Well...hell I was over halfway done with the continuation and seen Joe post this which covers it all. I do agree with what Joe had to say.

In summary, we have a lot of facts and some theories that may or may not be correct. I just don't think the knife can be proved. However, we can continue to take the facts only and get closer to an answer. It would be great to see the knife in person which would get us a bit closer to an exact answer. Personal inspection would shed more light on knife and sheath.

My personal THEORY is:
Col. Salvo saw the original NASA order and contacted Randall to make him one just like those. His order could have been placed anytime from mid 1960 to 1963. That would explain the name etch, sheath, and no Rhodium plating. Just a damn theory though

Perry & Joe,
It seems to me that we had a person on this forum...as well as the "old" forum, who was hell-bent on trying to determine which Tuesday in July a certain knife was made. There is some great information in this thread...no doubt...and all are to be commended for their efforts..."BUT"...(I know...I know) we still get back to a period of time (I can't refer to a timeline) from 1960-1963...or so...That's pretty damned close dating for Randall Made Knives...I just don't know if it was made on a Tuesday or not.
Good work and thanks for postin', Capt. Chris

I think it's time to let the auction run its course and hope the buyer will post additional photos afterward. Then somebody can contact the Salvo family to obtain more information. Otherwise, we are just making educated guesses.

I will ask the Mercury astronaut that I know if he remembers the specifics of receiving his personal Model 17. Probably not, but you never know. But it might take a while. I don't pester him with the minutiae that interests collectors. When I see him in person, we sit and we talk about it if he feels like it. Usually he does, and that's fine with me.

Gary Clinton was kind enough to send me a picture of the NASA Astro that I sold to them a few years ago. It is Rhodium plated and will give you an idea of what they looked like. It has been used and the lower plating shows the under copper coating and the top coating of Rhodium.

Just to confirm, this is a Soligen blade?

Yessir it is...carbon steel and no sheath.

An interesting footnote to the discussion is the following communication from 2003 forwarded to me:

Hello XXXX,

I have just been able to close a transaction for a #15. Knife was ordered in 60-61, a delivery date given and then delayed, as the shop told the buyer.."we are busy making Astros". I mention that as the tang shows two epoxy filled holes that are larger than the 3/16 screws holes that secure the handle. This knife probably had been drilled in order to channel a cavity as an Astro, and they filled the order with a #15 instead.

The blade has a radical top line with high hump and very steep clip. It also has a small stamp, the only one that I have ever seen on either the #14 or #15. The choil is shallow and very short and the tang is long. It also has a very narrow, rounded guard. Note the slider on the leather thong.

The sheath is a Johnson canteen snap that was dyed brown. It is practically unused.

Of course I was forced to sell the Porsche that I had in storage in order to afford it.

Gary saw the knife today and without any history from me, deduced the reason for the filled holes...pretty astute. I had spoken with Pete Hamiltom earlier and he confirmed that they used epoxy in circumstances such as this.

In any event it was a nice find and I hope that the images come out.

Regards

XXXX

I don’t have Gaddis, but will look for a copy.

I didn’t find anything posted here as “condescending.” On the contrary, my understanding of facts, AND the limits of those facts is greatly expanded. This group-think review of facts is exactly how we conduct major accident investigations offshore.

I would be surprised if all, including Perry and Joe, haven’t had their curiosity piqued by some of the contradictions in known, accepted, information. This is usually what happens in productive group exchanges.

RMKs presumably with sheaths were with Mercury Astronauts by July, 1960 as per Shirra, in “Schirra’s Space.”

http://books.google.com/books?id=RLd_mS3acoUC&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=%22John+Glenn+Randall+knife%22&source=bl&ots=lhhr-uK9RB&sig=R-5OepuevdmfY9yZTXUmSNqQ-bo&hl=en&ei=0X3ATsbaEPLfsQKnwpDBBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&sqi=2&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false


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Below is a great timeline for Project Mercury. I think scanning this brings home the magnitude of the medical research side, the organization of which was presumably assisted by Lt. Col. Salvo.

http://www.astronautix.com/project/mercury.htm

1960 July 12 - .
• Mercury astronaut desert survival training - . Nation: USA. Program: Mercury. The astronauts underwent a five and one half day course in 'desert survival' training at the Air Training Command Survival School, Stead Air Force Base, Nevada. The possibility of an arid-area landing was remote but did exist. So this training was accomplished to supply the astronaut with the confidence and ability to survive desert conditions until recovery. The course consisted of one and one half days of academics, one day of field demonstrations, and three days of isolated remote-site training. Survival equipment normally installed in the Mercury spacecraft was used to provide the most realistic conditions.

Mercury astronaut desert survival training.

Jack,

Thanks for the book excerpt. I enjoyed reading several pages, but didn't see where it mentioned that the Randalls were in sheaths? Did I miss it? If yes, which page?

Thanks,
Tom