Why are Randle knives highly praised?

M

myplea

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Hi

What do people see in them? and why do people wait for so long to get one?

There are cheaper and more available knives that are made with equal quality , can be as heavy duty or even more than Randle.

Is it the brand and status symbolism of the name?

Or do they really have something extra.
 
For me it is all the history behind RANDALL knives. It is the quality that goes into each and every Randall knife. A little of Bo Randall goes into each knife. It is all that Randall knives knives stands for.
 
It is a history thing. I have no such esteem for them. I am not saying they are bad knives I have handled them they are fine knives but not better than others.
 
T.K.C. said:
For me it is all the history behind RANDALL knives. It is the quality that goes into each and every Randall knife. A little of Bo Randall goes into each knife. It is all that Randall knives knives stands for.
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Well said! I have two of them on order, and I think tey are worth the wait.
 
I imagine the same could be said of Harley Davidson Motorcycles and Colt single action pistols, but same concept I guess. Are they exrtremely high quality? Definitely. Does that explain or justify the phenomenal demand for them relative to other similar products of comparable quality? Definitely not.
 
This brings up a question for me. Whenever I see Randall knives advertised, they usually just say they are made of surgical stainless or stainless. On the A. G. Russell site, I just noticed that the Randall Model 1 was made of 440A. If this is true, I am very surprised. And if it is true, I can't believe people pay what they do for those knives. I'll keep my CS Classic Military in AUS-8A or even better, my Ontario Rat-7 in D2.

Regards
 
A.G. Russell stated in another thread, that Randall Knives are not 440A.
 
I remember there is a song called "Randall Knife" by Guy Clark (IIRC). A very good song, BTW.
 
The Randall Knife I use to own was very well made and showed quality fit & finish throughout. While they certainly do great as users, I think it is collector's that drive the Randall Knife market. I sold my Randall (was not using it) for more than I bought it for.
 
You're paying for a legend. I don't own one, but they're well made knives. For the price of one, when you can get one, I'd rather have a custom, made the way I want from Scott Gossman or Dan Koster.
 
Troop said:
You're paying for a legend. I don't own one, but they're well made knives. For the price of one, when you can get one, I'd rather have a custom, made the way I want from Scott Gossman or Dan Koster.
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+1!!

nice knives...Legendary and all that:p
 
Myplea, this is a case where "If you have to ask the question you won't understand the answer." I was lucky enough to be able to visit Bo Randall in his shop and showroom when I was a teenager. Later on I bought a couple of Randall Made Knives myself. It's all about quality with a lot of history thrown into the mix. From what I remember, Randall said he first started making knives about World War Two. As the fame of his blades spread among the troops, more and more soldiers wrote to him asking for a fighting knife. He had already made his fortune in Florida citrus and real estate by that time. The knives were his hobby, and what a hobby it was!
 
Bladeprince, to the best of my knowledge Randall Made Knives have always been made either of American 440C stainless steel or the best Swedish high carbon tool steel. I will admit, though, that I have not read up on their specs lately. I seriously doubt that they are using anything less than the best or what they consider the best today. Opinions may vary, but high quality doesn't. Skip their website and order a Randall catalog. It doesn't cost that much.
 
Randall knives are forged from carbon steel. They use stainless only on certain models, and the Model 1 is not one of them.

Bladeprince, if you look further down in the description of the knife you see that it is also listed as O-1 tool steel.

Another reason for the huge backlog at Randall is that their knives are being ordered for immediate resale at large profits.

Edit: The O-1 blade is listed for the maple handled Model 1. Maybe the Micarta handled version is a special model that comes with a 440 steel blade, but it is not something that I recall seeing in the past.
 
If you like knives, and want to get one as an investment, you buy a Randall knife. Plain & simple. It's value is pretty much guaranteed to go up.
 
That is a part of the reason for their popularity. Folks can make a good return reselling them. History is definitely another reason. I personally prefer the older Randall knives to those that are being produced today.
 
I ordered two Model 1's in March 2005. I'm expecting them both to be delivered April 2009. Less than two years to go.... I'm looking forward to making my own judgments about the quality of these knives.
 
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