Randall Made Knives are some of the most sought-after collectibles among true knife buffs. The company is renowned for producing some of the highest-quality hand-made knives in the world.
W.D. “Bo” Randall started making knives in 1937 as a hobby. He quickly learned to hand-make high-quality forged knives for various outdoor uses. He began selling them informally in the years leading up to World War II.
During the early stages of the war, a reporter got wind of these knives and wrote a story about Bo. This led to overwhelming demand and forced Bo into the knife-making business full time. This turned out to be a great thing for knife buffs!
Randall continued to hand-craft each and every knife despite the demand and temptation to mass-produce his products. He received more good publicity throughout WWII as several war heroes, including Ronald Reagan, carried his knives.
After the war, Bo was contacted by NASA to develop a survival knife for its fledgling space program. The result was one of Randall’s most famous knives — the Model #17 “Astro”.
Bo Randall passed away in 1989, but left his company in the capable hands of son Gary. Today, Randall enjoys a stellar reputation for producing some of the finest hand-made knives worldwide. Their knives are true collectibles, often increasing in value immediately after purchase.
Randall makes over 50 models, some of which have been in production for decades. The knives fall into several categories:
For detailed information on each specific knives, see our individual pages devoted to each knife.
Randall has been refining its knife making process throughout its history. It currently uses a time-intensive, seventeen step process that involves forging a high-carbon steel blade, hand-shaping the blade to exact specifications and multiple polishings. For full details on the process, see Randall’s website.
You’ve got a few options when looking to buy a Randall Knife. If you don’t mind getting on a five-year waiting list, you can go to the Randall Knives website. Or you can search around and find an authorized Randall dealer. Unfortunately, Randall dealers have a limited allotment of knives that they can get from Randall, so it’s pretty much hit or miss. If you want a knife soon, or are looking for a specific model, the only way to go is eBay. You’ll find plenty of Randall Knives available on eBay — some new, some used. You might have to hunt around just a bit to find the perfect knife, but you can usually find what you’re looking for. Be sure to check the seller’s feedback rating before buying — you’ll want to buy from someone who has a 98% rating or better.
Randall knives are so popular, there are several books written about them. You can find a brief review of this Randall Knife reference book on our website. This book
For a quick and dirty overview of Randall Knives, check out the Wikipedia’s entry on Randall Knives. It’s brief, but does provide some links to more definitive sites.
