Pardon my ignorance, but why are the Randall knives so expensive?

You can get virtually any Randall you want any day of the week - on ebay alone there are currently a couple of hundred listings.
Given the production figures above, it's safe to assume there are probably 100,000 of them out there - maybe more.
Given that serious and active collectors are some fraction of that number (nationally), and a healthy number of these don't own even one Randall knife, the value of Randalls must be maintained by the few that collect and hoard these knives. I assume an active and well healed group of Randall fanatics.
It is interesting that in the field of knife collecting, unlike most other collectibles, oftentimes scarcity isn't a factor.
 
Originally posted by averageguy
It is interesting that in the field of knife collecting, unlike most other collectibles, oftentimes scarcity isn't a factor.
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With Randalls, it not necessarily about scarcity, although they do issue some collectibles every now and then. It's about personalization. For each model, with the various ways one can configure the knife, the possibilities are pretty endless. With that, finding another Randall exactly like the one you want on the secondary market, even on Ebay, is kinda tough. Especially if you like non-standard items (I prefer Micarta Border grips on my Randalls for example).
 
Let's just clear this up. I just called RMK and there are no knives in stock at the moment -- any orders have a promised delivery time of 3.5 years....except the Model 10 which is available in 8 weeks. The Model 10 is a non-forged fishing/household type knife for those of you (like me) not up to Randall lore. SO, maybe in the future some lucky caller might get one but I wouldn't rush --

:)
 
OK, here's another question...if I was to order a Model 18 from them what handle options are available?
 
I find Randall Made Knives generally interesting, attractive, useable and worth the money in terms of quality. Their sheaths are also a plus, each one well made and individually fitted etc. I decided to limit Randalls to 4 only in my collection, trading or selling one when I find one I like better. Fortunately I live close to a knife dealer who orders a dozen or more each month direct from the Randall shop for his customers. Often the dealer has one or more knives come in and the customer bails on picking up and paying for what they ordered. That's when I get the call to stop by, take a look and buy, or not buy, for myself. Yesterday I looked at 4 new ones and picked one to buy. Now I'm over my limit so it's time to move a couple. Because I'm able to constantly and selectively upgrade in terms of fit/finish the ones I move out of my collection are much better than average - and yes, there are differences! On eBay there are many RMKs for sale as there are in other arenas but the quality and desirability sometimes are lacking in terms of my standards (not talking about vintage Randall knives here). This situation is unique, as I said, and because I'm lucky in this way pass them along at my cost (retail) plus my tax with any S&H or ins. costs. It feels great to help people avoid the long wait and uncertainty concerning how their order will actually look when it finally arrives. The number of mistakes at the factory in filling orders might surprise you but there is turn-over in their makers (someone recently posted and ad that appeared by Randall looking to hire makers and offering to train them if they'd relocate to Orlando). No criticism intended. That's just the way it is in every business. All in all Randall has done all of us a great service over the years by setting a high standard for custom makers who must exceed Randal quality levels if they want any credibility at all and, due to huge 'brand recognition' many new enthusiasts are attracted into the knife world.
 
Originally posted by NRG
OK, here's another question...if I was to order a Model 18 from them what handle options are available?
Click to expand...
Per their website:
Name etching, stainless steel, knurled handle and compass only extra features available.
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The knurled handle and compass are must on the 18. I might place an order...the wait just sucks though!
 
I've told this story before and I may get flamed for doing so again, but here goes.

