for the carbon, it's said to be o1, which is a nice all around choice for carbon, much better than 1095 imho (additions of small amounts of vanadium, tungsten & nickel work well, overall tougher & better wear resistance than plain 1095)

http://zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.php?nm=o1,440b

I saw that when I was doing a little digging, and if that's the case i have no real issues. I'm a big fan of O1 steel and it takes an incredibly keen edge. Im sure they would hold up just fine to any work you did with them. Thank you for the information!

 

[DMG]

My Spyderco K2 is the only EDC knife I have that if lost or no longer serviceable, I would replace it immediately with another no questions asked.
View attachment 1553095
I wouldn’t mind. Shaman CruCarta but I honestly don’t believe the current price is justified.
I really like some of the Koenig Arius but IMO it’s too nice for and EDC work knife and the price is again more than I’m willing to pay right now.


To better serve you, what do you already have what’s your style.

I sold my K2 years ago and haven’t been able to find another.

OP, if you don’t have a GB2 or Hogue Ritter, you should look at them.