My Randall purchases go from 1979, which is the #1 on top, to a #16 in 1998.. I have a #23, a #14, pictured, and another #16 with saw teeth.
Only one of the knives is high carbon, so all the rest are 440B stainless. All about one were purchased at Randall's in Orlando.
A Special Forces bud of mine, who had three tours in Vietnam said that at one time every Infantry Officer carried a Randall. Choices for good knives was very limited up to the late 1980's. Factory knives were generally carbon steel, or nickel plated carbon steel, and were thin. At least Randall made a thicker knife, something that could take more abuse, without weighing too much. I think the heavy prybar knife trend of today is a reflection of the fact that people don't walk anymore, and their vehicle carries everything. When you have to carry everything with you, or should I say, on you, the weight of objects are evaluated in a different light. The WW2 veterans I knew walked with 90 to 100 lbs of gear, sometimes 20 miles a day, and were so fatigued that they dropped to the ground during rest periods. Sometimes they had to be kicked awake. These guys hated extra weight. I showed a Western Bowie to one, and he said "imagine carrying that!". He had walked up and down hot, steamy, mountains in New Guinea, with his military gear, and would have tossed that Western Bowie in a ditch instead of hauling with him.
I think the Randall was a knife that was tough enough without being too heavy. Randall's designs are all based on that thick spine, and that spine does not make for a good slicing knife. My Model 23 splits more than it slices, so that is a limitation, in my opinion, for the smaller knives. I always liked that Randall knives had handles which fit the human hand. This is still a pet grouse of mine. Handles tend to be sized to look proportionate with the blade. A short blade gets a short handle. Looks great, looks natural, and is totally wrong. Humans seem to have innate biases about proportionality, which in practice, don't work in all applications. My palm did not get shorter with a shorter blade, so these short handles make for an unmanageable (two finger sometimes) and uncomfortable knife. But they look good. And looks are what sells.
The Randall #1 is not a good slicer either. It is very wedgie. Sure they will cut, and they will hold an edge commensurate with the steels and heat treatment. But, prices got ridiculous and new, innovative knife companies came on line, and provided knife patterns that the old knife companies ignored.
I used to carry my #23 out hunting, I beat up the walnut handle and scabbard, used it a few times. But you know, if I am going to lose a knife, I would rather lose a less expensive knife. The market provides really excellent knives today, stuff we never had before, and prices are reasonable. I don't carry any custom knives in the field either.
The original owner, and the owners up to me, never carried this knife anywhere. So what is the purpose of a knife like this if it is never used?
A bud of mine, who had multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraqi, and places that cannot be named, his philosophy was "throw away knife". He has been blown up before, lost gear, lost a finger jumping out of a MRAP (there was a ring on that finger, ring caught the door opening, finger stayed in vehicle when he hit the ground). When he was killing people, he did not want a knife that was too hard to sharpen in the field with a three inch stone,
and he did not want something so expensive that it really hurt if you lost it. What was available in the PX was good enough for his uses. Really expensive field knives are a vanity in today's world. You can find totally functional, outstanding, commercial knives that meet your needs, for a lot less.
My Vietnam Special forces bud, this is one knife he carried, but he said the first one broke its tip cutting saw grass, so he left this one back in the encampment.
This is the knife he carried into the field. Because he could slice the bread that came in a C ration can. Bud did say it would create a world of hurt on someone, but I could tell, he would rather shoot you with a fully automatic weapon, than get close enough to stab or slash. And, it just seems stupid to attack someone carrying an AK47 with a knife.
All of my Randalls are good knives, so you want to have a Randall, get a Randall.
Did you understand what you actually gave away back then?
. But mostly I knew he needed more than I did, it had nice wear marks by then. 