When I was 18 years old, I had dropped out of college and was working for a year so that, among other things, I could grow up a bit and learn to appreciate college a bit more. I worked in downtown Washington, DC, and there was a store, Tendler's Pawnshop, where the FBI Building is today and they were a Randall dealer. I had been a Bowie fanatic ever since the movie and the tv show of the 1950s and I used to go into the store at lunchtime to drool over their Randall Bowies. I had heard about how great a knife Randall made and I had picked up their catalogue and read it. If you have not read a Randall catalogue, this might be meaningless, but the catalogue is a great deal more than a list of products and it finished the job of selling me on one. I went in to buy a 6" Hunters' Bowie that they had for all of $25.00 in November of 1961. Because I was eighteen, the store called my home to get my parents' permission first. They weren't there, but my 23-year old brother just happened to have stopped by and he was able to convince them to let me buy it. When I got home that night, I had some hard talking to justify spending so much money on a simple knife, but when they had examined it they, and especially my Father, decided that it was well worth the price. Indeed, when my sister needed a fixed blade knife for a summer job as a camp counsellor, they asked me to take her down to Tendlers to look at the selection! She bought a very nice little Buck for about $10.00, +/- a bit, that has served her very well for almost as long as that Randall has served me. :) Since then, I have bought another, back in 1978, a Model 1 with a 7" blade and with my name engraved on it. I have never used it, it is a piece that I keep for very personal and emotional reasons that I can never explain when I try to do so. :D I ordered it on layaway and waited about 2 years for it.
 
I've handled a few Randalls at knife shows, the seemed pretty nice, I'm not much for fixed blades though so maybe some of their charm is lost on me.

I like the non catalog "specials" more.
 
I have a whole crap load of Randalls. I especially like the old and old old ones. I buy, trade and sell them like no tomorrow. I love em. They are like Harleys and old airplanes..... Never go down in value always up.

Here's the deal..... buy a Randall, take it through a war and use it for 30 years. Sell it for at least 5 times maybe 10 or 20 times what you paid for it or pass it on to your kids. Now buy any other custom knife, use it, sell it at a garage sale for $20 tops. That pretty much says it all.
 
Seems like we ought to have at least a single image posted on this thread. This is my #1-7-S with black sheath and Green Canvas Micarta handle with finger grips. Very well made, perfectly balanced and very quick in the hand. Here it is. What do you think?
orig.jpg
 
Great looking knife.

I like Randalls, but I don´t own one yet. Like some posters has mentioned the balance and a hard to describe "feel" is what makes a Randall worth it´s price.

/Colinz
 
I received a standard 01 steel Model 14 as a college graduation gift in 1989; by far the nicest knife I had owned to that point and it remains a favorite. Next to my Gerbers, Kabars, and Bucks, the Randall was a gem.

I recently purchased a "custom" 1-6, with my initials and a green micarta, single finger grip handle - even next to a Busse or CRK, a Randall remains a striking knife, and they have a history few manufacturers can rival.

My next purchase is an order for my still very young sons; identical, initialed Model 14's, distinctive and impossible to forget gifts for a future 18th birthday, and one of the finest fixed blade knife designs ever created.

If you search around on the Randall forum on this website, you can find some alternative methods of buying "bespoke" Randall's; the right dealer can usually get you a knife quicker than ordering direct.
 
I have a friend who is a serious collector of Randalls, and after looking at his for a few years, I finally bought one from him this year. Since then I've bought several more from a number of sources. Randall dealers can usually cut down the wait to a year or so, but I'm not sure that would work with a highly customized or uncommon model.

Resale never goes down. Buy some other brands that are hot right now and see what you can get for them six months later. Knife buying/trading/collecting costs money, and I really can't afford to lose too much off what I paid when I get rid of something.

Using Randalls. Yes I do and damn the consequences. I like them because they are well designed for what knives are supposed to do-cut. They are not pry bars or hammers, nor are they meant to be. I know people who carried them in wars and report no problems or failures (other than rust on carbon models in SE Asia).

In the end, I like the classic design and lack of trendiness, coupled with the fact that you really can't lose money on them. As for you, Frac, I think you would be better served by some other type of knife that is more readily available. Leave the Randalls for us poor misguided souls who can't get into modern steel and design. Leave the Randalls alone...;)
 
Among several Randalls I own is a black micarta handled 7" Model 2...this is the most dangerous knife I have ever held in my hand.
 
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