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  #1  
Old 06-04-2017, 07:16 PM
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Blade 2017

As usual, the Blade show in Atlanta never fails to amaze me with both outstanding Randall knives, and the men who have been collecting and selling them for years, and in some cases decades.
My passion is the vintage knives, and there were many outstanding examples of rare and unique knives.
I will present here a few that I had the pleasure of holding in hand.
This first one is for you David, the pre model 27 Trail Blazers.



This next fighter displayed an unusual buttcap. Perhaps one that Bo complained about because the cast aluminum had voids in the casting.



This Brown Micarta Astro is one that appears in Hunts book. Is was made in 1965, as per the stamp on the back of the blade.





An early Bar Fisherman



This is the Applegate Stiletto that appears in Bob Gaddis' book







Here you go Jack, the recessed tang nut circa 1944. The owner states the Moore sheath is not original, because of the later brown button. Perhaps because it was a prototype, it wasn't until Randall sold it he had Clarence Moore make a custom sheath for it.



Here is a Randall Tendon cutter.



More photos in the next post.
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  #2  
Old 06-04-2017, 07:31 PM
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Another pic of the tendon cutter



This is one of 50 model 7's that Bo made



These 2 Randalls were made for Bo Randalls personal physician.



This photo gives you who haven't been, an idea how large the blade show is.



It was a great show and as always, saw some great knives, met some new collectors, and learned a thing or two from the long timers.
If you haven't had a chance to go, it needs to be on the bucket list.

Regards, Sam
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  #3  
Old 06-05-2017, 03:32 PM
JE6245 JE6245 is offline
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Very nice pics Sam. Sorry our paths didn't cross. That show is just mind blowing. I managed to pick up a few nice knifes but had a hard time focusing when there were so many to see. A friend of mine got a very nice pinned ivory handled mid-50's model 3/6 with chromed blade. I'm horrible with pictures but will see if I can take a couple to share with the group, especially with Ron. Rumor has it that he has a slight preference for that model. ;-)


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  #4  
Old 06-05-2017, 06:59 PM
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Hey Jim
Yeah, Ron Mathews knows a thing or 2 about those Hunters, I have learned a lot from him over the years.
We all will have to find a way to identify each other next time.
Here is another table that had some awesome knives! Talking about eye candy!

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Old 06-05-2017, 09:27 PM
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Jacknola Jacknola is offline
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Thanks for the great pictures Sam. By yourself, you posted better, more interesting, hobby-related pictures from Blade than all the other so-called collectors put together on all the sites. The lack of collecting interest in comments and reports about Blade elsewhere tends to just confirm my opinions. Thanks...
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Old 06-06-2017, 08:10 AM
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Thanks for your comments Jack. Here is one that may interest you. What do you think?






Last edited by samg; 06-06-2017 at 08:13 AM.
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Old 06-06-2017, 09:11 AM
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Sorry guys, I just couldn't resist including my 1943 fighter in this thread.

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Old 06-06-2017, 09:11 AM
BoBlade BoBlade is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JE6245 View Post
A friend of mine got a very nice pinned ivory handled mid-50's model 3/6 with chromed blade. I'm horrible with pictures but will see if I can take a couple to share with the group, especially with Ron. Rumor has it that he has a slight preference for that model. ;-)
Thanks for the heads-up, Jim. Yeah, I do like them 3's. Hopefully a pic of it will be posted at some point in time.
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Old 06-06-2017, 01:06 PM
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Hi Sam, thanks for the great pictures.. lots to try to absorb.

Re: the special model 1 with the MACVsog tooled sheath. The placard says the knife is a "special forging" from Vietnam, era... but... that may be erroneous (the date is hard to make out... it seems to be "1987" but that can't be related to the Vn War, so perhaps i'll interpreted it as being 1967.) The beret and sheath do not indicate support for a 1967 date, nor does the handle. The beret has a red dragon lining that was a fairly common addition in Vietnam, but the flash on the beret is not Vietnam related authentic or from SE Asia, it is from a flash I think was used in Germany after the main part of the 10th was redeployed out of Bad Tolz to the US. It did not exist during the Vn War in 1967, though I think it may have been approved in 1969-70 or so.

The beret itself is a little suspect... hard do say for sure, but it looks like it may be of a manufacture style later than 1967. The sheath has the MACCsog deaths-head... which was not applicable after 1973 and was not common in 1967. So who knows what it all means? The knife seems to be specially re-handled, and I doubt it can be be related back to the VN war period without good documentation.

