Tune,

That's a great Model 4. 4's are one of my top blade favorites and this one is in fact exceptional. Wear it well my friend!

Best,
Warren

Not exactly pristine, but....... a WWII "Hunter-Skinner". The Model 4 Skinner as we know it wasn't introduced until after the end of the war. Prior to this the only hunting knife that Bo offered was "The Hunter". The primary difference between the two was the degree of blade upsweep. The late and great Pete Hamilton coined the term "3 1/2" denoting a Hunter blade upsweep midway between a conventional Hunter and a Skinner. Bob Gaddis commented at a recent Blade show that all WWII Hunters were a "one off" (in one way, shape or form). This is one that has a full Model 4 upsweep ground specifically for skinning. Some of the WWII era attributes of this knife are:
1. Brass washer and nut.
2. Abbreviated choil (Not even a pinky finger will fit).
3. Cut down fighter hilt (Top quillion sticking up far higher than would be comfortable to rest your thumb over).
4. Hilt made of "inferior brass" (Visually looks more like copper than brass).
5. (Although you can't see it) a "green" spacer at the butt which has an epoxy repair.
Hope you enjoy.
Best,

I just bought Mr. Hunts first two books and all a can say is wow to those knives and I thought my brain was going to explode. Now I see this great old knife and just say WOW! Thank you so much for showing off that great old knife! That knife would go great in ANY Randall Book.

Ron:

Very nice indeed!!
New acquisition or have you been holding back?
Please bring it to the Blade Show so I can lust over it.

Mike Webb
RKS #4107

Ron,
TERRIFIC RANDALL, and story/info!
I said it before and I'll repeat ... Your posts and photos are much appreciated
by guys (like me) who don't own any real old Randalls.
Thanks and keep it coming!
Tony

Ron,

Great old Model 4. That model is one of my favorites. Just a comment and a thought. When you refer to inferior looking brass, I wonder if materials were hard to come by on consistent basis after the war. Brass is primarily made up of copper and zinc and maybe certain alloys were difficult to get at that time. Those alloys age differently and have a different patina. What do you think?

Best,
Warren

Warren -

it is NOT a model 4 as Ron explained describing the knife in his post. Check it out again.

Also, some of the hilts did have a high copper content that we generally refer to being bronze, at least bronze in color.

Neat old knife. The guard and general style are similar to a near pristine Scagel hunter that I own.

Here is my mid 40's hunter. These are very hard to find these days and are great knives!

Great Randall Burnie. I especially like that 1940's Soft Arkansas stone!