Custom Randall Made 11 5" Alaskan Skinner

[ChiefBroom]

Followed my wife to an estate sale this morning since there was some old barber shop equipment listed. The barber stuff turned out not to be very interesting to me, but I caught sight of a knife priced at $25, which looked like it might be a good deal.

It was, indeed. This model with custom options (i.e., stag handle + compass imbedded in its end) goes for $440 on the Randlall Made website, with delivery currently being scheduled four years out (i.e., 2017). Orders are limited to one knife per household every three months.

First thing I thought (after I'd paid for it) was, "man, I wish my dad could see this!"

It doesn't appear to have had much, if any, real use; however, there are some extremely fine scratches on the blade. They have virtually no depth -- I can't feel them. Any recommendations for how best to go about trying to remove them?

 

[ClintO]

Pretty sweet score, that's a nice looking knife.

 

[KW Driver]

Are you talking about the honing scratches? Assuming so, I'd say run through a series of sanding, with wet dry paper, starting as low as you need to go to get out what's there. The key is doing the work at the lower grits, then, working up to 1500-2000, then a polishing compound, if you want mirror/near-mirror.

Go look in the straight razor section, then restorations to see what can be done to some patina'd and pitted blades.


I can't believe your luck, that's a beautiful blade.

 

[jrp316]

$25 for that? I'm not a fixed blade aficionado, but that was a pretty scorching deal for that knife at that price. I wouldn't bother with removing the scratches (I can't even see them in the pics really).

 

[ChiefBroom]

Are you talking about the honing scratches? Assuming so, I'd say run through a series of sanding, with wet dry paper, starting as low as you need to go to get out what's there. The key is doing the work at the lower grits, then, working up to 1500-2000, then a polishing compound, if you want mirror/near-mirror.

Go look in the straight razor section, then restorations to see what can be done to some patina'd and pitted blades.

I can't believe your luck, that's a beautiful blade.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I assume they're honing scratches. There's virtually no depth to them. They just distract a little from the beauty of the thing.

I couldn't believe my luck either. There were several people picking through random stuff on the table. Nobody looked at the knife.

I'm not a collector. Didn't even know this maker existed. I grew up in north-central KS. Always had knives and appreciated good ones. But they were tools. The most I ever spent for one was a Buck hunting knife I bought for my dad. When I was a kid he gave me one he'd turned up on Savannah Beach in '53 while he was serving in the Air Force there. I mostly used it for skinning and a surplus USMC K-Bar to carry along for jobs requiring more heft.

It would have been impossible then -- and it's not easy now -- to imagine spending that kind of money for a knife. And waiting four years to get one is inconceivable. I'm not very good at deferred gratification.

$25 for that? I'm not a fixed blade aficionado, but that was a pretty scorching deal for that knife at that price. I wouldn't bother with removing the scratches (I can't even see them in the pics really).

Amazing, eh?

You're probably right, but they're there. And I don't think they need to be.

 

[ChiefBroom]

Better photos.

 

[KW Driver]

and if you choose to work out the scratches, please, please just do it by hand. if you take it to a dremel or grinder/polishing wheel with no experience, you're likely to chip/destroy the blade, ruin the temper in at least one spot, and/or cut yourself when you fling the blade off the wheel.

it shouldn't take too long to do, but you should do all of the blade, both sides, so that it's symetrical. I only really saw one edge with annoying hone sratches on it in your pics.

 

[ChiefBroom]

and if you choose to work out the scratches, please, please just do it by hand. if you take it to a dremel or grinder/polishing wheel with no experience, you're likely to chip/destroy the blade, ruin the temper in at least one spot, and/or cut yourself when you fling the blade off the wheel.

it shouldn't take too long to do, but you should do all of the blade, both sides, so that it's symetrical. I only really saw one edge with annoying hone sratches on it in your pics.

I like knowing how to do things myself, but I'll probably find someone local (KC) who knows what they're doing and can show me how while he's doing it. I really never got the hang of sharpening things, although I have the tools. I could get knives and arrowheads sharp enough to suit my purposes, but it was never pretty, and I'm sure far from what would have satisfied many.

What do you suppose caused the fine stray scratches? I'd guess just sloppiness.

 

[KW Driver]

Well, if they aren't any deeper than that fingerprint, you could try with a polish first.

MAAS on cotton, or a billet polish (Mother's) for example.

I think you'll have to cut them out though, so.... It'd be wet-dry paper, like I said.

And you'll want to dull the edge. Running it across to top of a glass edge/surface (drinking glass rim) should dull your edge enough that you won't cut yourself when you get near the edge. It still requires care though.

 

[ChiefBroom]

Thanks again. They're not much deeper than the fingerprints. I can't feel them at all.

 

[Jim]

Ken that is a very desirable knife, ya did good!

 

[Soldierdan]

With as shallow as the scratches are, I wouldn't suggest going all the way down to a low grit, I would probably start out around 800 and move up from there. It would be a shame to ruin that finish.

 

[jrp316]

It looks like Randall does repairs on their knives; it might be worth it to have the original craftsman fix it up for you if you're looking to farm the job.

http://www.randallknives.com/faqs/

 

[ChiefBroom]

Ken that is a very desirable knife, ya did good!

Thanks

With as shallow as the scratches are, I wouldn't suggest going all the way down to a low grit, I would probably start out around 800 and move up from there. It would be a shame to ruin that finish.

For sure.

It looks like Randall does repairs on their knives; it might be worth it to have the original craftsman fix it up for you if you're looking to farm the job.

http://www.randallknives.com/faqs/

I thought about that too. Might be the best idea. I'd really hate to screw it up. Even to me it's pretty obvious this is a special knife.

 

[Jake]

Beautiful knife Ken! Great score.

 

[KindestCutofAll]

A beautiful skinner. Nice catch.

A knife like this is beautifully crafted, and needs to be displayed properly.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Legion]

Man, I've always wanted a Randall. Great score! The scratches would have been caused by someone losing concentration when honing and slipping off the stone near the point. The corner of the hone makes the scratch. Not a big deal unless you want to sell it, but it can be removed like you would remove rust marks on a straight. It will take time and elbow grease (no power tools!), and is not worth worrying about if you are going to use the knife.

 

[petr]

you did very well. unbelievable. I would use that knife like crazy. a true work of usable art.

a benchmade sharpmaker and ceramic stick will put a crazy shaving edge on that blade without more scratches.

 

[Argonaut]

You lucky dog, what a find! Congratulations on having a good eye, I wonder how many passed that up before you found it.

 

[ChiefBroom]

You lucky dog, what a find! Congratulations on having a good eye, I wonder how many passed that up before you found it.

We got there early so were among the first <10 through the door. The line extended out into the street (maybe 40 yards long and rapidly growing). But I made a bee-line to the garage where the barber-shop equipment was, including an old, dime Coke machine priced at $945 (also a steal) someone else pulled the tag on while I was looking it over (lesson learned.) My wife had driven separately with a friend, and I was headed back out to leave when I happened to spot the knife on table across the room. There were at least a dozen people poking around and handling the stuff on it, most of which looked like junk to me. I didn't any waste time grabbing the knife.

I still can't believe the thing was sitting in the middle of a bunch of clutter, priced at $25. Last night I stumbled across a thread on a dedicated knife site that posed the question: "if you could have just one custom knife what would it be?" One of respondents posted a photo of stag-handled Randall 5" Style 11. This kind of thing doesn't happen to me.

The two knives below will give a sense of my frame of reference. I used one or the other of them for just about everything I had occasion to skin over the past 30 years. Sad to say, neither has been either used or maintained since 2008. I need to do something about that.