Here is an ex-SOG that was supposed to be made by Randall, but for sure Bo Randell put his handle on it and that is known for sure. I have had it since 1973 and Bo Randell put the handle on in 1977. I understand it is quite controversial.

See some pics. Sorry for the quality.

Converting the letters to .jpeg and will upload.

Why no obverse image?

Read the letter attached now and the history. All I can say is what is in there. I had another randall later, and certainly wanted a sterile blade with no name on it, so obviously not something I asked for at all.

Just interesting to say the least.

I have seen a couple other knives with RMK handles on them, but as is stated in the letter above, very few. That being said, all seems good save for the "blood etching" statement. I throw a flag on that. Probably even fewer "knife fight" blades with blood on them exist than non-Randall blades with Randall handles.

SOG knives were notorious for rusting and pitting as the steel was not the best particularly with the fact that they were very inexpensive and the climate and conditions in which they were used.

Interesting piece for sure.

More real knife fights happened in bars vs in combat.
Even then most of the fights were one-sided where the opposing fighter saw he was out-matched by a more skilled combatant, or a combatant who appeared to be more skilled, (or had a bigger knife). A knife fighter makes an excellent target (for most hand guys) if the person with the hand gun is not taken by surprise.

A couple of links to about the 21 foot rule ie Gun/Knife "combat".

http://www.policemag.com/channel/weapons/articles/2014/09/revisiting-the-21-foot-rule.aspx

"Whether the "21-Foot Rule" is an applicable defense in an officer-involved shooting actually depends upon the facts and evidence of each case."

This video shows the difference between a surprise attack and the LEO being aware.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_KJ1R2PCMM

https://www.policeone.com/close-quarters...e-valid-Part-2/

So if the opposing soldier were taken by surprise by a "knife guy" in a specific unit possibly there would be some 'micro' basis for leaving the blood on the knife vs cleaning the blade (as a bragging point).

Tom V.

Personally I say BS.

I know next to nothing about old Randall knives, but I've heard lots of stories from Vietnam of guys preparing wild game in the field. Having done it myself, I know that meat/blood stains the knife pretty good over time.

I'm wondering if that was what was intimated, vs. knife fight. Although I personally know a guy I fully believe killed a Viet Cong with his Randall.

I will not disagree with your statement there.

It would seem to me that most animals would be wary of 4 or more people moving thru a forested or jungle area. Parts of at least Vietnam was developed to grow rice many years before Americans came to Vietnam so the ability to hunt and kill game in Vietnam would be sporadic at best. And of course killing game would tell everyone that you were around. But obviously there are less traveled jungle areas too.

Tom V.

There is a pretty famous picture in one of the RKS Newsletters many years ago that shows a GI holding a Randall and posing with a tiger he had killed in Vietnam. I suppose he was about to clean the animal.

A one time event Ronnie, where a GI was posing with a Randall knife next to a tiger that he obviously did not kill with a knife, more like a grenade or a claymore does not lend itself to a premise that a Randall knife was used to kill a bunch of bad guys in Vietnam.

Now if the story was "I killed a Tiger in Vietnam and then skinned it out with my Randall Knife, I still have the knife and Tiger Skin", that would be one I would believe.

Along those same lines, the Capt (I am sure) has had a lot of blood-stained knives over the years skinning out game which was one of the reasons why the Randall Knife was created.

My point is: being around to skin out a Tiger is very rare, typically the human is the one on the Tiger's menu.

Tom V.

Links to the RKS Newsletters with the tiger.

http://www.randallmadeknife.com/1993-august/

http://www.randallmadeknife.com/1993-december/