The father of modern sporting knives was busy making them a half century ago.
A pioneering writer and photographer, Sid Latham chronicled his visit to the Orlando, Florida, shop of Randall Made Knives in the May-June 1975 issue of The American Blade to detail how Bo Randall and his staff made knives.
As Latham noted, Bo believed in the Cutlery Hall-of-Famer William Scagel theory that every blade shape should have a purpose and be practical—and the Randall utility, hunting, combat and survival patterns reflected the Scagel approach. The most popular Randall knife in ’75 was the Model 3 hunter. It was a Model 3 that pilot Francis Gary Powers was carrying when his U-2 spy plane was famously shot down over Russia in 1960.
Latham wrote of what Bo considered his proudest achievement of specially designing knives for the astronauts of the Project Mercury NASA space mission. The final design was worked out by Major Gordon Cooper, who took one along on his 22-orbit flight. The knife was subsequently offered as the Model 17.
Latham also covered most of the Randall staff, including shop foreman Bill Platts, who was in the process of retiring and being replaced by Pete Hamilton, to Bo’s son Gary and more. Bo Randall had already been making knives for 37 years at the time—and Randall Made Knives (randallknives.com) continues turning them out to this day.
Editor’s note: Beginning with this issue, “50 Years Ago in BLADE®” journeys back in time to recall what was happening in the early days of BLADE—formerly The American Blade—and the world of knives. This time: BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Bo Randall and Randall Made Knives.
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