Unknown Randall Made

bleev3

bleev3

Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
241
My grandfather gave me this Randall and I'd like to know a little more about it...thought there would be knowledgeable people here that could help me.

He left it in the sheath all these years so it needs some TLC. Anyway anyone know what this knife is called? I'm unsure about it's production date but he waited a full year on a Randall list to get it. It's 40+ years old.

Anyway any info would be greatly appreciated.

Also is it possible to have someone fix the blade and polish the knife to it's original condition? Does Randall knife recondition their knives?

Blessings...

randallq.jpg
 
hello bleev3,

you have come to the right place, someone will help you, very knowledgeable owners on here, does it have the stone with it?

you have a jewel there, especially if it is 40+ years old, do not let it go, you will be glad that you did not. it could be worth alot of money and your grandfather gave it to you, which is the most important.
 
Yeah the stone is in the pouch.The cardboard box is falling apart but it's original to the knife.

It's invaluable to me because it was my grandfathers knife whom I'm happy to say is a healthy 88 years old praise God.

I would however like to know it's estimated monetary value.

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i totally agree with you about your grandfathers health, be sure and hold onto what you have got, because if you have what i think you have got the sky is the limit on the value.

do not do anything to the knife without professional guidance and i am no way near qualified to give that to you.

but if it was my knife/sheath, i would have no problem driving to orlando and letting the folks on orange blossom trail take a look at it to guide you. jason or mr, gary randall would love to see the knife and guide you on a proper direction, that is a rare knife to get a hold of and you will not be sorry for the drive. the reason i say drive is because i would not want to ship something that valuable. someone will probably answer your request this evening on here, so just hold on and let the forum work for you.

thanks and godspeed.
 
Thank you so much for your guidance and time stricknine, it really is appreciated.

God bless...
 
You have a model 3 there, and from the looks of things a 3-5. It's in carbon steel (O-1, to be precise), which you probably figured out for yourself by looking at the rust spots.

The shop will recondition the knife, for a price, if you're the original owner. Since your grandfather is still alive, he may well qualify for that.

If you're within driving range of the shop, take the knife on over and have them look at it and see what they can do. I'm sure they would love to see it.

Perry Miller at Spaceport Cutlery can give you an appraisal, again for a price. Offhand, I'd say it's somewhat more than the $340 it would cost new today, and somewhat less than "the sky's the limit." (Seriously, it's hard to say, especially right now. This recession has made estimating values almost impossible.)
 
Oh that's great Samael...thanks for your time and expertise.

Good to know they will only recondition knives from the original owner. Anyone know how much they charge (ballpark)?

I live in Arizona so I would have to send it via ups, that seems a little risky but really it's my only option.

I assume they have an email address for these types of inquiries?
 
I have no idea what they would charge; it's on a case-by-case basis, and they'll almost certainly want to look at your knife before giving you a quote.

Gary Randall's e-mail address is grandall@randallknives.com, but be warned: While he's very good at reading his e-mails, he can be pretty bad about responding to them.

Your best bet is to call the shop at (407) 855-8075. Their hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT, and anyone who answers the phone should be able to either help you out or get you to someone who will.

Any parcel delivery service should be able to get the knife to Orlando, just be sure you can insure it. I'd put $1,000 worth of insurance on it - that may or may not be accurate, but it's probably in the ballpark.
 
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Thanks again Samael, I'll send off an email and if no answer I'll use that rectangle thing with all the numbers on it. Thanks Bud.
 
Hi Bleev3,

Congratulations on a great heirloom! I have a Model 3-6 that my Dad purchased in late '45. He's been gone now for 35 years, but everytime I pick up that knife he seems to be standing next to me. I can't put a monetary value on it nor would I want to. My 1st grandson is due in September and he'll be the next caretaker of the knife and all it's associated history. Hopefully he'll pass it on to his son or grandson. We don't really "own" knives. We're just caretakers for a while.

It seems your knife is a 3-5 or 7-5 (The back of the sheath may shed some more light). IMO it was made between 1964 and 1972. The brackets are (1) The sheath snaps transitioning from brown button to baby dots in ~1964 and (2) The spacer set at the hilt transitioning from dull red 3 thick / 2 thin to bright red 3 thick 2 thin in ~1972. As far as value: If you really have to know then monitor completed e-bay auctions for a while and it shouldn't be too long before you have a benchmark or two.

I can't tell from the pics, but I can see only carbon spots and no pitting. My recommendation is not to have it shop cleaned. It's a functional tool and was meant to be used. Why not use it? If reasonable care is taken it will last a number of lifetimes. Aside from the obvious benefits of using a good knife, it will acquire stories than can be handed down to the next generation.

