Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

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Ankerson
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Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#1

Post by Ankerson »

Did some chopping and battening on an oak limb that came down. The wood was VERY hard, like concrete. Guess it was up there awhile before it finally fell.


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MacLaren
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#2

Post by MacLaren »

That's some mighty fine kindling ya got goin there Jim :)
And, a whole helluva lot a fun makin it too.
Lookin good man.
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#3

Post by Ankerson »

MacLaren wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:33 pm
That's some mighty fine kindling ya got goin there Jim :)
And, a whole helluva lot a fun makin it too.
Lookin good man.

Haven't done any battening in awhile so..

Did some chopping on that tree I used for the #1, then went to work on that oak branch that came down.

Chopped it into a few pieces that I could work with then split it up some.

That oak was VERY hard, like concrete....

That's the stock bevel on that knife too, all I did was refine it a little, make it sharper, all freehand because I didn't want to change it.

It's a pretty interesting grind they put on these knives, sabre with a very slight hollow to convex to V-edge....

They hand sharpen every knife on a whetstone.....
Last edited by Ankerson on Fri Jan 10, 2020 4:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#4

Post by ChrisinHove »

I regularly see oak framing that is 3-4-even 500 years or more old. More like iron than concrete, I would say ;)

Beautiful knife btw....
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#5

Post by Ankerson »

ChrisinHove wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:48 pm
I regularly see oak framing that is 3-4-even 500 years or more old. More like iron than concrete, I would say ;)

Beautiful knife btw....

Thanks.

You are right, that stuff is HARD.
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#6

Post by MacLaren »

Ankerson wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:42 pm
MacLaren wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:33 pm
That's some mighty fine kindling ya got goin there Jim :)
And, a whole helluva lot a fun makin it too.
Lookin good man.

Haven't done any battening in awhile so..

Did some chopping on that tree I used for the #1, then went to work on that oak branch that came down.

Chopped it into a few pieces that I could work with then split it up some.

That oak was VERY hard, like concrete....

That's the stock bevel on that knife too, all I did was refine it a little, make it sharper, all freehand because I didn't want to change it.

It's a pretty interesting grind they put on these knives, sabre with a very slight hollow to convex to V-edge....

They hand sharpen every knife on a whetstone.....
Wow. That's a really cool grind!
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Ankerson
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#7

Post by Ankerson »

MacLaren wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 4:06 pm
Ankerson wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:42 pm
MacLaren wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:33 pm
That's some mighty fine kindling ya got goin there Jim :)
And, a whole helluva lot a fun makin it too.
Lookin good man.

Haven't done any battening in awhile so..

Did some chopping on that tree I used for the #1, then went to work on that oak branch that came down.

Chopped it into a few pieces that I could work with then split it up some.

That oak was VERY hard, like concrete....

That's the stock bevel on that knife too, all I did was refine it a little, make it sharper, all freehand because I didn't want to change it.

It's a pretty interesting grind they put on these knives, sabre with a very slight hollow to convex to V-edge....

They hand sharpen every knife on a whetstone.....
Wow. That's a really cool grind!

When you make knives by hand one at a time one has a lot of leeway. ;) :D

They are all one of a kind customs, no 2 are exactly the same. :cool:
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#8

Post by bearrowland »

That's good stuff! I've had oak that you would burn a drill up trying to drill into.
Barry

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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#9

Post by Ankerson »

bearrowland wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:05 pm
That's good stuff! I've had oak that you would burn a drill up trying to drill into.

That or burn the saw blades. LOL
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#10

Post by Ankerson »

I did break down and sharpen it, put it on the Edge Pro, worked out very well since the grind thickness is pretty even along the edge so the bevel is even. :)

Figured I would even out the edge some, stayed close to the original edge angle. The edge was actually pretty coarse so refined it some, sharpened at 400 grit. Will also make it much easier to touch up later too.

Working with it I can defiantly see the original design concepts and use that Randall and the Military had in mind.

Did a lot of reading up on the design and the history of how the Model 14 Attack and Model 15 Airman came about.

The 2 were developed as almost indestructible able to take extreme abuse do anything field knives.

