Show us your Randalls

Thanks for the insight--my usage varies between food prep, fire prep, and all other fairly moderate chores that may come up whether at home/ yard, hiking trail, fishing trip (mountains/ lake), etc... When it comes to sharpening, I have everything from diamond stones, ceramic stones, the sharpmaker, the Ken Onion Work Sharp, and the work sharp field sharpener. I prefer freehand sharpening, however. In any case, I guess either will be fine, but given the long wait and the cost, I want to be sure I order exactly what I want... and I am just trying to figure out which steel to choose.

I agree-- I'm not looking to severely push the limits of the knife, chop cinder blocks, etc. Given those parameters, what do you think? I've used carbon steel so regularly, that stainless just seems like an odd choice... yet, in some ways it makes lots of sense.
 
Based on your usage, I will go with O1 if I were you. I assume it's going to be a regular user and rust is not an issue for you. You will love the patina on the O1 steel. Or you can force patina with the design you like!

Having said these, I am now interested to get myself something in O1 too lol
 
Yeah--I do plan on using it and appreciate a patina. I usually go with a naturally occurring one--as it forms I sometimes recall what brought it on, and so there is memory attach to the blade. This is especially the case with my traditional folders. I have quite a few knives from Great Eastern Cutlery in 1095 with serious patinas. I've managed to keep them rust free for years even though they all do not see regular use.

So, O1? Sometimes the lazy man in me speaks up and chides me for not opting for the easier to maintain stainless. One way or another, I'm placing an order for the 14... Not sure whether I'll go with border patrol or single finger handle. Definitely nickel single guard, however.
 
LOL you know what's best for you.

I will pick border patrol any day if it's for #14 as it is not tip heavy. For heavy chopping, you can always use a lanyard. Border patrol has no hot spot regardless how you grip it.

I find single finger handle useful when you need to execute snap cut very quickly though. Do you need this?
 
No--snap cuts are effective, but general camp and trail duties are a little light on the martial uses of blades. I do have MA training--Nidan in aikido, a couple years of Ueshi Ryu karate, and nearly 4 years of jujitsu. Lots of weapons training too, but these days less so. You've convinced me on me on the border patrol handle--the palm swell reminds me of the Busse SOB, which suits me just fine. Thanks...

Still on the fence about the steel!
 
If you like the SOB handle, you will definitely love the border patrol handle. In fact, I love the border patrol handle more. I will take a picture to show them side by side when I get the chance later
 
donscpoo said:
If you like the SOB handle, you will definitely love the border patrol handle. In fact, I love the border patrol handle more. I will take a picture to show them side by side when I get the chance later
Click to expand...

Thanks brother--really appreciate that!
 
Here you go bro

The knife at the top is #28. It's length is very close to SOB.
25804186382_86450e3d1b_b.jpg


I took another one with TGLB as it is quite close to the #14. You can see the handle of TGLB is much wider than the #14
25924952485_799bb1818e_b.jpg
 
Wow, thanks so much--great comparison pics, and great knives. I have both the SOB and TGLB... So the pics help a lot. How does the 14 compare to the TGLB in overall feel and performance? Thanks again--much appreciated.
 
#14 is a lot lighter and faster in the hand. TGLB is tip heavy but #14 balance is near the hilt. This makes the #14 feels extremely good in the hand.

The edge of the #14 is much thinner too and this makes it a very good slicer. Note that my TGLB edge is reprofiled to a mirror convex but it still cannot slice as good as the #14.

TGLB will out chop the #14 simply due to its weight and tip heavy design. The tip of the TGLB is also much thicker. I will not think twice if I need to pry with it. Prying is something I will never do on the Randall fairly thin clip point.
 
Thanks--that's what I suspected about the Randalls, which is a good thing in my book. I like a good slicer--though I am guessing the 14 can also handle some light chopping and even splitting kindling. I don't pry much, especially with my knives (except for really stubborn Lego pieces for my kids--but that's what folders are for... haha), so I'm not too concerned about that. However, I will say, I used my SOB to hack through some pretty thick cow ribs--and it did so easily, w/ no edge damage. How would the Randalls hold up to that? I did not have the #5 at the time, and am not altogether sure I would have attempted to do so.

Here are some pics of my Busses... I have these, and a BG MOFO on order (it is SR-101... if you have not seen it, the MOFO is still on the Busse website, it's just unavailable now).
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ibbcle.jpg
 
Nice shots!

The #14 can definitely handle chopping and batoning. If you plan to baton with it, you might want to request the shop to not sharpen the top bevel.

I have not tried hacking cow ribs but I did chopped some dried bamboo with my stainless steel #12-9 without any edge damage. Dried bamboo can be quite tough too.
 
Yeah--I was going to go with the non-sharpened swedge... good call. Sounds like the 14 is a very capable blade. I'll post pics of the #5-6 when it returns to me--I can't wait. Thanks again for all your help. I truly appreciate it. Anthony
 
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BTW--I keep looking at pics of your 14... the only thing I would do differently is get the single nickel guard; otherwise, perfect. Now, I'm still stuck on the O1 vs. Stainless question... likely O1 though.
 
Thanks--yep, that's what I have in mind. I am pretty sure that I'll go with O1. I guess what I'm ultimately curious about is whether either is hardened to a high degree... I know either/ both will be plenty tough (and I do not do outrageous things with my knives). I called RMK yesterday and was told that the O1 holds a better edge and is easier to sharpen, and the stainless will need to be sharpened more often and is harder to sharpen. Best I know, those things typically do not go together--harder to sharpen usually means more wear-resistance, thus better edge holding. Easier to sharpen means less wear-resistance, thus slightly less apt to hold an edge.

That said, the difference between the two may be negligible... and in real use, I may not be able to tell. I don't have a problem sharpening/ honing, even in the field, I just want to be clear about how each steel performs and thus make a decision based on that knowledge. Having to wait four years for the blade gives a man a lot of time to wonder if he made the right decision. I want to avoid that my knowing what things are and deciding from there...

Lastly, I am guessing that due to the highly individualized forging process, there may be a slight degrees of variance between stainless blades, O1 blades, and all blades in general--so, in any case it will be nearly impossible to tell in any definitive way which steel has the better wear-resistance, etc... which ultimately brings me back to "just order what I like..." and being a carbon steel kinda guy (and knowing that O1 is a proven blade steel)... I'll likely opt for the O1 blade.

There--I said it, got it out of my system... I think.
 
There is a member around here I believe he's posted alot in the hollow handle thread and he claims the stainless steel Randall makes is better than their O1 steel and he does a lot of beating and hacking with a 12-9 and a 14. You may want to check that out. Here's a link it's a long thread but has a lot of pics and advice on different knives.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1132950-THE-Hollow-Handle-Knife-Thread
 
Thanks--I think at this point I'm going to go with the stainless. I read an article that it is hardened a few points higher than the O1. And anyway, since I have the O1, I figured I'd give the stainless a try.
 
Ais, I use my 14,5,3,and 28 a lot for everything you listed. I have many Busse's I us Too. The Randall's perform awesome. I prefer O1 myself. I live along the Great Lakes and rust has never been an issue.
 
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