Randall Knives?

[Martinjmpr]

Does anyone know of a place to find values and/or sell a couple of old Randall knives? I inherited them when my Dad passed away in 2020. They're beautiful knives, one of them is a "diver's knife" that was used by my uncle (dad's brother) who was an underwater archaeologist (yes, that's a thing!) for the Smithsonian in the 1960's.

The knives are gorgeous, but I don't need them, nor will I ever use them. I have no kids of my own to pass them on to and I only got them because literally nobody else in my family wanted them. I don't hunt anymore (not that I'd use a big knife like this to field dress an animal anyway) and cannot think of any reason to keep them. Our recent move has convinced me that having "too much stuff" is cluttering up my life.

I can post pics if anybody here is a knife collector. They are engraved with my Uncle's name, I don't know if that reduces the value or not, although I could probably write up a short bio on my uncle - he is an very interesting guy. He worked at the Smithsonian in the 1960's and used to take us kids into the back rooms where they were putting together the displays at the Museum of History and Technology (now called the Museum of American History.) He got divorced from my aunt in the mid 1960's and lived a "swinging bachelor life" in the DC Suburbs in the 1960's - sports car, bachelor pad with black leather furniture and high-end audio system, etc. He was a fun guy, for sure.

I also have a couple of other "no name" sheath knives I probably need to get rid of. I guess I can consolidate them all together and take some photos if there's anybody who is interested.

I'll post pics later.

[BPTactical]

PM sent

[BladesNBarrels]

I am a long time Randall Knife collector.
Facebook has 4 groups dedicated to Randall knives and that is where you will get your best price and model information.
Start with the website Randall Knives and look at the current catalog prices for knives.
You can order those knives directly from the Shop and wait 6 years for delivery, or go to an authorized Randall Knife dealer and receive it in about 7 to 9 months.
Colorado's dealer is Spyderco, but they don't take custom orders.
The dealers have been cut back by thirty five percent for their orders, so they pretty much won't order the lower priced knives. They have increased in value due to that.
Resale is best on Facebook, second best on Ebay.
If you don't want to do Facebook, send me pictures, and I can give you a ballpark values, and may be a buyer depending on condition.
If the Randall is collectible, the name does not matter.

[Martinjmpr]

Resale is best on Facebook, second best on Ebay.


I thought FB didn't allow sales of anything that could be considered a "weapon?"

[3beansalad]

I thought FB didn't allow sales of anything that could be considered a "weapon?"

This is true for general sales on FB Marketplace. If you happen upon a group that caters to a specific item, sales happen regularly. Most require that specific words cannot be used. And often the price and description are a pic in the comments of the item photo.

[Clint45]

Randall is highly collectable, and he made dozens of styles, all valued differently. Condition is everything with these, and if they are all unused in like new condition with the original sheath you can get top dollar, especially for some of his less common models.

Your best bet for information is probably bladeforums. It is free to register as a user where you can then search the Exchange (individual fixed blades) for Randall to get a general idea of model, then post pics of the ones you cannot find in Bernard's knife collecting and identification forum. You will need to pay $30 for a Gold membership to sell on the exchange, but trading is free.

Each of those knives would probably be valued between 300-800, but I've seen a few selling for over a thousand.

The owner's name being engraved will reduce value a bit, as will any evidence of use... especially if there is any damage, heavy scratches, or pitting.

Randall collectors will probably overlook a lot of that, but it will drop the price. I do not collect Randalls, but might be interested in the other knives.

[BladesNBarrels]

Another source of information is knifetalkforums.com.
A smaller audience than it used to be due to Facebook, but there are pretty fast responses from knowledgeable collectors and everyone is welcome to post.
The folks there are a real resource and the history of the Randall Knife Society and Randall Knife Collectors Club is archived for the person that really wants to get into the details.

[JohnnyDrama]

Nothing to add. I just saw the title and got excited. It's good to know there is so much knowledge so easily accessible.

Waiting for pics....

[Martinjmpr]

Sorry for the delay! pics, as promised. I did redact the last name on the knives since it's the same as mine.

I can try and take better ones if these don't show enough of what the knives look like.

I should add that other than the fact that they're Randall knives and that my Uncle had one made for diving (the sawtooth one that says "Smithsonian Institute" on it) I don't know much about them. I presume they were purchased in the 1950s or 60's but I don't really know.

95535

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[BPTactical]

The one in the brown sheath is a Model 1-7, possibly a 1-8. Hard to tell as there isn’t anything to scale it to. They have both been heavily used, the Model 1 showing the most evidence of sharpening. The dive knife is a Model 16, it is a stainless blade as witnessed by the “S” character stamped next to the hilt.
Timeline of the 60’s looks about right due to the spacer configuration on the Model 1- those more knowledgeable than I can tell more from the sheaths and stones.
Stop storing them in the sheaths- that is causing the green corrosion. To clean them don’t do anything more than wiping them down with an oily rag. Oil the blades then wrap the entire knife in butcher paper or similar (not in plastic).
The name & Smithsonian engravings don’t enhance the value IMO, possibly they would to the right collector in that specific niche’.

[BladesNBarrels]

The Model 16 is a Model #16 Special #1 Fighter due to the double hilt and has a 7 inch Stainless Blade standard.
Yours has a lower S indicating stainless, and is more collectible due to the location of the S
The lower S is attributed to the mid-60's, but I had a collection that was made in the 71 time period with lower S.
The double Nickel Silver Hilt is an upgrade from the standard Double Brass Hilt. The Sawteeth are an upgrade also.
Dating Randalls is an estimating type of thing since they can have components that stay in inventory for a few years.
The Model 1 All Purpose Fighting Knife appears to be closer to 8 inch blade length when compared to the 16's 7 inch blade.
The 7 spacer configuration is attributed to time periods before 1972 on non-leather handles.
The Stag Handle, the #1 Nickel Silver Double Hilt, and the Wrist Thong are upgrades or chargeable options.
The plain snaps on the sheaths are called baby dot snaps and were phased out around 1995.
So, I would guess late 60's to early 70's for the Stag Handle Model 1.
Please post or send pictures of the backs of the sheaths and of the sharpening stone in the pouch of the Model 1's Sheath to determine a little more information.
Both knives show sharpening and usage marks.
I will send a PM.

[Clint45]

If they were in excellent to near mint condition, they'd probably be worth 800+ each.

In that condition, I'd estimate a combined value of 600 for both knives.

They obviously saw a LOT of heavy use. Your dad was cool.