- Joined
- Aug 9, 2000
- Messages
- 374
From Randall Knife Society newsletter #21, February 1994.
RANDALL WONDERING: STIDHAM
Randall wondering. Yes, wondering not wandering. Did you ever wonder when a particular Randall was made or when Randall went from 5 spacers to 7 and was that five thin spacers or thick spacers or was that from 7 spacers to 5? As you can see Randall wondering can be fun, but it can also be frustrating.
Before Bob Gaddis's book I would usually ask Pete Hamilton or Gary Randall at the Randall shop or some of the many knowledgeable people in the knife business when I would get to wondering. Now I use Gaddis's book a lot and it sure saves a lot of phone calls.
Here are some of the questions about Randalls that I wonder about as I write this article and some of the questions that I have wondered about in the past.
When was the first Randall knife made? Early 1937.
When did "Bo" Randall get his first stamp to mark his knives with the famous Randall logo? The stamp was shipped to Randall by Meyer & Wenthe of Chicago on September 13, 1939.
When was the first Model 1 Randall made? Lt. James H. Zacharias ordered the first Model 1 on June 15, 1942 and picked up the knife soon thereafter.
When were the first Model 2 Stilettos made? The first Model 2's were sent from Orlando on April 7, 1943.
How long did Bill Platts work for "Bo" Randall? 35 years, from January 15, 1944 to 1979.
When did Randall stop making customer-designed or special forged knives? About 1981.
When was the first Model 12-11" Smithsonian Bowie made? 1953 was the first year this Bowie was made and at that time it was referred to in the shop as the Model 12 Heavy. It was not called the Smithsonian Bowie until the Bowie were named in the late 1950's and called so in a catalog number 12 released in January 1959.
When was the first Model 19 Bushmaster made? 1963.
When were the first Solingen blade Randalls made? Although offered in the 1954 catalog at a reduced price of $20.00 for the Model 14 and $18.50 for the Model 15, the Randall shop did not receive the first of the Solingen blades until the end of January 1955.
What year did Gary Randall become a full time employee of Randall Made knives? June 1962.
What year was the Leibowitz Special, etched with the Lewis & Clark scene, made and how many were made? The first etched knives were made in 1978 and the last two were sent to Shaw-Leibowitz on July 16, 1981. Originally 300 knives were projected, but only 125 etched blade knives were made. The remaining 175 blades were made up in various handles, but not etched and were sold through Randall dealer Jack Crider.
When was the first Model 8" "Trout and Bird" knife made? September 1, 1946 finds this first knife listed in the Randall shop journal as the "#8 - Super Trout".
When did Hermann H. Heiser Saddlery Co. of Denver, Colorado first start making sheaths for Randall? "Bo" Randall placed an order for 18 sheaths on February 24, 1943 and they were shipped to Orlando on April 2, 1943. These first 18 sheaths were not marked with the Heiser trademark, but all subsequent ones were. These sheaths were fine and "Bo" ordered in the following few days two orders of six dozen and five dozen, but requesting that these be made of slightly heavier leather. "Bo" received the six dozen order on May 15, 1943 and wrote immediately to tell Heiser that these sheaths were exactly what he wanted.
With all this wondering have I gotten you to wondering or is it wandering? Sure is fun isn't it? When I started this article I had no idea that I was going to make a plug here for Bo Gaddis's book, "Randall Made Knives. The History of the Man and the Blades". I know, some of you are saying, "Old Rhett is pulling my leg", but I swear it's the truth. But all this wondering made me realize how indispensable Bob's book really is. All the answers to these questions are found in this book. The ones I already knew, I looked them up to make sure.
If you don't have your copy the $50.00 plus postage you will spend is well worth the price. It saved me that much in phone calls while writing this article not having to call Pete, Gary, Jack, Tom, Doug, Dave, George, Abel, Piero, Angiolo .... ???? If your name is not here FAX me if you know Randalls. Who knows, someone may steal my book.
Contact Dave Harvey at Nordic Knives, 1634 C Copenhagen Drive, Solvang, CA 93463, Ph. 1-800-992-6574. Credit cards accepted.
