A pair of randalls
I’ve been reading as many Randall threads as I could find over a period of several evenings, and enjoying immensely the pictures and trying to absorb all the information imparted. And yes, I’ll admit to more than just a little envy when seeing all those gorgeous Randall-Made knives. I have also noted there are more than a few who seem to, well, disdain Randall’s – ah well, to each his own, and ‘there’s no accounting for taste’.
I recently had the opportunity to photograph this set belonging to a retired U. S. Army officer who served two tours in Vietnam, 1967-’68 and 1972. His first tour was in the 199th Infantry Brigade and the second was as a ‘spook’ (his term) ostensibly assigned to a MACV team in the Central Highlands. He wanted to make it clear that these Randalls were not carried over there, but he did carry a Buck 120 on his first tour and a Solingen-bladed model 14 in 1972. When asked if he still had those knives, he was very candid in admitting he stupidly traded them off for things long since forgotten.
For the collector / enthusiast / reader, this matched pair was ordered from RMK in mid-July, 2003, and was shipped in mid-March, 2007. Originally handled in leather, the blades are 8” stainless steel, with nickel-silver guards and aluminum butt caps. The current handles, I’m told, were done by Martin Knives in Caddo Mills, Texas. They are constructed of ‘antique ivory’ micarta, and a mix of other materials (G10 and micarta ?) to form the Vietnam Service ribbon colors. He admitted the handles are pudgy looking, but they fit his rather large hands perfectly.
I think it’s a very relevant, even elegant, memorial of an old soldier, recalling those most dynamic times of his life.
) but hey no way is a round aspect handle gonna work as hard as a ergonomic shape . Otherwise they would win chopping competitions for one real world example. Ones choice is certainly up to them and whom am I to say? 
