- Joined
- Aug 9, 2000
- Messages
- 374
The Randall Styers Special
I was lucky enough to purchase a Randall Styers Special fighting knife, at the OKCA Knife Show in Eugene, Oregon, last weekend. This was the second Styers Special I have ever owned. The first one I bought at the Great Western Show in L.A. about twenty years ago. That one had a ivory micarta handle and I sold it to Tom Clinton for about $350.00. Dumb me, as at that time I did not realize what a rare knife it was.
That was the way I started this KnifeForums post last week here, on the Internet. Well I was wrong as to the type of Randall special this knife is.
By private emails with fellow member JJW, and talking with Pete Hamilton, the knife I showed having purchased recently is not a Styers Special. It appears to be a "Doler Special". I also just talked with Randall dealer, Doug Kenefick, about this knife. He said seven of these were made (six for him and one for the museum). He is sending information on these knives and same will be posted when received at the RKS forum on www.knifeforums.com.
I had never heard of a Doler Special before and when I asked Pete he had not either. It seems this knife is even rarer than the Styers Special. If any of you members have a Doler Special or a Styers Special please send me a picture by regular mail or email (rstidham@gate.net)
The knife at the very bottom of this post is a Styers Special. When I talked with Pete Hamilton about this knife he said the original Styers Specials were Model 14's with an "S" hilt. So while writing this, I called Pete again. He says the very first Styers blades were shaped like the original Model 14, Solingen blades (but forged and not Solingen blades). The original handles were also a dropped, commando style handle. Later, they just had the same shape as a standard Model 14.
The Doler Special that I just bought, was purchased by the fellow, I bought it from, through Randall dealer, Doug Kenefick, in the 1980s. This knife has a brass guard and an extra long brass butt. (I will show a picture later as we are traveling and the knife is buried in our car.)
So now, here is information on the Styers Special. In a 1991 Tim Neveldine wrote about the Styers Special for the RKS newsletter and that was the first time I became aware of what this knife is.
Tim wrote: I ordered my Randall Styers Special fighting knife about nine or ten years ago. (That would have been about 1981)
The design and execution of this weapon follows the guidelines suggested by John Styers, a USMC close-combat instructor of World War II era. In 1952, Styers wrote a book titled "Cold Steel" describing in graphic detail his knife-fighting techniques. Long out of print, it was reissued by Paladin Press in 1974 and should be available from them.
The bowie style blade on the Styers Special appears to be taken directly from the Model 14. It is seven and one half inches long of one-quarter inch tool steel. The guard is of thick quarter inch brass and is formed into a radical "S" shape. The handle is commando shaped black micarta with red, white and black spacers. The butt cap is brass and the narrow tang is not visible through its top. Note also that the upper edge of the sheath is curved to match the guard.
I spoke with Pete Hamilton at the Knoxville show and he remembered making a few of these knives. He said that no more than five were ever made, making them quite rare. The Styers Special was designed to be grasped with the thumb pressing the rear face of the upper guard, appropriate to the slashing attack taught by Styers. Any other hold gives the impression that the handle is too short and is uncomfortable, at least to my average hand. //// Tim Neveldine
I was lucky enough to purchase a Randall Styers Special fighting knife, at the OKCA Knife Show in Eugene, Oregon, last weekend. This was the second Styers Special I have ever owned. The first one I bought at the Great Western Show in L.A. about twenty years ago. That one had a ivory micarta handle and I sold it to Tom Clinton for about $350.00. Dumb me, as at that time I did not realize what a rare knife it was.
That was the way I started this KnifeForums post last week here, on the Internet. Well I was wrong as to the type of Randall special this knife is.
By private emails with fellow member JJW, and talking with Pete Hamilton, the knife I showed having purchased recently is not a Styers Special. It appears to be a "Doler Special". I also just talked with Randall dealer, Doug Kenefick, about this knife. He said seven of these were made (six for him and one for the museum). He is sending information on these knives and same will be posted when received at the RKS forum on www.knifeforums.com.
I had never heard of a Doler Special before and when I asked Pete he had not either. It seems this knife is even rarer than the Styers Special. If any of you members have a Doler Special or a Styers Special please send me a picture by regular mail or email (rstidham@gate.net)
The knife at the very bottom of this post is a Styers Special. When I talked with Pete Hamilton about this knife he said the original Styers Specials were Model 14's with an "S" hilt. So while writing this, I called Pete again. He says the very first Styers blades were shaped like the original Model 14, Solingen blades (but forged and not Solingen blades). The original handles were also a dropped, commando style handle. Later, they just had the same shape as a standard Model 14.
The Doler Special that I just bought, was purchased by the fellow, I bought it from, through Randall dealer, Doug Kenefick, in the 1980s. This knife has a brass guard and an extra long brass butt. (I will show a picture later as we are traveling and the knife is buried in our car.)
So now, here is information on the Styers Special. In a 1991 Tim Neveldine wrote about the Styers Special for the RKS newsletter and that was the first time I became aware of what this knife is.
Tim wrote: I ordered my Randall Styers Special fighting knife about nine or ten years ago. (That would have been about 1981)
The design and execution of this weapon follows the guidelines suggested by John Styers, a USMC close-combat instructor of World War II era. In 1952, Styers wrote a book titled "Cold Steel" describing in graphic detail his knife-fighting techniques. Long out of print, it was reissued by Paladin Press in 1974 and should be available from them.
The bowie style blade on the Styers Special appears to be taken directly from the Model 14. It is seven and one half inches long of one-quarter inch tool steel. The guard is of thick quarter inch brass and is formed into a radical "S" shape. The handle is commando shaped black micarta with red, white and black spacers. The butt cap is brass and the narrow tang is not visible through its top. Note also that the upper edge of the sheath is curved to match the guard.
I spoke with Pete Hamilton at the Knoxville show and he remembered making a few of these knives. He said that no more than five were ever made, making them quite rare. The Styers Special was designed to be grasped with the thumb pressing the rear face of the upper guard, appropriate to the slashing attack taught by Styers. Any other hold gives the impression that the handle is too short and is uncomfortable, at least to my average hand. //// Tim Neveldine