There was a Randall WWII Fighting Knife on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/201403A18.html
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Randall WWII Fighting Knife
- Thread starter Eddie_T
- Start date
Owner of this one ought to be overjoyed. Stuff like this was considered junk, or relegated to tool and tackle box kit, at garage sales during the 70s-80s when stainless and non-perishable scales and handles were becoming 'de rigeur'. I never bought any of these (same theme, vintage, different maker and different market) only because bone or leather handled Solingen-made (and Sheffield, and USA) carbon steel knives were available still 'brand new cheap' even during the late 60s.
Now, whether some collector-crazed sod will part with $3500 just to have something 'storied' like this in hand is a whole other matter. I re-profiled/reground and re-scaled the handle of a 1938 Hitler Youth knife 30 years ago (for a 2nd generation German immigrant) because he insisted that the knife still remind him of his family's past and yet allow him to use it for hunting and fishing. I obliged but distinctly do remember that the blade steel was better than anything I'd ever sharpened before.
Now, whether some collector-crazed sod will part with $3500 just to have something 'storied' like this in hand is a whole other matter. I re-profiled/reground and re-scaled the handle of a 1938 Hitler Youth knife 30 years ago (for a 2nd generation German immigrant) because he insisted that the knife still remind him of his family's past and yet allow him to use it for hunting and fishing. I obliged but distinctly do remember that the blade steel was better than anything I'd ever sharpened before.
I visited the Randall shop in 1965 and even though there was a 6 month waiting list for the Randalls (then made of 550 SS) they did some custom rework on my co-worker's Bowie with a Solingen blade. When he received it back in only a couple of weeks it looked as good as any of the Randalls even to the silver soldered brass hilt. My No 5 with Micarta handle cost $67, there were several knives either made as one of a kind or orders that weren't picked up and I selected the No. 5.