Tested by both the Military, US Marines and Airforce in Combat and Bo Randall to make sure they could stand up in extreme situations.

We are talking about the 1950's here, the Korean War and then into Vietnam when the Model #14 was the favorite of the Combat Veterans on the ground and the Model #15 Airman was a Favorite of the Airmen.

During the Vietnam War the Model #14 surpassed the Model #1 in orders for the 1st time in Randall's history.

The Model #14 and #15 weren't adopted by the Military as official issue in the end due to staffing changes in the Military however. The ones they were working with on the project were assigned elsewhere. Randall just added the models to the Catalog instead.

That really didn't hurt Randall or the troops because they ended up with better knives in the end that weren't mass produced. With the reputation of the knives and the word got around fast as there were a lot of them around from the testing. Word spread fast and the orders exploded in 1965.
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#11

Post by MacLaren »

Very cool. Thanx for that history on Randall.
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#12

Post by Ankerson »

MacLaren wrote:
Sat Jan 11, 2020 1:22 pm
Very cool. Thanx for that history on Randall.

It's the Models 1,14,15, 16 (Dive) and 18 that have the biggest history as far as wartime goes, in multiple wars and were all designed as Military knives, while the 3's and 6's also saw some use in the wars.
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#13

Post by shunsui »

ChrisinHove wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:48 pm
I regularly see oak framing that is 3-4-even 500 years or more old. More like iron than concrete, I would say ;)

Beautiful knife btw....
Iron for sure. You might find this article on Old Ironsides interesting.

https://historyofmassachusetts.org/uss- ... struction/


Ditto, nice knife, one of my favorite Randall designs, along with the 16.
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#14

Post by ChrisinHove »

shunsui wrote:
Sun Jan 12, 2020 5:58 pm
ChrisinHove wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:48 pm
I regularly see oak framing that is 3-4-even 500 years or more old. More like iron than concrete, I would say ;)

Beautiful knife btw....
Iron for sure. You might find this article on Old Ironsides interesting.

https://historyofmassachusetts.org/uss- ... struction/


Ditto, nice knife, one of my favorite Randall designs, along with the 16.
Excellent article, thank you.
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#15

Post by Bloke »

That looks like a knife you could flog nearly as hard as the Province, Jim. ;)

Would love to send you some seasoned Aussie Iron Bark to play with but it weighs a ton.

How do you find the finger grooves in the handle?
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#16

Post by Ankerson »

Bloke wrote:
Mon Jan 13, 2020 2:32 am
That looks like a knife you could flog nearly as hard as the Province, Jim. ;)

Would love to send you some seasoned Aussie Iron Bark to play with but it weighs a ton.

How do you find the finger grooves in the handle?

The Province is a little cheaper, even at full retail price, they start at $460 directly from Randall. ;) :)

They feel great, fit my hand very well. :)

The handle is wider (More hand filling) on the Model 14 than on the 16 SP1.
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#17

Post by Ankerson »

shunsui wrote:
Sun Jan 12, 2020 5:58 pm
ChrisinHove wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:48 pm
I regularly see oak framing that is 3-4-even 500 years or more old. More like iron than concrete, I would say ;)

Beautiful knife btw....
Iron for sure. You might find this article on Old Ironsides interesting.

https://historyofmassachusetts.org/uss- ... struction/


Ditto, nice knife, one of my favorite Randall designs, along with the 16.

I hear you, the 14 and 16 are similar in some ways.

Read That book Randall Made Knives: The History Of The Man And The Blades good stuff in there for sure.

Lots of history.
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#18

Post by shunsui »

I remember Ken Lunde ordered a nice pair of model 16 dive knives, but the old server with all the great pics appears to be long gone.

The dealer Ken mentioned was Nordic Knives.

I checked them out, and they've got a bunch of Randall knives good to go, if anyone's interested.
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#19

Post by GarageBoy »

Wow you actually use your Randall!
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Re: Randall Model #14 Doing some work on seasoned OAK

#20

Post by Ankerson »

GarageBoy wrote:
Sat Jan 25, 2020 2:30 pm
Wow you actually use your Randall!

I have two I use and two for the collection.
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