Interesting Randall Etch

For some reason I seem to remember this etch being seen before..... W D R 53

Does anyone else? Does anyone know what it represents?

Probably not, but Bo's personal knife made on 1953? Wasn't his favorite model a 7-5?

Perhaps WDR stands for Walter Doan Randall the formal name of "Bo" Randall and '53 year it was made?

Peter

I recall a photo with a WDR etch also, and I believe it was by Jacknola and it was a knife with a wood box, I couldn't find it with a quick search either

Could be I guess...... also odd that it's on the Logo side of the blade.

I swear I have seen this on another knife......

I seem to recall a few of these were made in the 60's but I can't remember for sure what though. A family reunion or for friends. Scott or Jason may know or can ask Gary. They definitely are not 50's vintage.

I too remember seeing a similar etch. I have spent 30 minutes looking on the internet for clues. None found.

IIR, I think Joe was correct, they were made for a "special occasion."

From and old email to a forum member from Perry Miller:

The knives were ordered by a dealer in Georgia back around 1962. He ordered 200, 100 to be made with Walnut handles and 100 with Rosewood handles. These knives were made to the same specs that Bo Randall used for his personal Trout cleaning knife. While there were supposed to be 200 made the highest serial number I’ve ever seen is 41. There is no record as to how many were made total but I think it’s far less than 200. Specs are as follows:

Model 7-5” with Model 6 grind

Carbon blade etched WDR with a serial number (this knife is #26)

Single nickel silver guard

Seven spacers

Walnut handle with name plate

No butt cap

Early Johnson brown button sheath with correct two tone grey stone

I have owned one in the past (sorry: no pics). Perry had one for sale and Art Green has one now. I think we can "assume" (I know...Right?) less than 100 was the total number of finished, out the door, knives completed.
As a side note, I received my authorized dealership in 1983. I was "told" be Dave (Dave Griffin) that a Georgia dealer had passed away and that is why I was fortunate enough to pick up his dealer's slots. If that is true (and I have no reason to doubt Dave or Jed, as they were the shop forman and counter guys) the Georgia dealer (I apologize, but never did get his name) was only getting 120 knives per year. I am fairly certain about those numbers because that is the exact knife count that I first started with.
Hope this helps, Capt. Chris
PS: Boy-Howdy! I'm glad I get more than 120 RMKs per year now!...CCS

I found these photos of a similar knife on the web
Peter

Good stuff Peter....thank you,

Beautiful knives and that new looking brown button sheath is amazing.

I stared at the knife in the drawer.. somewhere I've already seen it .. and now remembered it - from the site Bernard Levine.
This highly respected collector.

Enjoy, big photo
http://svalbardrepublic.org/ebay/randall-boxed0910.htm

And yet I have a feeling that this cocobolo or something similar from South America.

Desert Snake and others--

This raises a question that the collector community has not stepped up to:

1) When a piece of wood is put on a knife, and the knife has been around a while, people often don't know what wood it is. Many woods of different species look similar and can easily be confused on the secondary market, and it is easy for someone to make a superficial identification and base their conclusions on what they might want to call the wood.

2) Later, people who own or want to sell or buy the knife are only guessing at what the wood might be.

3) Considering the rate at which tropical forests are being depleted, and the increased listing of foreign woods on the threatened or endangered lists, these woods have been and are continuing to be subjected to enforcement actions by the US.*

4) The same issues that are involved with identifying and managing ivory that is already in the US or that might be imported apply to these woods--What kind of woods is it? When did the individual piece came into the country? Was it imported legally? And if enforcement agencies want to simply declare all of it illegal or prohibit its sale in interstate commerce in order to satisfy their own purposes, then the same logic that they want to apply to ivory might be expanded to their management of tropical woods.

So--what should a collector do to protect his investment in any knives that have any kind of wood on them?

At the very least--

Keep records of what wood is on each knife, when you bought the knife and who from, and what you paid for it.

And pass this information on to whoever you might sell a knife to.

Larry
______________________________
*There have been enforcement actions involving listed woods. Details can be found by going to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife website.

I missed message from tunefink about old letter from Perry Miller.
Yea! Rosewood.

I agree, it is necessary to preserve the memory to have the documents, something like a passport vehicle,
but it is not always possible.

Here is another one of these that has come to light:

From and old email to a forum member from Perry Miller:

The knives were ordered by a dealer in Georgia back around 1962. He ordered 200, 100 to be made with Walnut handles and 100 with Rosewood handles. These knives were made to the same specs that Bo Randall used for his personal Trout cleaning knife. While there were supposed to be 200 made the highest serial number I’ve ever seen is 41. There is no record as to how many were made total but I think it’s far less than 200. Specs are as follows:

Model 7-5” with Model 6 grind

Carbon blade etched WDR with a serial number

Single nickel silver guard

Seven spacers

Walnut handle with name plate

No butt cap

Early Johnson brown button sheath with correct two tone grey stone




WDR Special On eBay