On another forum I saw this link for old knife ads on Field & Stream's site.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gal...40s-through-50s

There are some cool ads, but I thought the commentary on the Randall ad was somewhat interesting. It almost seems as if the writer had never heard of Randall knives before. The copy reads, in part,

"Here’s an ad for a hand-made knife with a scimitar-shaped blade marketed as a fighting knife. Notice the long, curved end on the hilt telling you this knife was made to stab and slash."

The ad clearly refers to "this...Sportsman's knife" and not 'fighting' knife. And who doesn't know that the hilt quillon is there to protect your hand from slipping down onto the blade?

Stabbing and slashing? Really?

But still, kudos to Field & Stream for showing this great old ad and for providing a link to Randall's site so people can learn more about Randall knives.

Edit to add that the Randall ad is from 1945.

In reality that knife would kill someone just as easy as a model 1. you just dont have a top hilt and the blade has a bit more of a curve

Nice catch, Rick. You'll see that same photo in Bob Gaddis' book:



That photo is from mid '44 and of the 2nd version of Bo's WWII "Hunter" which he introduced in late '43 paired with a Moore sheath. To my knowledge there's only been three of those blade grinds that have surfaced in recent times:





And yes......they could inflict a lot of damage even without a sharpened clip.

Best,

Ron

VERY NICE GUYS!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks,
Tony

"To my knowledge there's only been three of those blade grinds that have surfaced in recent times"

Could this be another one?

Hi Dave,

That's really a great knife and sheath! The condition is remarkable. It's a late '45 / early '46 3-6. Here are some of the differences between your knife and a WWII Hunter with a Scagelesque grind:

1. Note the difference in choils; The WWII examples are abbreviated and yours is full.

2. Yours has the "small" stamp. This wasn't introduced until just after the war.

3. Your blade has very little "upsweep" in the spine as it approaches the tip.

4. All leather handled WWII Hunters have a brass nut and washer at the butt. Yous has a peened tang.

5. A 6" WWII Hunter would have a "narrow" throat Heiser sheath. Yours has a wide throat.

Let me know if any.

PS: Your knife has the fairly rare "black line" red spacers.

Best,

Thanks a bunch, Ron. Very informative as usual. Here's a close up of the spacers:

Spacers: Yup! That's them

VERY Cool, Dave!
Tony