Randall Knives Collectors Poll

Your current age as a Randall collector.

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John Phillips

John Phillips

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What’s the average age of Randall collectors these days? Pick one if you’re an active Randall Knives collector or if you own more than 5 Randall’s.

I tend to think that the older crowd are the only ones collecting Randall’s but I could be wrong. I know there’s a “5 year” wait but I hardly ever see any people under 40 at any of the Randall dealer tables at Bladeshow every year and I wonder if Randall will struggle to keep demand high when the WWII and Vietnam era folks (THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!) are no longer their customer base. Will Randall be able to sell to the next generation that doesn’t know/appreciate their history?
 
Doesnt Randall have a 6 or 7 year wait time? Im not sure if their history is the problem when it comes to selling to the next generation. I'm 30 and have a decent appreciation of randall, alongside just liking their designs, i just refuse to put money down on something with that absurd of a wait time lol.
 
DrRollinstein said:
Doesnt Randall have a 6 or 7 year wait time? Im not sure if their history is the problem when it comes to selling to the next generation. I'm 30 and have a decent appreciation of randall, alongside just liking their designs, i just refuse to put money down on something with that absurd of a wait time lol.
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There are multiple dealers who have knives in stock and can also do preferential orders. This brings the wait times to around a year, for the same price as buying direct from Randall.
 
I don't think it's the wait that will damage Randall, but the lack of new steel usage. I understand why they don't change, but the number 1 gripe I get from younger knife people is "Why simple carbon steel", "Lol 440B !", etc....

Randall, like Case, gets a lot of legacy buyers too - "My daddy had / wanted a Randall, so I want one too.", And they've had a strong media presence for 80+ years, probably better than 99.9% of knifemakers, so that still sells a lot of knives.

I don't think Randall will go away in my lifetime (I'm mid 40's). Instead, I think we will probably see a softening of collector and aftermarket dealers prices at some point, but that happens in collectibles. People tend to buy what they liked in their youth, and couldn't afford.
 
tltt said:
I don't think it's the wait that will damage Randall, but the lack of new steel usage. I understand why they don't change, but the number 1 gripe I get from younger knife people is "Why simple carbon steel", "Lol 440B !", etc....

Randall, like Case, gets a lot of legacy buyers too - "My daddy had / wanted a Randall, so I want one too.", And they've had a strong media presence for 80+ years, probably better than 99.9% of knifemakers, so that still sells a lot of knives.

I don't think Randall will go away in my lifetime (I'm mid 40's). Instead, I think we will probably see a softening of collector and aftermarket dealers prices at some point, but that happens in collectibles. People tend to buy what they liked in their youth, and couldn't afford.
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Good point. Switching to Magnacut and 3v (or whatever) would probably be a good move. They wouldn’t have to offer a lot of steels, just upgrade the ones they do offer. IMHO. That said, their backlog proves they don’t need to change a thing for right now.
 
I'm 59 and I own 6 Randall knives. Bought my first when I was in my late 20's, but I haven't bought one for at least 15 years now. I've only ever carried and used one of them (a model 14).
 
There’s more to it than just upgrading steel. For a company like Randall, that not only has a legacy, but a legacy process to how their products are made, it’s usually a leap they aren’t or can’t make. Modern alloys require an entirely different arsenal of consumables to work with - just singling out abrasives, as a point of reference, I’m guessing that their requirements to grind a single blade would increase fivefold, and would also demand a learning curve for their workers on optimizing the use of those abrasives. New tooling, machinery, etc. Finishes they’ve used for decades simply wouldn’t work on modern, more wear resistant alloys.

To place this in context to someone that may not understand the process, I could grind and finish a blade of theirs in one of their alloys, at the hardnesses they use, in minutes, with ‘conventional’ aluminum oxide belts and simple buffing compounds. High vanadium content steels like CPM-3V or Magnacut will barely be cut with those belts at all, and will wear them out instantly, risking overheating the blade that would likely ruin its temper. This is why most production companies don’t buff to finish, and rather rely on ceramic media tumbling.

