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[Charlie L. Alden sent a letter to Bo Randall in May of 1976.]

Having supplied various Randalls to security and special services personnel for U.S. and overseas assignments, I was approached in April 1976 with an unusual request. Members of a team needed a small, maximum-concealment defense knife that still could serve as an effective fighting weapon. They indicated a "cut-thrust-slash" blade capability, with a blade length of 4 inches as well as a 4-inch handle, and a sheath design that would allow instant access with either hand. That didn't seem too difficult, until the final specification that the knife itself could not be more than 7 inches overall length. No matter how you add 4 and 4, the total isn't 7. The solution became one of "effective function" rather than literal blade and handle dimensions.

On May 5, 1976, I completed an acceptable design. It called for a 3 3/8" black Micarta handle and an inch-wide, 3 1/2" blade of 1/8" stainless steel stock, with the guardless, nickel silver hilt tapered thinner than the handle to allow deep thrust, and the blade thumb-notched both sides the first 13/16" to extend effective hand grip for cut-slash engagement.

The sheath was designed to hang upside down, with a snap-secured strap wrapping across a notch in the knife's duralumin butt cap.

It customarily would be worn inside the shirt on a thin cord around the neck, hanging at mid-chest, where a downward sweep of either hand would open the snap and palm of knife handle. A necktie would readily hide the fact that two shirt buttons are kept unfastened for quick knife access.

... Bo had also been interested in these flat, easily carried types of boot knives for some years.... Charlie's customers didn't have time to wait until that fall, so Bo and Gary found some shop time somewhere in the schedule and got six knives to him within the desired time limit.... Well, the success of this short venture into small concealment knives rekindled Bo's interest in this area of the knife business, and Gary was also now intrigued. They visualized a modified version of Charlie's knife as potentially very useful for police and undercover agents, both for emergency use, such as cutting seat belts, and for personal self-defense. Therefore, the back-and-forth correspondence continued between Bo and Charlie Alden, with Gary and/or one of the senior shopmen throwing in an occasional idea.

...By late 1978, all had agreed upon a final design for the Randall Made knife that was to be the Model 24 in a new catalog edition that was then be contemplated.... The twenty-fifth printing of the catalog in January 1979 [introduced] the Model 24 Guardian. Bo chose the name after some discussion with Charlie, who had suggested "Defender."

...From its introduction through the later 1980s, the Guardian had three or four different sheath designs, plus there have been many more experimentals. The present one is a pouch type with a spring clip on the back. This has proven to be quite satisfactory for a wide variety of carry locations and methods, but if you wish to use Bo's and Charlie's favorite under-the-shirtfront position, you will have to remove the clip and punch a couple of holes in the top for your necklace. A thin gold chain was Bo's first choice.

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....for your eyes' pleasure only.....



Best
Guido

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