Friday, June 14, 2013

Bo Randall, The Living Legend


If there is one bladesmith who has caused much ink to flow in every language, then it is certainly Bo Randall, already a legend in his lifetime. Nothing predestined this young man, working on his parent’s citrus plantation in Florida, to the art of cutlery, but life has many strange twists, turns and rare encounters, after which you are never the same again. A keen angler, Randall often traveled to the fish-filled waters of Lake Michigan with a knife slipped in his belt as it should be, this accessory that so much a part of the United States for those who live close to nature. One day he spotted a man busy scraping the paint on his boat with a knife whose shape didn’t fail to intrigue young Randall, so original was it, the knife was a Scagel, no more, no less!


The precious abject changed hands (history does not say how), it was taken back to Florida, examined in detail, and an identical copy made on the plantation’s forge. Randall, eager to meet the genius bladesmith again, returned to Michigan and was able to gain access to the hermit’s workshop. A solid friendship was born from this meeting, as well as a new vocation, but the move from plantation to forge was not instantaneous.

The first models were forged by Randall himself and could only by inspired by, even copied directly from those of Scagel. However, since his lack of knowledge did not allow him to get past the stage of a simple hobbyist, he plowed through technical literature to try and fill in the various gaps before calling on the services of an experienced smith, which enabled him to stop manufacturing himself and concentrate of perfecting a range of models intended for anglers, hunters and trappers. The magnificent first catalog saw the light of day and, astoundingly enough the most recent one, printed to the company’s sixtieth birthday, is not only rigorously identical as regards its layout, but still proposes models that were in the first one. Everything is continuity for this great company, including the manufacture process, which is rather unconventional, since the cutler does not work on his own; the knives that leave the workshop being produced by a team. However, Randall always oversaw everything, designing the models and taking care of public relations with a singular talent.

Apart from the vast “Outdoor” range, it has been the combat knives that have also helped to make the brand particularly famous. During World War II, many officers and members of special units carried a Randall knife, among them a certain Air Force captain that history boosted to the top rung in the country a few decades later: Ronald Regan.


It was clear when the Vietnam War started that active units could not hope for anything better than a Randall, and a few models were perfected specially for them.

When the United States decided to undertake a new combat, that of space, a sturdy and reliable knife was an essential part of the astronauts equipment, not for intergalactic combat, but survival in the event of a forced landing in an inhospitable area, like the jungle, instead of base: once more it was to the Randall workshop that NASA turned.

The founder passed away to join Bill Scagel in 1989, but the brand continues, under the watchful eye of Gary, his son.


Sources
Randall Made Knives, The History of The Man and The Blades, by Robert L. Gaddis, 1993.
100 Legendary Knives, by Gerard Pacella, 2000.






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