Noob with a question

X

Xringshooter

Joined
Jan 28, 2012
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26
At an estate auction earlier today I bid on and got a box with a lot of miscellaneous items in it. I bid because I noticed a portion of a knife handle at the bottom. I got it pretty cheap. Brought it home and found this (pictures below). I'm pretty sure it is a true Randall but that's all I know. I just don't know exactly what I have. A friend suggested coming to you guys for help. Help! What might I have?

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Hatchetjack, I went there and didn't really see any that matched what I got. I sent them a message but have no idead how long it may be before they get back to me. I also didn't see anywhere on their "send a message" to be able to send pictures.

Next question would be; should I send it to them for refurbishment or leave as is? Without knowing exactly what model it is, if it is a collectable or what just don't know. I do know that it is a well built knife.
 
Good advice. Forgot there was a Randall group. FYI-don't ask "what's it worth?". That's a big NO if you are a registered user.
 
Looks like a Model 4-6 with custom antler handle. The way it's pinned on looks weird to me though

People from the Randall forum or Bernard Levine's forum will chime with their opinions.

Why refurbish it? DON'T do anything to clean it other than put some mineral oil on the steel and brass.
 
Yes, you hit the jackpot. Looks like a late-40s model 4, and it's worth a pretty decent amount of money.

I wouldn't even consider having it refurbished. It's perfect just the way it is.
 
Xring, you did well. Based on the choil shape and hilt soldering, to me it looks like an early 1950's Randall Model #4-7 'Big Game and Skinner' knife with a pinned Sambar stag handle - did you get a sheath with it?
 
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It has a small stamp. That puts it no later than ~ the middle of '46. When Bo introduced his new line of postwar knives in the 2nd half of '45, all the field knives had small stamps. Very shortly thereafter, both the 7" versions of the Model 3 and Model 4 converted to the standard stamp. The 6" Model 3 stamp stayed small for about a year. The 5" version of the Model 4 wasn't introduced until ~ the end of '46 and you see very few with the small stamp as they almost immediately converted to the standard stamp after the introduction.

This 4-7 is from the same era. Also with the small stamp. These early 3-7's and 4-7's with small stamps are typically seen with Heiser sheaths that have oversized throat rivets:

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Here's a similar 4-7 from a year or so later with the standard stamp:

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A 5" version of the Model 4 came up on e-bay earlier this month:

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It carries the small stamp as well.

The OP's knife is a bit unusual in that it has only 6 spacers at the hilt and the middle blue spacer is thin.
 
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Wow, lots of good info here. I don't care what it's worth, I just wanted to know what I had (was pretty sure it was a true Randall but wanted more info). It did come with a Heiser sheath (with the pocket for a stone). The spacers are red, white, skinny black (or blue, it's old), skinny red, white, red. The sheath is just like the one in the first picture from ron mathews (it does have the oversize throat rivets).

So I guess I can say I have my first Randall knife. I'm hesitant to tell you what I paid for the box, which actually had some other stuff in that I could use and the rest resale. So in this case, my first Randall didn't cost me anything.

I really appreciate all the help everyone has given me. I have always liked knives and so I know I'll be perusing this forum regularly to increase my knife knowledge.

Upon your advice, I'm not going to do anything with it other than to sharpen it. The edge is not damaged in any way, it just needs a better sharpening.

One of my goals is to own a true Ordnance marked Patton sabre.
 
Having the original sheath for that era knife pretty much doubles the value.

The "black" spacers were (light) blue to begin with:

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They burnish to black when ground and polished. Bo's decision to make his standard spacer set red, white and blue was because it was wartime and he was patriotic.

There's one primary difference between your sheath and the first one I posted: Your's has plain metal snaps like the one below and not the (opaque) plastic Randall logo stamps called "brown buttons". The first logo snaps came out in mid '46 and were translucent red:

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Ok, I'm not doing anything with it (refurb wise). From the pictures you can see the condition of the blade. What about just polishing the blade and maybe the hilt? Yes, my sheath is just plain brass snaps.
 
There are two different camps on that. They've never agreed, and probably never will. Polishing it will "probably" reduce it's value a little, but nothing major. My vote is for "it's your knife, do what makes you happy (as long as it's not too stupid)."
 
ron mathews said:
I miss a lot of things too, Shel. This Randall ID business is not for the feint-hearted. :D
Click to expand...

LOL, touche`! The handle was screaming mid 40's; no NS pin, lots of solder too - I corrected, recorrected, then lacking sheath went with early 50's based on that interim choil shape. Next time I'll look more, type less, and ask if there's a *censored* sheath... ;)
 
Oh, I got a reply from Randall. They will not do anything (id, eval, value, etc.) through email. They will not accept any pictures sent over the web (afraid of viruses). They will not accept any shipment of a knife for inspection. They said you can bring the knife to them and they will then tell you what the can about it. Or you can have it inspected, for a fee, by an expert (who is in FL). Well, I guess I'll rely on you guys, as I'm not driving from PA to FL to have my knife looked at.
 
I'm pretty sure you've gotten almost as good (if not as good) of an identification here as you'd get from Perry. Bo's record-keeping during that time period wasn't the greatest. Save your money and enjoy your knife.
 
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