Not sure if this is the thread to talk about this or not but I was reading my Gaddis book today and noticed the older catalogs saying the #1 was made from 3/16" stock and another model I think the #3 being made from 1/8" stock. I had never noticed this before and I have always thought of Randall knives being heavy bladed.

All the modern knives are at least 3/16" except the model #10 and those are stock removal not forged. For the most part the models are 1/4"

Now I feel that 1/4" is perfect for my 5-6 and other models especially since they go down to such a fine edge, this also gives the edge strength. As well being a narrow tang the thickness gives the knife strength for harder tasks like battoning, chopping, split - wood fire making etc.

does anyone have any of the older thin bladed knives?

Hi Ben,

Are you referring to the '45 catalog on page 107 and the '48 catalog on page 114 or ? If so (1) The '45 catalog states that the Model one is "over 3/16" thick" and the Model 3 is "approximately 3/16" thick" (2) The '48 catalog states the Model 3 is "1/8th to 3/16" thick".

I haven't seen as many early fighters as Joe or Tune, but I've seen quite a few and they were all made from 1/4" stock with a finished thickness of "over 3/16" (Which jives with the '45 catalog discription).

The early Hunters / Model 3's are a different story: I have one pre-war Hunter and it was made from 1/4" stock. That's only one data point, so I can't vouch for any others. I've owned 9-10 WWII Hunters and with the exception of just one, all were made from 3/16" stock. All post WWII Model 3's I've
ever seen or owned have been made from 1/4" stock with the one exception of a C 1960 "display model" with an 8 1/2" blade that was made from 3/8" stock. I think you can say as a general rule that WWII Hunters were made from 3/16" stock and post WWII Model 3's were made from 1/4" stock. The '45 catalog discription is correct: A finished post war Model 3 made from 1/4" stock would be "approximately 3/16" thick. The '48 ( and '52 and '53) catalog discriptions are just flat wrong. They are describing the actual thickness of a WWII Hunter. Why the error was made and why it was not corrected over a 5 year period is beyond me.

The only knives I've seen that were made from 1/8" stock were two of the first nine Model 8's made in the 4th quarter of 1946. IMO they were just too thin to be useful for anything but very delicate work and apparantly Bo felt the same way as I've never seen any others made after those first nine that were not made from 3/16" stock.

Best,

Ron

I'm pretty sure those are the pages I was looking at, not sure as I don't have the book with me. Thanks for the info!

1/8 does seem pretty thin especially since after it was finished it would be even thinner.

My latest purchase, this model 3-5 just arrived today, I dont think its very old but guessing early 70s?

Early 60s? Model 3-6

Perfect package Andrew.

Brown buttons generally make it pre '63. The blue letter stone is also an early 60's feature.

Congrats…..

Thanks

I really do like the older models and this is the oldest I have to date, I will keep an eye out for more.
I would like to get my hands on a well used knife so I can have it as a user instead of just display.

Andrew,
A good old user is nice!!
I've been lucky enough to get a couple from my dad.
It's nice to hold an "old timer" in your hands, and put it to work!!
This knife was given to my dad from my grandfather...It's user for sure, and I think it fits well in this thread.
:-)Rocky

Very nice Rocky, I'm afraid If I came across an old pinned stag like that it would go on display as well

So nice…so cool..!
I love old shapes…
G