randall real?

S

saylorbrand

Joined
Jun 8, 2008
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338
Were does Randall made knives rank in the world of hard use and abused knives. I doent mean cutting a door off a car and pinning it up on a concrete wall. But in Afghanistan in a rare survival moment of using the knife like it wasn't truly intended. Comparing to Fehrman, Busse, and other popularly abused knives.
 
They're as real as anything else out there, and I mean anything. And more real than most.
 
If you go through Robert Hunt's series of books on Randall Knives you will find pages and pages of one of a kind blades made on special order to a customer's specs. If that isn't custom, I don't know what is. Les's opinion is just that, Les's opinion.
 
Sidehill Gouger said:
If you go through Robert Hunt's series of books on Randall Knives you will find pages and pages of one of a kind blades made on special order to a customer's specs. If that isn't custom, I don't know what is. Les's opinion is just that, Les's opinion.
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And if you order a car built to your specs from a major manufacturer? What about a motorcycle? If a factory "Custom" Harley Davidon says "custom" on the front fender, that means that it is a custom motorcycle?

The area may have a lot of gray, but Randalls are NOT custom made knives, and that is NOT an opinion...its a fact.
 
Gentlemen, this argument has been going on since long before Bo Randall died 20 years ago, and I don't think we're going to settle it here.

Suffice it to say that Randalls are handmade - nobody can dispute that.
 
saylor... and the rest of the Randall community.
I sort of stumbled on this thread and I hope you don't mind me putting in my 2-cents worth.
Is Randall real? Let me answer this way:
I collect. I collect knives. I collect other things as well. What I have noticed is that collectors do not collect crap (read Chinese knives). There is not one junk knife in my collection. Whether Becker, Schrade, Randall, Blackjack, Puma, or other, I think you will find that the only items people collect are items worth collecting. I have put a Becker through its paces, but never a Randall. But there is no doubt in my mind that they would hold up fine. If they were of no use, they would be of no value to collectors.
Just another way to look at it.
IMHO
 
thanks to some, but it seems to me that everyone is so upset about what a randall is considered as far as being made, that they forget the original question. How can it take mad abuse versus other tough knives?
 
Tripton said:
The area may have a lot of gray, but Randalls are NOT custom made knives, and that is NOT an opinion...its a fact.
Click to expand...

There were a few early exceptions: Prior to WWII Bo himself would make you a knife anyway you wanted it. After WWII ended the demand for Randalls fell off a cliff and Bo had to let go all his help go with the exception of an English trained cutler by the name of Bill Platt. For the next couple of years Bill pretty much made all the knives that left the shop from forging to final polishing. During this time Bo would again take orders for knives made any way you wanted. Here is an example of a one of a kind "wide blade" Model 3 made between mid '45 and mid '46:

standard.jpg


Best,
 
Tripton said:
And if you order a car built to your specs from a major manufacturer? What about a motorcycle? If a factory "Custom" Harley Davidon says "custom" on the front fender, that means that it is a custom motorcycle?

The area may have a lot of gray, but Randalls are NOT custom made knives, and that is NOT an opinion...its a fact.
Click to expand...

The problem here is that the term "custom" is meaningless in the knife world. It used to be a defining term for membership in the Knifemakers Guild but even they have abondoned it for the term "handmade". So I beg to differ in saying that Randalls "are" custom made knives -and- are handmade knives, but not "Handmade" in the sense the guild has attached (that being that a single maker grind, forge, and knap (sharpen?) the blade. Randall uses several people to do this work, not one.

So a Randall is not a "Handmade" knife in the guild sense but you can customize it with hundreds of options. An Entrek knife, wholly made by Ray Ennis, is a "Handmade" knife in the guild sense, but the only option offered is to buy it or not.

I have both Randalls and Entrek knives so I'm not demeaning either one here. I do see flaws in that we non-guild members allow ourselves to be governed by their terms when we can refuse to.

I've carried Randalls and Entrek knives during my 23 years of Army service and both had their advantages. One should have each!
 
Bruce,

As always, 'spot on'...if we could use the name 'Benchmade', that might clarify thangs (sic) a bit...but, being that Les CR'd that name some 20 years ago, we're stuck with our chosen names until some bright young guy comes along...;)

SW
 
Tripton said:
And if you order a car built to your specs from a major manufacturer? What about a motorcycle? If a factory "Custom" Harley Davidon says "custom" on the front fender, that means that it is a custom motorcycle?

The area may have a lot of gray, but Randalls are NOT custom made knives, and that is NOT an opinion...its a fact.
Click to expand...


Sure they are, just ask a guy ordering one. He can make his "custom" to his tastes. I think there are some 2 million or so combinations including blade grind, length, steel used, handle material, handle shape, hilt material, shape, etc. etc.
 
Boy, talk about hijacking a forum.
custom not-custom, custom not-custom... ad nauseam.
Who the hell cares?! Give it a rest already.
You boys REALLY need to get a life!
 
Knifogal said:
Boy, talk about hijacking a forum.
custom not-custom, custom not-custom... ad nauseam.
Who the hell cares?! Give it a rest already.
You boys REALLY need to get a life!
Click to expand...

Rule #1: Pretty much anything goes in a dead thread. Which means even your whining will be tolerated. :D
 
I've heard guys who've been there say that Randalls are one of the few knives they've seen hold up well in the sandbox. Strictly hearsay, but they were talking to another knifemaker when they said it.
 
soldiers and ranking officials have carried randall's for years, they are hard use knives, i doubt that anyone criticizing them has actually taken a tour of the factory and experienced a trained craftsman working on a randall knife, all you have to do is stop by in orlando and you will not doubt that they are custom made.
the bladesmiths are trained from scratch right in the randall factory.
 
Henceforth, I shall endeavor to name my first born 'Samael'. So it shall be written (this while thinking of my newest GF N.G., hummed to the Chris Issak tune 'Wicked Game'), so it shall be done... :D
 
Sure thing, Shel. There will be a small licensing fee, of course, but we can discuss that later.

Was in your neck of the woods last night, but only for a two-hour layover at the airport. Finally made it home for the first time since the NRA convention in Phoenix. Lots of frequent flyer miles. I gather you've been a traveling man too. Good to be home.
 
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