Hey all-

I like the look and history of Randall knives. I want one.
The thing is, I don't really have any "safe Queen" knives. All of them get carried, and with the exception of the giant italian stiletto that Screaming Cockatoo redid for me, they all cut things.

So, does anyone have a Randall that has seen significant use. Like, have you "sharpened it after making it dull" used it?

Pics welcome

Bruce

I don't have one that I have used (I only have one Randall). The hard used ones I have seen were practically all used in Vietnam. It's an interesting thought. Most are safe queens like you mentioned.
I'd like to see some pics as well.

It offers you an opportunity. Just go to a few gun shows or even a dedicated knife show. Look at the used ones. Some collectors get the look on their faces like they bit into a dill pickle. But the best ones are preowned. The darned things cost too much to use for trenching or cutting stones. For normal knife uses cutting things that don't destroy a blade. Like cleaning fish or small game, or even deer. Around camp uses like whittling or even splitting kindling are OK if done by an owner with just a bit of common sense.

I've got a set of steak knives that have seen a good bit of use. Still look like brand new, but my stomach doesn't. I don't cut against hard china. That will roll the edge and mess up the knife.

We talk a lot here about knives, but almost never about proper usage or common sense. Knives are made for cutting things, often specific ones. Using a knife for all sorts of general cutting may not be the best thing to do.

The thing that got me thinking about this is the fact that you can choose between "Tool steel" and "stainless steel". Tool steel being easier to sharpen but rusts more easily. Stainless requiring less maintenance and holding less risk of coming out of the safe with a blemish.

I would be more inclined to select the tool steel but I'd love to see one with some patina from honest, appropriate use.

Bruce

I don't have a Randall but have carried/used custom knives for years, why not. They cost more but it gives me pleasure to have a handmade item, I usually know the maker.

Early on in life I was gifted a Puma Trail Guide, first inclination was to put it in the drawer. Instead it went into the console of our Boston Whaler, used for a few years. It was the first "nice" knife I owned, glad I used it.

I have a Ruana Smokejumper that I bought when I was 18. My first really good knife. It's been used hard, sharpened, and cared for.

Bruce

Hardly anyone uses Randalls, but they aren't even all that expensive by custom, handmade knife standards. Randall could charge 3 or 4 times what they do, and not use the 5 year waiting list as the rationing device.

But people still don't use them. I have a few, and have only used the first one I ever got. It is a Model 5, which I bought when the wait was only 18 months.

I use mine, I think it's a Model 25, for deer hunting. It stays with my hunting backpack all the time. I don't use it for general stuff.

Jim

If we want to call the marketing strategy Randall uses a device, OK. Really its a series of steps and plans that promote the brand. First and foremost, anyone who wants a Randall knife can buy one in maybe a week or two. The manufacturer has provided an easy pathway to accomplish that. Just go to the on line retailers, find the knife you want that is instock, call that shop and buy the knife you want. The catch is it may not be in stock and surely it will cost slightly more than the list or catalog price. By slightly more I mean maybe $10 or $20, not hundreds. If you want options not in someone's stock, you can still get your knife in short order from that retailer.

The marketing process allows a person or dealer to change the knife they've got on order - one time. So he can change the steak knife he's ordered to a 12" Bowie. I've got my own ideas about slightly more, but if you're spending $600 or so on a new knife, the extra $20 shouldn't be a biggie. If it is to you, just order the knife from the factory. And of course wait the 5+ years.

If you want one even faster with special features, just draw out the money from your over stuffed mattress or bank account and look up the nearest dedicated knife show. There's a fair chance you'll find one, or something you can live with. See how easy it was?

They come from the factory pretty darn sharp. Probably too sharp for a safe queen that gets handled. You walk home with a knife you can live with.

The wait time is as much a function of the shortage of skilled workers as an intentional move to limit supply. The knives are pretty well made. Compare them to other knives in the same class and you find attention to detail and a finished product that is darn good. Most manufacturers don't take a long time making their product. They produce a knife that can be done, start to finish, in a day or so. Each Randall can take significantly longer. They're kind of batch produced. Some work takes longer than others, so if you are willing to accept and leather washer handle, you're in luck. I personally prefer the stag handle, or the ivory ones no longer available. I've got to take the gun show route, and I don't mind.

My opinion is the factory sharpens them too well. Since the majority will never see a steak or deer, sharp isn't an advantage. If you have the status or standing to complain about the level of sharpness, you're assumed to have the skill level to sharpen in. If you don't have that skill, pay someone to do the dirty work for you. We used to have a poster in Seattle who sharpened knives for a living. He's a good one to use. The guy with a wheel at your local flea market isn't a good choice.

The OP here wanted to know about hard use knives. I have a 1948 hunter that has seen its fair share of use. Probably more than others. I'm always on the lookout for another. Those can often be had for hundreds less than a pristine new one. Low as they may be, even I have my standards. I won't buy one with chips in the blade, or damage to the handle. I do take them with damage to the sheath. The sheath alone costs more than most other knives, and it shows it. If you want quality, its going to cost you. If you don't need or want quality, buy the cheaper knife. If its going to be a safe queen, go to K mart and buy a dozen cheap knives. It will impress your friends, maybe.