Allow me to comment on the MACVsog skull-death's head emblem very nicely tooled into the sheath and why this may not be related to the advertised 1967 date. This symbol of MACVsog is now commonly well known. But in truth it did not become common in MACVsog in Vietnam, or spread to all the FOBs until later in the war... I think it began showing up in FOB-2 about 1970, but was never particularly widespread.. My brother tells me he was not familiar with it during 1968 when he was 1-0 of RT Delaware out of FOB-2. Maybe the symbol became common after I lost contact with the guys still there in 1970 or so. In any case, while it is now the unofficial-official symbol off MACVsog on patches, etc., it was not necessarily authentic during much of the war, and would not have been common to my knowledge in 1967.

Look at the lining in the beret. I don't think this one is particularly well done. The local tailors who would do this during our tours in the 1960s would usually do a 5-toed dragon used to represent the aristocrats (3-toe was for the parvenu) in careful silk embroidery that I think looked better quality then this one....for what it is worth. On the other hand, I have a tough time imagining where else in the world you could get this lining... though perhaps a Vietnamese tailor in Germany could do it today.

I actually wore such a lined beret home at the end of 1968...and it wasn't mine! On the way leaving Vietnam a carry bag was stolen in Pleiku. In it were my Randall knife, beret, 20 rolls of film, artifacts etc. I risked my skin driving a jeep at full tilt alone back to Kontum looking for it.. gone. However another SF trooper, black guy, offered his beret for me to wear home with my dress uniform. I did and still have it, but I foolishly removed his name and rank that were embroidered in the beret. I regret it to this day. Picture below.



In any case, it is possible the knife is authentic and the package was 1967, just not very likely. Here is what would have to happen for it to be Vietnam, 1967. Trooper deployed to Vietnam, got silk lining put in his beret in 1966-67. At later date he was assigned to the Bad Tolz company of 10th SF Group AFTER the 10th moved to the US and after the adoption of that special flash for the European based company in about 1969-70 or so,. At that time he had beret flash changed from the 5th group. He also would probably have to have had a special tooled sheath made, and had a special handle installed on a "15/16" special forged knife, whatever that means.. There are lots of "specials" in that scenario, so Cravat Emptor....but it is possible.

Last edited by Jacknola; 06-06-2017 at 11:40 PM.
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  #10  
Old 06-06-2017, 01:36 PM
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As always Jack, thank you for bringing the truth to light on this. If one is going to display Military items, they should be correct.
The sign just behind the beret reads:

Randall 15/16
Special Forging
Vietnam 1967

Here is the Blade show display beret, with the one Jack posted.

Regards, Sam

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  #11  
Old 06-06-2017, 02:51 PM
tunefinK tunefinK is offline
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The knife referenced as a special forging is the short blade model #16 parked above the sign. It is in a custom cover sheath made by Johnson. I am pretty sure Perry Miller authenticated it at one point. It's legit.


The knife that has been re-handled is a Low S model #1 that was broken at the hilt. I had it rebuilt with a period style handle. The sheath was custom made for it by Roger "Mudbone" Jones. It is not being represented as original. I traded it to Captain Chris and he is merely displaying it as part of his Vietnam grouping.
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  #12  
Old 06-06-2017, 03:57 PM
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Here are a few more oldies for you behind glass. I could look at these old displays all day long. Actually, that's what I did, made my rounds Friday and Saturday. These purveyors and collectors have a wealth of experience and stories too. Most of them love to share what they know too! Great time. If you haven't been, it should be on your list to do.

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Old 06-06-2017, 04:30 PM
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Another fine example. This one made by Gary Randall for Col Rex Applegate. It's a model 2. Notice the hand cut fluting on the flanged buttcap. Cool stuff.
What to you make of the sheath?

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Old 06-06-2017, 04:35 PM
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Why thank you Mitchell. That clears up a lot. Also, it helps explain the existence of this 6" or 6 1/4" riveted sheath which is for sale on E-bay right now. I was going to start a line asking what a riveted sheath in this length could have been used for.



I tried to see if the subject knife was low S, but couldn't get enough clarity. It is an interesting blade. I also wanted to be careful to avoid completely dissing the package because lots of strange things can happen. I am particularly careful about association of equipment with Special Forces, especially Vietnam. In any case, this allowed me to share some arcane knowledge about SF.

Again, thanks for the input. Perhaps someone should look at that sheath on E-bay?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brown-Leathe...0AAOSwX61ZMirS

Sam what really gets my eye about that m2 is the sheath. It seems to be a boot sheath, or for use under the sleeve of a jacket or something. The knife itself doesn't seem that unusual but I could see it amid my little Vietnam accumulation if someone wants to give it away LOL.

Last edited by Jacknola; 06-06-2017 at 05:28 PM.
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  #15  
Old 06-06-2017, 04:41 PM
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Some more eye candy behind glass. Maybe some Delrin handles for you Jack?
The model 4 at the bottom of the case looks to be ivory. I see a tiny split next to the pin.
The M2 in the center Delrin?


Last edited by samg; 06-06-2017 at 04:55 PM.
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