Back to my original wondering about the spacers. Well you can talk to ten different people and get ten different answers about spacers. I am going to look into this and try to have an article for you in a near future newsletter on this very subject if I don't wear my book out (this probably won't happen since I have six autographed copies) or my telephone doesn't break. /////Rhett Stidham
--------------------
Rhett Stidham
President/Founder Randall Knife Society
RANDALL WONDERING: STIDHAM
Randall wondering. Yes, wondering not wandering. Did you ever wonder when a particular Randall was made or when Randall went from 5 spacers to 7 and was that five thin spacers or thick spacers or was that from 7 spacers to 5? As you can see Randall wondering can be fun, but it can also be frustrating.
Before Bob Gaddis's book I would usually ask Pete Hamilton or Gary Randall at the Randall shop or some of the many knowledgeable people in the knife business when I would get to wondering. Now I use Gaddis's book a lot and it sure saves a lot of phone calls.
Here are some of the questions about Randalls that I wonder about as I write this article and some of the questions that I have wondered about in the past.
When was the first Randall knife made? Early 1937.
When did "Bo" Randall get his first stamp to mark his knives with the famous Randall logo? The stamp was shipped to Randall by Meyer & Wenthe of Chicago on September 13, 1939.
When was the first Model 1 Randall made? Lt. James H. Zacharias ordered the first Model 1 on June 15, 1942 and picked up the knife soon thereafter.
When were the first Model 2 Stilettos made? The first Model 2's were sent from Orlando on April 7, 1943.
How long did Bill Platts work for "Bo" Randall? 35 years, from January 15, 1944 to 1979.
When did Randall stop making customer-designed or special forged knives? About 1981.
When was the first Model 12-11" Smithsonian Bowie made? 1953 was the first year this Bowie was made and at that time it was referred to in the shop as the Model 12 Heavy. It was not called the Smithsonian Bowie until the Bowie were named in the late 1950's and called so in a catalog number 12 released in January 1959.
When was the first Model 19 Bushmaster made? 1963.
When were the first Solingen blade Randalls made? Although offered in the 1954 catalog at a reduced price of $20.00 for the Model 14 and $18.50 for the Model 15, the Randall shop did not receive the first of the Solingen blades until the end of January 1955.
What year did Gary Randall become a full time employee of Randall Made knives? June 1962.
What year was the Leibowitz Special, etched with the Lewis & Clark scene, made and how many were made? The first etched knives were made in 1978 and the last two were sent to Shaw-Leibowitz on July 16, 1981. Originally 300 knives were projected, but only 125 etched blade knives were made. The remaining 175 blades were made up in various handles, but not etched and were sold through Randall dealer Jack Crider.
When was the first Model 8" "Trout and Bird" knife made? September 1, 1946 finds this first knife listed in the Randall shop journal as the "#8 - Super Trout".
When did Hermann H. Heiser Saddlery Co. of Denver, Colorado first start making sheaths for Randall? "Bo" Randall placed an order for 18 sheaths on February 24, 1943 and they were shipped to Orlando on April 2, 1943. These first 18 sheaths were not marked with the Heiser trademark, but all subsequent ones were. These sheaths were fine and "Bo" ordered in the following few days two orders of six dozen and five dozen, but requesting that these be made of slightly heavier leather. "Bo" received the six dozen order on May 15, 1943 and wrote immediately to tell Heiser that these sheaths were exactly what he wanted.
With all this wondering have I gotten you to wondering or is it wandering? Sure is fun isn't it? When I started this article I had no idea that I was going to make a plug here for Bo Gaddis's book, "Randall Made Knives. The History of the Man and the Blades". I know, some of you are saying, "Old Rhett is pulling my leg", but I swear it's the truth. But all this wondering made me realize how indispensable Bob's book really is. All the answers to these questions are found in this book. The ones I already knew, I looked them up to make sure.
If you don't have your copy the $50.00 plus postage you will spend is well worth the price. It saved me that much in phone calls while writing this article not having to call Pete, Gary, Jack, Tom, Doug, Dave, George, Abel, Piero, Angiolo .... ???? If your name is not here FAX me if you know Randalls. Who knows, someone may steal my book.
Contact Dave Harvey at Nordic Knives, 1634 C Copenhagen Drive, Solvang, CA 93463, Ph. 1-800-992-6574. Credit cards accepted.
Back to my original wondering about the spacers. Well you can talk to ten different people and get ten different answers about spacers. I am going to look into this and try to have an article for you in a near future newsletter on this very subject if I don't wear my book out (this probably won't happen since I have six autographed copies) or my telephone doesn't break. /////Rhett Stidham
--------------------
Rhett Stidham
President/Founder Randall Knife Society