Randall #1 replicas? (production)

Offhand, Cold Steel and Blackjack are the only good widly available Randall copies. There's also a Pakistani copy. Sometimes you'll also see a few old stock German Randall copies, but these have gotten few and far between.

Custom makers are a whole 'nother ballgame. Many have taken a crack at Randall type knives over the years.
 
Randall is the best custom maker of Model 1. You can cusotomize your knife with a variety of modifications if you order. If you want a Randall, buy one. When it comes to performance, you won't get anything more with a custom and you'll certainly get less with a production copy.
 
brownshoe said:
Randall is the best custom maker of Model 1. You can cusotomize your knife with a variety of modifications if you order. If you want a Randall, buy one. When it comes to performance, you won't get anything more with a custom and you'll certainly get less with a production copy.
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That's right, garageboy... to hell with the 4 year wait... to hell with the fact that it's $300 to $400 dollars and the only think you'll cut with it is branches, cardboard and maybe some salami. Get a Randall!

Realistically, except for the soft floppy sheath, you'll do just as well with the Cold Steel version.
 
Ok, don't want to wait, you can get a variety selection at many gun shows and lots of gun/knife shows. You can also get them new from Randall dealers.

I like cold steel, but their knives are not hand made and the fit/finish is what you'd expect for the price. I believe the price difference for a hand made forged blade is worth it. I've been to the Randall factory and you can see through the door that the blades are truly hand honed on a bench stone. For some people this level of handiwork is worth the price difference and wait. As you say, cold steel is also not tops in the sheath department.
 
GarageBoy said:
Which are the better known Customs?
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Ralph Bone, George Stone, Jimmy Lile and a few others made very similar knives, although not exact copies during the 70's.

The problem is that those makers are highly collectible themslves, so you'll wind up spending as much, if not more than if you just bought a Randall.
 
Arizona Custom Knives has some for sale right now, and Nordic Knives is taking orders on others which will be delivered next year, not in 4 years. There's another web dealer out there who has some on hand, but I can't remember where right now. If I think of it I'll edit this to include it.Price wise you're best to order through Nordic Knives, because they will lock in the price at the time of order and aren't charging a whole lot extra for the convenience of having them in stock. Good Luck.
Lagarto.
 
By the time you've bought a few replicas looking for the perfect "bogus Randall", you could have tossed in a little more money and got the real thing from a dealer somewhere. If you want a Randall #1, save your money and get one. You'll never be happy with a replica.
 
See, the problem is my mentality. I refuse to use my good knives mainly cause I screw up stuff when I sharpen it. All my nice knives have factory edges, my Frosts and my used Spyderco Ti Herbst and my opinel have been used
 
I don't know if it matters to ya but Jim Keating was lauding the CS oda as a great SD user. He is a big fan of the Randall 1 and recommends the cs as an economic alternative. I also think he is selling odas thru his site at a good price.

www.jamesakeating.com

and no I don't work for or even no Mr. Keating

let us know what ya end up with
 
If you can get a Randall, a Cold Steel, and a Black Jack together on the table at the same time, it doesn't take very long to see where the real quality is. I carried a #14 for many years of military service (occasionally a #1 also) and always felt the others were not up to Randall quality.
 
I bought a Cold Steel R1 military Classic (second hand) for about $80... Not a bad deal, but I haven't yet put its "400 Series" blade through any tough tests... Anyone else have the 400 series marked CS R1?
 
Also, don't forget to look at SOG,
they make some very nice similar sized fighers
(The Trident)
Let me also add that many here are claiming that "only a randall is a randall", well that, of course, is true, BUT when it comes to a custom knife, you'll get way more options, and for many (if not most), putting their favorite steel into a knife is a high priority.
When you're ready, I also recommend going to a knife show.
 
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