If you’ve heard of Randall Made Knives, and even if you haven’t, you should check out the Randall Made Knives Stanaback Special NASA Knife. Manufactured on March 22, 2018 the G-10 handles were salvaged from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39.
The Stanaback Special NASA knife has a handmade, hand-forged 4” high carbon stainless steel clip point blade with a mirror polish. The handles are natural green G-10 with stacked aluminum and black spacers. The single guard is nickel silver guard and there’s a Duralumin butt cap with a lanyard hole. It comes with a black basket weave snap sheath with a belt lo op attachment. It also has a signed, dated certificate of authenticity. Overall, it’s a gorgeous knife with an incredible feel in the hand.
Randall Made Stanabeck Special NASA Knife Details
- High Carbon Stainless Steel
- 4” Clip Point, Mirror Polished
- Green G-10 Handle
- Stacked Aluminum and Black Spacers
- Nickel Silver Guard
- Duralumin Butt Cap
- Lanyard Hole
- Basket Weave Leather Sheath with Belt Loop Attachment
- Certificate of Authenticity
- 8.5” Overall
- Made in the USA
You’ve most likely heard over and over that “Randall Made Knives are one of the most legendary brands in the custom, handmade knife world.” They’ve been family owned and in continuous operation for over 80 years. These excellent knives are highly collectible and steeped in history. The balance is perfect. The fit and finish is exquisite. Each knife is without flaw.
You can pick up a brand-new Randall Made for as little as around $400, which is an incredibly reasonable price for a flawless, handmade forged knife with a well-established reputation for turning out impeccable products. However, you’ll be waiting more than a minute to buy one. When we talked to Randall Made, they told us their current backlog of orders is about 5 ½ years.
The older, harder to find knives like this rare, custom twin set can run from hundreds to tens of thousands. The non-catalog, special edition Randall Made models like the Stanaback Special run a bit more than the standard catalog models.
Why are Randall Made Knives so expensive?
Yes, it’s the name. The value of a Randall generally increases and there’s a ton of history to Randall Made Knives. Randall Made knives – particularly the older and non-catalog models – are prized among collectors because Bo Randall was an incredibly important figure in knife history and his knives are part of the foundation for knives today.
Bo Randall opened his iconic Orlando, Florida shop in 1938. The most influential knifemakers since the early 1900s are Webster Marble and Bill Scagel. While Marble’s is the great-grandfather of production knives, Bill Scagel is the great-grandfather to custom knives. Bo Randall saw his friend using a Scagel knife. He decided he really liked the knife, so he made one like it. Bo Randall, in turn, became the grandfather of custom knives. His influence stretches from Bill Loveless, Blackie Collins, and Jimmy Lile to basically all the modern custom knifemakers and many manufacturers today.
Here’s a list of several Bo Randall note-able notes:
- The Randall Made Astro was the first fixed blade knife in space.
- The 1963 Randall Model 18 is the first “survival knife” with a hollow handle and saw teeth on the spine.
- He has been credited with designing the first cross-snap sheath with a sharpening rod included.
- Randall’s Model 1 was so popular during WWII that Col. Rex Applegate wrote a manual on how to use his knife in combat.
- He has knives displayed the Smithsonian as well as in various museums around the world.
The reason Randall Made knives are so collectible? It’s all in the history of Bo Randall, grandfather to the handmade custom knife market. There’s a great chance that the Randall Made Stanabeck Special NASA Knife will become one of those rare, hard to find Randall Made Knives with a value that increases exponentially. To get this knife, click any link in the article or simply click the button below.
All images courtesy of Smoky Mountain Knife Works – smkw.com.
