Thanks to all that participated in week one.

From a 1944 Randall Made Knives catalog:
"Fighting Stiletto: ...Made in 7 and 8 inch blade lengths, (1-1 1/4 inches wide). This is a regular type Dagger, Dirk or Stilleto, thought by many to be the best type for actual combat; not as desirable as the 'All Purpose' for the other uses of a knife. Price $21.50 (complete with sheath, wrist thong, and manual)."
(Randall Made Knives: the History of the Man and the Blades, by Robert L. Gaddis, pg. 96)

Paraphrasing from the same book, pp. 70-71:
Around 1943 the American fighting man had been introduced to the British combat knife. Many American soldiers wanted a knife like the British soldiers carried. As a result, Mr. Randall began to receive inquiries about making a similar knife. He examined a Fairbairn-Sykes and realized that it was not designed to be a very good all-around combat knife. He felt that the blade was especially weak and said to himself, "I'll make the GIs one that's strong and has got enough of a rounded point that it will be good for slashing as well as thrusting."

The Randall Stiletto turned out to be very popular. Mr. Randall offered it in the same blade lengths as his Fighter.

Lady and Gentlemen may we please see some Model 2's.

Thanks, Kevin

Kevin asked that I post a few photos. First a few 2-5's.
This one in a Johnson "high ride" sheath.

This one in a waxed & riveted Johnson sheath. The blade has oil on it in case you wondered why it looked odd.

Not a very early one but nice still the same...

Rob [image]http://ran2-7b4[/image]

"SS" stamped w/ compass

flip side...

Old Brown Micarta, 7 Spacers, SS Stamp


Old Black Micarta, 7 Spacers, Separate S, Riveted Sheath

Just learning to open mine up with the post [image]C:\Documents and Settings\Robert\My Documents\My Pictures\ebay ready\ran2-7b4.jpg[/image]

Nice knives guys, but, I've just gotta ask...are the 'Model of the Week' threads supposed to be an informative series of knife examples whereby the new collector learns to differientiate knives by era according to specific characteristics - or, is it just intended to be a 'see my pretty knife' thread?

To wit: Joe or Mitchell could mention something unusual about their knives such as the 'Double S' blade stamp, indicating that that particular blade stamping method was introduced in 1963, phased out by early 1964, with residual blade stock exhausted over the course of the next several years - or, that the 'Separate S' blade stamp, introduced in 1967, when seen with a 'Seven Spacer' black Micarta handle indicates a production era ending in 1972...

Just seems to me that that type of information might be of additional interest to the readers here, especially if they were to refer to these threads at a later date - also, if a person was uncertain of when their particular knife was made, of the type covered in each 'Model of the Week' thread, they could ask here, and hopefully be assisted in kind...

Respectfully submitted...

Model #2-8, 00’s, stainless steel, maroon Micarta handle, ns forward curved hilt, ns collar, ns butt, wrist thong.




Flipside: