Well, heck, I'll just keep them. I don't need the money, and they're still Randall Made Model 1s, and they're still the same blades my father and uncle carried to war. Thanks for the tips, everybody.

Cuetek, I think they are awesome!!!

If I were in your same shoes, I wouldn't take $100k for both of them. The family history that those things possess would be invaluable to me.

It's not like they are costing you anything. Put them away, use them occasionally to make more memories with, and pass them down.

To me, value isn't always measured in dollars. A few thousand dollars is nothing compared to decades of family history and memories.

EDIT: I also don't think you did anything wrong with the rouge. I'd clean them up, carry them and use them all the time, myself. I don't really let potential future collector's preferences dictate what I do with my stuff. It's more important how I feel about them compared to how some stranger might feel about them down the road. But, that's just me. I hope when it comes time for me to hand down my Randalls, they are VERY, VERY worn--like worn OUT.

I'm envious of what you've got! They really are awesome.

Cuetek--

The preferences of RMK collectors seem to always lean toward leaving vintage knives in their "found" condition--especially if you want to sell it to someone else.

When you try to sell a knife, of course the potential buyer will try to use any observed "problems" with the as-found condition as a bargaining point to try and get it at a lower price. This bargaining process varies depending on the individual buyer and just how competitive the market might be for whatever you are offering for sale. It is a process that goes on in any buy-and-sell field.

However, as others have noted here, it is generally OK to put something on the knife and its components to simply protect it from the elements. There are varying opinions on how to best "preserve" the blade, the leather on the handle, and the sheaths. Note I used the work "preserve" and not the word "restore."

I have collected antique Sheffield knives for some time. I knew one collector, now deceased, who would sit at club meetings and auctions with his polishing cloth and a stick of rouge rubbing away like mad on the genuinely age-tarnished blades that were maybe 100 to 150 years old--and he pretended that he could attain the unachievable and put a polish on the blades that came anywhere near the appearance of what the Sheffield craftsmen had put on them originally. Nor could he eliminate any of the natural pitting that might have been in the blades--other than by removing enough metal from the blade to bring the surface down to the bottom of the deepest pits. All he succeeded in doing was to put a "Kentucky shine" on knives that I would not then buy from him or trade anything to get them back if he had gotten them from me in some transaction.

However, long-winded as this has become--whether you want to keep these knives for yourself and perhaps your progeny, or you want to sell them, you can get good advice from Tunefink and others if you are able to let them see the knives in person.

These are nice "finds" (I say "finds" because you had them all along), and they do have provenance via the etched names and the family tree.

Enjoy.

Larry

"Father and Uncle carried to(& back from) war..........just keep them myself".
Best decision you could possibly make.....would never consider anything else!

We are only temporary caretakers of these knives. Keep them and try to imagine the stories they could tell.

If you found them at a garage sale, that would be one thing in my mind. In this case Your Grandfather gave the knives to your dad and your uncle and they were carried in the war.

Why would you even think about selling them? Unless cash was hard to come by due to a family emergency.

Your little tune-up with the rouge and the dremel tool will probably go away in a period of time and then the next family member will never know the difference in 20 years. Or a knife expert.

Point is the knives are far more valuable to your family than you really realize. They are items carried by a family member in war.

Tom Vaught

Cuetek yes having even the ruff sheaths is a good thing. I'm just a picky collector and appreciate the sheaths as much as the blades....almost. As for the dremel tool.....I have to agree with crutch and tunefink.....please don't do that. I didn't realize these belonged to your dad and uncle.....if they were mine, you couldn't buy them with a million bucks. As for the provenance a couple of photos of your dad and uncle in the ETO wearing these knives would be perfect! Good luck with these knives. You are a very lucky man.

Unfortunately Tom, it never goes away. You cannot recapture the original grind lines or shop final polish/finish from the period, nor the original 70 year old patina.

Once it is "cleaned" by mechanical means, it is altered forever.

Cuetek,

If they were mine, I would leave them as they are....even if you have cleaned them some. While the collector (to a$$es like Crutchtip and me) value is diminished by cleaning they are not lost. We both have bought cleaned knives.... but the best is finding a untouched time capsule.

You have something I will never have. A WW2 Randall with family connections. I know how much I treasure the knives that have been left to me.... Randall or Imperial, they are all priceless.

In the 2nd RKCC newsletter there are some tips on leather preservation....check it out.

Best of luck.

Cuetek you have been given some good info but let me make myself perfectly clear (like Obama) Mitchell and Joe, tunefink and crutchtip respectively are not a$$es......well not really a$$es.....well sort of not a$$es.....well most of the time not a$$es.....I've known that a$$ Joe for a long time and well he can be an a$$ but only occasionally. Mitchell was just kidding. I've never known him to be an.....well there was that one time......ok, ok....there a$$es.