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  #1  
Old 10-14-2015, 08:28 AM
brucegodlesky brucegodlesky is offline
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old Randall 4-7

I was told this was about a 1953 era knife.
4-7 ebony handle brass pin. NS single guard. spacers are r wh r bl r wh r
Has a silver medallion with initials/ monogram.
JHHeiser sheath
has a SS number on the spine and under the Randall stamp.
3/8" of the tip has been broken off and reground. False edge is sharpened.
grey colored whetstone.
Any comments as to what I have here guys?
Some of the comedians I talked to in Hotlanta didn't really want to say much other than to give me a lowball figure on it's value. Rhett Stidham had appraised this knife about 12 yrs ago as did Tom Clinton.
My thoughts were to have the knife reconditioned, sell the sheath , make another and carry the dang thing or put it on a servicemans webgear.
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Last edited by brucegodlesky; 10-14-2015 at 08:30 AM.
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  #2  
Old 10-14-2015, 02:39 PM
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Jacknola Jacknola is offline
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Taking a quick look without close-up details I would guess the early '50s date seems about right given the flap on the hone pocket of the sheath. I was concerned that the SS number might date the knife to when the military converted to SS number rather than a unique service number in 1969. But that knife has early characteristics so no concern there. The pictures are blurry but Randall stamp seems consistent. Sharper pic would help.

Per Ron Mathews who is probably the most knowledgeable person on knives from this era, pinned wooden handled Randall knives from this time period are pretty unusual. Only about 6 such knives are known... see a very thorough discussion of pinned wooden handles on "the Magic Randall" first and second page, below (link provided).

http://knifenetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57968

I don't know what would be gained by separating the sheath and knife. In my view the combination is appealing. Of note, the value of 1950s Randalls has apparently been contracting for some time now as the numbers of collectors has declined. Therefore, appraisals from years ago are probably not valid given the change in the market ... just as house appraisals have a short shelf life. This is one reason that I do not favor paying someone to "appraise" a knife.

You could check 1950s Randall sold items on E-bay for a rough comparison of value... though the reduced length of the knife (negative) and pinned wooden handle (positive) are special considerations.

From my viewpoint, Randall is not making any more 1950s pinned wooden handled knives in period sheaths. They are making a lot of modern useful user knives. For whatever that is worth....

Last edited by Jacknola; 10-16-2015 at 10:45 AM.
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  #3  
Old 10-14-2015, 02:45 PM
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Moosehead Moosehead is offline
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Hi Jack!

It's good to see you here again.

I'm sure Ron will chime in on Bruce's blade shortly.

Cheers!

David


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Old 10-14-2015, 03:03 PM
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Here are Bruce's photos enlarged a bit.





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  #5  
Old 10-14-2015, 03:21 PM
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Jacknola Jacknola is offline
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Bruce just for curiosity, I went on E-bay and searched for "Randall knife Heiser." I found these currently for sale (among others). All these are 1950s vintage (best I can determine) but they are in different conditions with different handle material etc.

4-7 (my opinion good ? very good condition) asking $895
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-50s-...item3ab39cbdb5

1-7 (fair ) asking $795
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Rand...item3ab39cc964

3-7 pinned stag, (fair-good) current bid $625 - I expect this one to go higher because of compass, pinned stag handle, etc.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1950-60-VINT...item3ab378f551

4-7 (very good with uncommon but correct stone) asking $975
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Old-RARE-Ran...3D131622450466

3-6 early-mid 50s, knife-(good), sheath-(fair) asking $1,000.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Rare...item1ea54f3522

There are others that vary in price up to $1,500 or so... but these seem fairly comparable to your knife.

This should help you with a ball park for current market value. I wouldn't be surprised if 5 years ago all these would have been offered for a price at least 50 percent higher than these today. However, an estimate of a "$300 knife" by the dealers at Blade was close to being ... whatever ... in my opinion. The Heiser sheath in that beautiful condition except for the missing button would probably be worth that much...possibly considerably more if the button were replaced... which probably can be done with a little internet searching.

Last edited by Jacknola; 10-16-2015 at 10:47 AM.
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  #6  
Old 10-14-2015, 04:43 PM
brucegodlesky brucegodlesky is offline
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Thanks guys, I appreciate the input.
Tom didn't give me a number way back when. What he said was whatever you get for the knife get the same for the sheath. And he also suggested putting a period button on the stone cover.
I had sent Rhett a large number of closeup pictures. His estimate was near double what the highest figger Jacknola posted.
Heck, I wasn't trying to finance my retirement, just get a fair deal.It seemed to me that all them boys had that stock answer on worth. Like my wife said, they all prolly had breakfast together Sunday morning asking the same question "who ended up with it" :-)
Anyone know of a simple way to track down the SS number?
I feel this knife was not used by a hunter due to the sharpened fasle edge. That's why I haven't use dit.
Thanks again! b


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Old 10-14-2015, 05:20 PM
brucegodlesky brucegodlesky is offline
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I just read thru a lot of that thread. WOW!! Thanks!


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  #8  
Old 10-14-2015, 07:00 PM
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Jacknola Jacknola is offline
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Quote:
I just read through a lot of that thread. WOW
LOL Bruce we try to do good research here, share, support and are polite about disagreements on this board. Most of those here are collectors, not dealers so you won't find the "promotions" that appear on other forums. Plus, most of us have been banned elsewhere.

The subjects covered on the "magic randall" line about 1950s pinned wood handles is probably unique information to any chat. And that was not all that was covered just in that one line. Sheaths, crocs, Frank Frazetta art, mercs in Africa, Singapore and the Raffles hotel, etc. And only a portion of the sheath study was posted on the "other" board because of inherent nastiness over there.

There are other interesting things here. You might take a look at the "Delrin" line, especially the second page. It could possibly make you look at those knives in a different way. Also you might find the "escutcheon plate" line interesting, etc.
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Old 10-14-2015, 09:20 PM
brucegodlesky brucegodlesky is offline
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Lotsa interesting "stuff" to absorb Jack!
I make knives for a living and tend to look at things a bit differently than the average knife guy. The how and why of things is what makes things interesting and keeps me going.
The extent of research is evident. You guys geta big thumbs up!!
I got away from this bulletin board for several reasons. Actually was part of the neo-tribal guys that got invited here many yrs ago:-)
Thanks again!


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