Before and After

My 23 from late 70's early 80's. I got it in '83.





And after a trip to the Spa to have blade pitting and staining and an errant attempt by a sibling to polish the right side.

When I sent it to Randall, they wrote back and said "The bevels on the right side are ruined. We will do what we can. Well, by the looks of it, they can perform magic. Wow. It looks amazing. I am sooooo impressed with their work. Worth every dime.

Tom,
I always take some flak for having a Randall re-finished by the shop but I've always liked the way they look when they come back. On vintage guitars they call the nicks and dings "mojo" but I'd rather have an instrument on which the "mojo" was put there by me.

Ya know Tom,
I'm glade you posted this.
I happen to have a #23, which I bought used, and it has a little more wear on it than I like.
You might be able to see in the photo that the previous owner(s) might have thrown the bevel out of wack
while sharpening. And there are some stains/spots that Flitz won't remove. So maybe it's time for this knife
to make a trip back to the shop for some tender loving care. Looks like it's done wonders for your #23!

Those #23 sure look great. I've sent two knives back to Randall for some TLC. They both came back looking beautiful. They do great work.

Cheers,

Alan Grombacher
RKS #5531

Looks like they did a great job Tom.

Tony,

It is getting a little disheartening every time I post a knife, you have to post a better looking one. Geez man. You are killing me. First it is the 15CDT, then the 5-6 and now this 23. Yours looks beautiful. If you feel it needs to go, then by all means, send it. I seriously could not be happier with the result. My before photo does not show how messed up the "polishing" job was because those photos are from before the damage was done. I was too ill to take a photo of the damage and feared that I’d never be able to erase the image from my mind if I actually took a picture. I really thought I was going to get a note from Randall saying they put the knife out of its misery for me and buried it in the orange grove. True miracle workers they are!!

Tom

Oh, I don't know Tom ...
I think it's a toss-up. BOTH good looking knives.
They look to be about the same age ... with those great looking spacers!
And yours is in a little better shape after it's visit to the shop!
Tony

I must admit I do like that spacer arrangement. But you seem to score the coolest Micarta handles, which is really my favorite.

Tom