Ronnie and Ron,

I do not know enough about the NASA knives nor the "CIA" knives to dispute whether or not these were any knives that left the shop w/o the Randall logo, I will however take Bob Gaddis' word of this since he heard it directly from Bo Randall himself. I would count these NASA knives stamping as having the Randall type etching as indeed having a RMK stamp.

As for the #2-5, it looks to me like it has been refinished in some way, notice how the depth of the grinds towards the hilt are way uneven? It appears to me also at the P of the etching there is a definite 1/16 differential in the polishing, and the solder has been hit (by a polishing wheel perhaps?) and has left an indelible imprint in the solder line. Also to note, I have never seen the RMK etching to run in a vertical line as our machines render this impossible. NOT saying that it hasn't happened somehow, I just don't see HOW.

Now, this being said, I have seen "Randallesque" blades outside the shop w/o the RMK trademark, and definitely being done by former employees, Dave Griffin's knives are a prime example of these. There are too many others out there that have the same capabilities of producing modern blades w/o the RMK logo, and yet are almost impossible to tell whether or not they came out of the shop this way. Almost. There are always these indelible differences I mentioned that Cap, Perry Miller, and a handful of others are aware of and can indeed point out the fakes.

I am not ignorant to the opinions of the "backdoor" Randall's out there, and we have taken every precaution to insure that these are not presently happening anymore.

Not looking to start an argument here, just adding to two of the best threads since Rhett's passing.

---DW---