Hello folks! I'm new to this forum and this is my first post. I have a Randall 14 from the widow of a Vietnam-era CIA operator. Interestingly, it is parkerized. Can anyone give me details about this knife - for example, did the government purchase these and have them parkerized? Were they issued to the CIA or military units? How many were made and are known to exist? Thanks for your help.

I doubt this knife was owned by or even made in the VietNam War era, but I'm sure Cruchtip can comment also. Telltale signs of a late 1970's (or newer) vintage are shining through. Also: I believe the finish on the blade is after-market. Welcome to our forums and please stick around.
Stay sharp, Capt. Chris

When we had our store, Cumberland Knife & Gun Works, Inc., on Bragg Blvd, about two miles from Fort Bragg, we, as Authorized Randall Dealers, did quite a bit of recoating on the military models. Back in those days, models were easy to get, about three months wait time, and we carried about fifty Models, mostly the military numbers, on hand all the time.

Since we had a blueing operation going in a backyard building, it was just natural to abide by customers wishes for Desert Shield/Desert Storm. We offered three choices, 1) Beadblast the entire knife, using aluminum beads, then resharpen it; 2) Beadblast and hot blue, then resharpen it; 3) Parkerize it, and resharpen.

Most customers opted for #1 or #2 for the price. I know we did hundreds before closing the store in '99.

But even back in the '70's through the '90's, they, obviously, were relatively expensive as they are today. To the best of my knowledge, at least at Fort Bragg, there were no Government purchases.

However, I handled a number of "group purchases" by various Special Forces A-Teams, specifically from the 3rd SF(A) & 7th SF(A) Groups. I also outfitted Seal Team One with Model 15's, custom-ordered by the C.O. (ST, SFG, Beadblasted & blued (by us), Waxed sheath).

Pretty cool info Buck, and makes for some good reading. Sounds like these could have been the precursor to Rob Schoening's VST models.

Thank you all for your help.
The only information I have about this knife, which I acquired from a well known firearms historian and museum curator is this: The original owner, now deceased, flew for Air America in Vietnam. The widow could provide no other useful information with regard to when or where he acquired it, or when or where it was parkerized. No assumptions on my part will be made.
One other question: what is the significance/ rarity of the size of the eyelet hole; does this provide any clues?

Here is your picture:

Curious here does anyone parkerize or blue Randall’s anymore like Rob or Buck did?

Cheers,

Alan

Maybe James Behring ???

Kiltabar,

By "eyelet hole" you are referring to the wrist thong hole, I assume. Early Model 14's did not have a brass liner in the hole as yours. However, when Chris Stanaback tells you that your knife is a later production than the Vietnam years, from the Randall Shop, you can "take that to the bank".

There are about a dozen or so fellers on this forum that can pinpoint the decade, a range of years, or THE year that a knife came out of the Shop, Chris being one of them.

That's why you came on board here to find out what you do and don't have in your Randall. I have been selling Randall Knives since 1979, and I am still learning things about the models and their history over 80 + years of knife production.

I had a good friend of mine who was a former USAF pilot that was hired by Air America, and tragically his plane was shot down over Angola, years after Vietnam. Air America has been around. The widow, likely, would not be privy to her husband's "travels" working for AA.

In our "business" of collecting Randalls, Chris always said, "Buy the knife, not the story.

Hope this helps.

On a wide scale? I haven't seen any.

I've seen RMKs that have been parked or powdercoat+cerekote (outside of the shop) but I don't know if those ever made it to >2 knife batches.

Is there a stone in the pouch? Is the parkerizing "fresh"? Are there any scratches under the parkerizing? One think that concerns me, is there is no sharpened edge visible in the photo. I don't recall if any maker sends a parked knife out with a coated edge dating back to probably WWI and certainly WWII.

RMK did "a few", and I don't know what that exact number is, but is is small. Perhaps half a dozen and probably less. It was something that the shop determined they didn't need to do and add to their already backlogged work load.

I am trying to find out if there is any recollection of the model(s) that may have been done, but would assume it would be a military model(s)

So, to the knife at hand. It could be late Viet Nam, say 73-75. Without having the knife in hand, the original stone could shed some light on vintage. Wether it is shop supplied parkerizing is unknown, and if there is any recollection as to the time frame when the few knives that were done, that could narrow it down. Thing is, it is very obscure, a blip on the screen, and there is only one person that MIGHT recall it, but I would't count on it.

Therefore, absent of any other "evidence", I would not claim it was shop parkerized, unless I can come up with something that tells me the knife falls within the time frame the shop had it done. Even then it would only be a maybe at best, you could not say definitively it was shop supplied.

There were only two shop Parkerized knives. They are in a private collection. There is a shop letter certifying these are the only two.

I am having trouble posting a pic at the moment, but will try again in a bit. Internet sucks on this job site.

Ya, that was my initial thought also, and what I originally said in my post prior to edit, as I had always heard two, know of the knives you are speaking of, and have seen the letter. But a conversation today suggests there may have been more than two. There is going to be more on this, hopefully, Monday.

Help you out Mitchell:

Thank you Mister Mason!

Joe, like all Randall rules, there are several exceptions. I could believe there were more.

Yep; I'm a collector of US military firearms from the Rev War to WW2, considered by some to be an "advanced collector," and have many of the bayonets for these guns and a few of the fighting knives from the period. And as WE say in the gun-acquisition business: "Buy the gun, not the story." So I'm not naive to the concept, but I don't know anything - and don't assume anything - about this Randall. Thank you very much for your help, and I do recall this little shop down on Bragg Blvd. when I was with the 7thSFG(A) where fellow GB's would run to on the 1st of the month... . However, I had much more sense. I didn't squander my money on knifes, I wisely spent it on alcohol, wild women, and old guns... . I will send a pic of the stone and edge as requested by another member. Thanks again.

Kiltabar, welcome to the forums...seems to me, you'll fit right in!

Agree with DW.... Welcome Aboard Sir!

You seem to be a breath of fresh air that this forum could use. Glad to have you on board. Look forward to seeing some photo's of some of your collections!

Kiltabar, did you ever have any inter-action with a 5th and later 7th SFG Sargent named Randal Kohl?

Or a Sargent named Zubeck. I knew both of them. Both worked in the south.

Tom V.

Great thread of information.
Thanks to all.

Kiltabar,

Did you ever cross paths with SFC Stephen Crane in the 7th SFG(A)?

He did a lot of volunteer hours at both the 82nd & Special Forces Museum on Bragg.

He finished up with an extensive WWII collection and became a consultant on a few war movies. I enjoyed shooting his Johnson rifles.

Fluent in Spanish, he spent a number of years in the southern theater.