I too carried my RMK upside-down (on my body armor). I used an elastic band to retain the handle in case it unknowingly became unsnapped in the heat-of-whatever. The possibility of losing it is the only downfall I could think of. It did seem easier to get to that way, at least for me. Whats the weapon in your right hand? More pics, please!

More pics and stories would be great. Thanks for sharing.

Excellent stuff!
Thanks for sharing!
Tony

Sorry, long post: Here are a couple of more shots from twin-bro that feature Randall Model 14. Notes are included integral with photo. RVN north of Ban Don


Apr. 1978 - Gene says he had Randall and 9mm under coat in this picture… which was the day the news arrived of the overthrow of Da'ud in Kabul by the Parcham communists in coup in Afghanistan.


Re Wally - questions about previous pictures: Weapon in my right hand is a military issue 7-round 12 gage pump shotgun. Why? Oh… various reasons… short one-day medical patrol into village, possible shoot bird or rabbit on way, good weapon in bunkered village. Here is another example held by my friend, SSGT Lonnie Holmes, SF A-253 '68, later Dr. Lewis Holmes, UCLA, ('cuse me!).


Notice the important non-issue re-hydration ration on hood of jeep.

I also had an M-1 carbine slung on other shoulder… (note: I was not issued an M-16 until I was transferred to Ben Het about half way through my tour. Even then, I still carried the M-1 carbine on a lot of missions because that is what our strikers were armed with.)

Re: Randall attached to BAR sling upside down. This was scuttlebutt good method of carrying knife. But in Vietnam, the usual heavy undergrowth terrain was a defining factor. Anything on the front of your equipment would hang up in the brush and you would find yourself on your back quickly. (I’ll post a picture later if I can create one).

Plus … if you had to suddenly hit the dirt, anything on front of gear inhibited “low” movement. We rarely carried grenades, etc., attached to the front as the troops in WWII and Korea had done. (see below) We did not hack our way through the forest, but tried to move like smoke… flow around the thick stuff.

Below - Lt. Gene H. Williams, 3/508PIR pathfinder stick commander, Normandy. Typical WWII airborne rig.


Another reason… rumor passed around that some guy had hit the dirt and his knife had been jammed upward, penetrating the sheath and wounding him. I don’t know if it was true … wild stuff like that was often BS’d around … but it was just simpler to carry it on the belt thereafter.

Other things about Randalls at the time. As noted, the so-called carbon-tool blades would accumulate rust daily, sometimes by the hour. More than a few SF troops traded or sold their Randall carbon-tool blades to new guys coming in… and then ordered stainless replacements. The Solingen blades were good, but were very difficult to sharpen to a fine edge because of the hardness. You basically had to choose… edge and rust=lots of work, or edge=lots of work and no rust.

In the debates, some questioned the Randall cold-worked, oil-hardened steel composition (O1-grade? less nickel, tugunsten, more carbon?) at the time because of the rust issue ... but truth is that everything not blued rusted in the field there is always a trade off in material selection. It was just part of life in Vietnam … and owning a Randall was one of the cult-requirements of Special Forces in Vietnam.

Finally, unlike twin-bro, on my last couple of long (1-2 week) missions I left the Randall in my bunker. Why? We were operating in a very steep mountainous AO .. the tallest in Vietnam.. up to 8,000 ft.. Climbing Montagnard-style, straight up, straight down, would just about wear your butt to where you didn’t care if you got shot.

Each mission I lightened the load I was carrying until it was an absolute minimum. In the end, sick with dysentery and physically weaker, I decided if I needed a big heavy knife, I could use one of my striker’s homemade items (see below). I have one of those knifes … I’ll post a picture of it later if anyone is interested. I still carried my beloved Randall on the shorter medical patrols, etc.



Sorry for the length of this post. Some more pictures of Randall-in-use may be forthcoming. By the way... on the stamped id on Gene's Soligen blade knife... I haven't seen that composition very much on the net. Was this the common one for these blades? I think my blade lacked the word "stainless", I just can't remember...


Afghanistan about 2007 - Randall not shown, but other pics with it forthcoming

Again great post Jack.

A few questions:

Why were Randalls a must have for SF in vietnam? Did it help show who was a experienced troop vs someone who just arrived in country?

Also didnt the military still issue the parkerized ka-bar knives? Seems those would have been more rust resist albeit much weaker, were they just not to anyones liking?

Don't worry about the length of your posts ... GREAT READING!
Thanks again for sharing.
Tony

Below is a hand-made Montagnard knife… typical… wooden sheath… compared with Randall 14.





Re: Why did Special Forces have such an institutional requirement for Randalls? No particular reason except that it was a SF cult thing… unrelated to length of service in Vietnam. Anywhere in the world, Randalls and SF went together ... like SF and Rolex, or SF and star safire ring, or SF and green beanie (never worn in field except for photo ops), or SF and a WWII BAR belt for field equipment, or Vn SF and boy-scout scarf (but not earrings, bandanas, do-rags, fringe, LRP-type posturing stuff), etc.

You either had a Randall or you wanted one… no one gave a hoot about other knives. Actually the knives themselves were rarely used for much more than opening rations, etc. BUT… a Randall was something you were just supposed to have….



Re: Ka-bar, issue knives, etc. Honestly, I don’t think I ever saw a knife issued by the US Army. I don’t even think they did it… maybe Marines, or somewhere, or maybe the supply boys in the rear got them, but no one I knew was ever “issued” a knife of any kind. The same goes for M-16 bayonets, etc. Never saw one, never wanted one, didn't know anyone who had one.

Photo art… This is just a nice combo of good stuff.



I tried to create a picture in my backyard showing why I quit carrying knife on front of BAR belt...bad picture... oh well. Keep in mind that the change was environmentally caused... the idea seems to be good in principle. Maybe in more open terrain... Regards...

Oh Lord, that young LT at Normandy looks like he's seen some things he'll never be able to forget. My heart goes out to him. May God bless him.

Please continue posting your photos and stories. We love talking Randall knives here, but your stories and photos are putting these 'collectibles' into their proper historical context. It's much appreciated.

And we thank you for your service!

Thank you Jack for taking the time to post on The Knife Of The Week.

And thank you very much for your service to our country.

Kevin

Jack thanks for taking time to answer my questions. Keep posting pics and info, I'm sure I'm not the only one thats checking this thread for new pics/posts from you!