Also, if they have a five year backlog, I’m sure most of the decision-makers there would wonder why, if something works, they should risk ‘breaking ‘ it.


The legacy factor definitely comes into play, here, as well. What’s made them famous is what they use, much in the same way that many ‘modern’ makers have now made a specific alloy their signature.
 
They are going to have to eventually either upgrade everything or close up. Their designs are good, but the materials aren't worth the money to many people, even with being handforged. O1 and 440B are not something you expect to see on a $400+ knife anymore, especially with their advertising of, "high carbon steel not available to other knife makers," in their description of their stainless. And yes handforged, by different people, but a lot of people don't want to wonder if their 7 inch blade will really be 7 inches, or if it will be 6.7" or 7.2 this time.

If I'm buying a new knife, for real use, not just to look pretty on a shelf, I'm going to choose a being able to walk in to a store or ordering say a Spartan Harsey Difensa over waiting for a Randall Model 1 or 14. Or paying a lot more from a dealer or Ebay. For a new Soldier or Marine, that wait might be longer than they will be in the service. And that's who those knives are marketed to. Or at least what they say they are intended for. CRK has a similar wait time if ordered from the factory, but they show up a lot more frequently in stores.
 
I am down to a single Model 11 Randall knife. I sold all the others at stupid prices to collectors. Randall made, and still makes a decent knife. I am certain that Randall could move into the current century with regards to steel. I grew up near their homestead and shop. Dad knew Bo fairly well, and we visited from time to time. Gary was a 5 years older than I was.
 
Matthew Gregory said:
High vanadium content steels like CPM-3V or Magnacut will barely be cut with those belts at all, and will wear them out instantly, risking overheating the blade that would likely ruin its temper.
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I agree for high vanadium steels. But why not using something like AEB-L or 14C28N?
It will not eat their belts like crazy and they'll be able to claim they are using the best "high toughness stainless steel".
 
I have been interested in knives for the last 10 years and consciously haven’t been to the Randall website until this thread popped up. Funny to me that the tagline is “tomorrow’s collector’s piece, today.” 😂
If I was a hardcore collector, would definitely have some in the collection.
 
correct me if im wrong but the o1 and 440b steels used, are for hand forging blades easier/better, arent they? I know about zero on hand forging and what steels are good for it and what arent though.

im good with their steel choices...ive come to like 440b over the years, once I got past the Chinese made folders labeled as 440b weren't really spot on 440b or heat treated the best. I do like my 440b Randall. it works well for what I need it to do.
 
patrickguignot said:
I agree for high vanadium steels. But why not using something like AEB-L or 14C28N?
It will not eat their belts like crazy and they'll be able to claim they are using the best "high toughness stainless steel".
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Having read the arguments, sometimes directly from Randall, it comes down to -

1) They don't want to be chasing around steel types based on market whims.
2) The hand forged nature of most of the knives. the 440 class for many years was considered the best forging stainless in terms of repeatability, etc......

That being said, there was a point where they were using some ATS-34 in smaller forged and stock removal models. I can't help but think that at least a ATS/154cm option might have slightly better reception with young collectors.

*ATS mention - https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/stainless-correction.242404/ .
 
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patrickguignot said:
I agree for high vanadium steels. But why not using something like AEB-L or 14C28N?
It will not eat their belts like crazy and they'll be able to claim they are using the best "high toughness stainless steel".
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I can only speculate, but I’m guessing that they’ve got established channels for the alloys they use, and are likely US suppliers. Neither of the alloys you’ve mentioned are made here. They might also not respond as readily to their established processes as O1 and 440b do.

For the record, I don’t personally believe that they would see dramatically improved performance by switching alloys, based on the geometry they use. That geometry is the key to my statement.


Much of this boils down to heritage. They have an established name, with a well regarded and iconic product, using two very specific materials. Contrary to the expressed opinions of some here, I don’t for a moment believe that they’ll be forced to ‘evolve’ to survive. People have come to expect certain things from them, and if that’s not what you’re looking for, then you’re not their customer, that’s all.
 
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