VIETNAM WAR ERA RANDALL MOD 18.75 SOG FIGHTING KNIFE
HISTORY
The name Randall is one of the most iconic names in American knives. In the world of modern combat and fighting knives, the name is probably as revered as the name "Bowie" is among 19th century knives. Walter Doane Randall Jr. (better known simply as "Bo") first became interested in making handmade knives in 1936 after encountering a man using a handmade William Scagel knife. The quality of Scagel's work impressed Bo to the point that he set out to try and emulate the quality and to make knives of his own design. By 1938 his hobby knife making had become a small business and on September 13, 1939 Randall trademarked his classic two-line Randall logo: RANDALL MADE / ORLANDO, FLA., flanked by a pair of scimitars. The following year, Randall Knives published their first catalog. The timing could not be more auspicious.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the US found itself thrust into World War II, and without an official fighting knife in inventory. The only combat knives in storage were leftover US M1918 MK1 brass knuckle trench knives from World War I that had never been issued. As a result, many of the young men heading overseas to fight in North Africa, the European Theater and the Pacific Theater chose to take their own personally owned combat knives with them. Those familiar with Bo Randall's work often chose to take a Randall, like the Model 1 "All Purpose Fighter", the Model 2 "Fighting Stiletto" or the Model 3 "Hunter". Still more sent letters back to Orlando addressed simply to "Knife Man - Orlando, Florida" to request that Bo make a knife and send it to him in the theater of operations where he was serving. These men had seen other Randall knives in use and in combat and knew that Bo was making something special in Orlando. Demand grew to the point that a small number of knives were produced by the Northampton Cutlery Company of Springfield, MA on behalf of Randall and with his trademark "Randall Made" legend on the blade. Some of the more prominent US soldiers to carry Randall knives during WWII included General James Gavin of the 82nd Airborne, and Major Richard Ira Bong, America's top fighter ace in the Pacific Theater. In fact, one anecdote claims that an American war correspondent credited Bo Randall's knives with killing 384 enemy combatants.
After WWII, business continued to boom, and Randall introduced even more models, primarily aimed at sportsmen and outdoorsmen. By 1948 the line had grown to ten models, and by the early 1950s Randall was starting to run a backlog of orders with business continuing to boom. In 1960 NASA commissioned Bo to produce a knife for use by astronauts in the space program, and the Model 17 Astro was born. As the 1960s continued and US involvement in Vietnam increased and expanded, so did the demand for Bo Randall's fighting knives. Demand and order backlogs resulted in Bo contracting for some blades from Solingen in Germany to help with work flow and reduce the time it took to fill orders. These knife blades were made to Randall's specifications and were finished by the Randall shop, but were marked RANDALL MADE / SOLINGEN rather than RANDALL MADE / ORLANDO, FLA. The use of Solingen blades only lasted a few years, during the height of Vietnam knife and today the demand of these Solingen marked knives are rare variations for Randall collectors and command very high prices. Also if the original owners name is on the blade prices are even higher.
ITEM DESCRIPTION
Nice clean blade with a sawback edge. one side is stamped "RANDALL MADE SOLINGEN" with the other side engraved with "KENNETH R. SARABIA 566-72-4020" whom I am assuming is the original owners name which deserves further research. The cross handle and screw on end cap are made of brass with the handle shaft neatly wrapped in comms cord to form a handle grip. The cap end screws off to reveal a compass inside the cap and a small survival kit inside the handle. The scabbard which is in good condition is the Randall issue scabbard and is maker stamped. The sharpening stone is missing but this is a small issue. Both snap buttons are working.
This Randall knife is a text book example of a Vietnam War era model 18 SOG fighting knife, being the highly sought after Solingen bladed example. Prices in the USA for this knife start around $3000 US with nearly all of them on dealers website marking them as sold. I am selling this knife for only $2900 Australian making this good investment value considering postage and GST requirements when importing into Australia.