Enjoy,
 
Ron thank you for your time, advice and expertise....you certainly are wise. I will never part with this knife and it will be passed down. You are right on the money with the date, my Grandfather said he purchased it in about 1965 as he recalls. You father with a 1945 knife is sure an early one...didn't BO start making knives in 1939? I assume my knife was made by BO too.

My main concern is with the non-pitted rust spots on the blade and the brass guard. I have no idea how to repair them and It would kill me if I did something to harm the knife. My grandfather recommended I get some jewelers rouge for the blade, he thinks that would polish the blade and remove the spots...as for the guard I suppose I could use some brasso cleaner. There is also some green rust (for lack of a better word) on the leather strap that crosses the guard that I would need to clean.

Anyway your guidance is greatly appreciated.

EDIT:

Here is a photo of the back of the sheath.

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Cool blade! :thumbup: If you intend to keep it as a user, just apply some CLP oil and use a plastic brush to knock the rust down. Maybe use some Flitz to shine her up all purty. I would suggest leaving the blade as close to the condition it is in as possible. It has a lot of character and that is the way it should remain, IMHO.
 
Truth be told Maqua I'm not a hunter and at 40 years old I don't find myself out in the woods anymore so really it's not likely to see any hard use. I do like the guidance I received in this thread and am thinking I'll just leave it as is. I was just worried about the surface spots on the blade. My thought was if I left them it would at some point start to pit the blade steel. There are also scratches on the side from sharpening that I would like to get rid of and maybe that is something I could do myself with a little elbow grease and some jewelers rouge...don't know but that's the line I believe I will follow. I also wonder if there is anything I should do to the leather sheath in the way of conditioning.
 
Thanks bleev3. My pleasure. I'm just a guy who loves Randalls - especially the old ones.

You know I'm ashamed to say I don't remember what year Bo got started. I think it was 1937, but I'm not 100%. As I age I leave pieces of my memory behind me like a trail of cookie crumbs. Pretty soon there won't be much of the original cookie left. I have a number of reference books at home, but I don't have access to them here at work. While I'm thinking about it, I suggest you pick up a book by Robert Gaddis titled "The History Of The Man And The Blades". You won't regret it.

Odds are against Bo making your knife as he had a fair size crew working for him in the mid 60's. Same goes for my Dad's knife: Most likely made by his one worker at that time Bill Platts.

I would concur with Maqua's suggestions. I use a product called Mother's Mag and Wheel Polish and some elbow grease to remove carbon spots on the blade in lieu of Flitz. No problem to use Brasso on the hilt. It will take the green stuff off and shine it up. Before too long it will tarnish up again. Just don't store the knife in the sheath: Moisture has a harder time to evaporate and the chemicals used to tan the leather will react with metals.

Johnson sheaths usually have 2 numbers stamped on the back indicating the model and blade length. A few just have the blade length and fewer still are not marked at all. It's really hard to tell if what you have is a 3-5 or a 7-5 from your pics. I don't have a period 3-5, but I do have a period 3-6 and 7-5. When I get the chance I'll take a few comparison measurements of the handles and we'll see if we can pin it down.

Best,
 
Thank you so much for everything Ron....there is no real rush so please do this at your leisure.

I can't find a product called "Mother's Mag and Wheel Polish" but this seems close:

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It that the same thing by a slightly different name? I'd hate to use something that would hhurt the blade.

btw- brasso did wonders for the brass guard.
 
That's close enough for Government work. It should not abrade the steel. I use another product for sheaths (only if they are abnormally dry): "Lexol" leather cleaner and conditioner. Don't worry about the scratches on the blade: Won't hurt a thing, and as Maqua said you want to keep the blade as close to the original condition as possible: Those scratches are a part of it's history. I assume your Grandfather put them there. You don't want to erase his history do you? :D
 
Well actually my grandfather gave me that knife when I was 18 years old. I was a serious hiker, rock climber and camper than so the knife always came with me. The knife originally had a beautiful apple seed grind which I ground away so I could achieve a sharper edge. So the scratches were from me when I was young and reckless. I wish now that I hadn't taken a stone to the blade but at this point I can only try to remove the scratches I put there.
 
Ron I absolutely LOVE your way of thinking and attitude.

I just purchased some of that Mother's polish and it's doing wonders to the blade. Thanks so much for walking me through this process.

I hate feeling like I'm monopolizing the time of good people but I really needed the guidance so I truly am grateful.

I'll post a photo when I finish with the mother's polish. (could be a couple weeks on that, takes a lot of time and effort)
 
bleev, i know that you are not taking up my time, i enjoy the conversation and love knives, that is the reason why most of us are on here i am sure.

love the randalls and the history and what three generations of family behind the outstanding knives that they make, you can talk to anyone with a little maturity to them and they know about randall knives.

enjoy your knife and talking about it...
 
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