Book inspired 1-8 Fighter

M

Murindo

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Jul 4, 2010
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It was love at first sight when I saw the lugged guard Commando handle Model 1 on pages 38 & 39 in Randall Military Models. Everything was perfect except I prefer a longer blade.

I ordered one with an eight inch blade from an authorized dealer in January and received it today.

Yes I will be modifying it. Patina blade, dulled guard and butt, checkered handle.

1-8 Book.jpg 1-8 L.jpg
Original Butt.jpg Original grip.jpg Original guard.jpg
 
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I’ve had 3 model 1’s. The eight I had was too long for me, then two sevens, I kept the one with the commando handle shape. I very much preferred it to the standard handle shape.

All mine had the standard guards which I like a lot. To me it’s the Randall signature look.

The lugged guard gives it a certain Xcaliber look that is very appealing too.

You are getting a very nice knife, well thought out for your preferences. Enjoy it. I look forward to pictures of your mods.
 
Phase 1 mod for me is always making the grip less slippery. Randall waxes and ploishes the grip to a beautiful shiney but slippery finish. Easy fix is to run the grip under a stream of hot water for a few minutes. When it dries it is much less slippery. Easy to go back from here just rewax it and polish.

washing grip.jpg washed grip.jpg
 
Phase 2 is to remove the Randall gleaming finish from the blade, guard, and butt. This is done with small swirling strokes with a green Scotchbrite pad. Make a second pass swirling in the opposite direction.

You can reverse this step with machine buffing but it's time comsuming and don't get the blade caught in the buffing wheel.

Dulled Blade.jpg Dulled butt.jpg dulled guard.jpg
 
Phase 3 is applying a patina to the blade to "age" it. This is done by applying classic rust bluing which rusts the surface. Stop the process by rinsing with hot water. Then gently remove the rust and scale with that same Scotchbrite pad. I stop here and wipe the blade with oil. Note it's possible to go back but it requires a goot rust remover followed by polishing.

If you wanted a rich old fashioned gun blue finish you would remove the rust with a "carding brush" (fine soft steel) apply the blue solution and repeat the process thre or more times. Finally oil it.
rusted blade.jpg Cleaned Blade.jpg

Next week, I checker the leather grip.
 
I can understand your prefernces. From my perspective, you can't fully appreciate Bo Randall's design without using it. Before using them I set them up to my preferences.
 
That sure seems like a lot of work. I just leave my new ones outside over the winter; our winters are about six months long, so it ages 'em right up...

(Seriously, if it makes you happy, then be happy. Your knife, your life.) :thumbsup:
 
I'm 73 so I avoid long term projects. :) The aging work I do takes less than 2 hours excluding the checkering which takes a couple of hours. I'm about half way done with that.
 
I have the same handle on my Model 1, part of me wants to file work the pommel. M Murindo Do you have plans for your pommel?
 
On this knife with the large cross guard, I don't intend to use it in reverse grip so I have no need to modify the pommel. However, on the Model 1-6 I've owned since 1966, I shortened the guard a bit and beveled the edge on the pommel to make it easier to go from forward to reverse grip. Message me your email and I'll send a copy of the Randall Collector Newsletter where I detailed all my mods to that knife.
 
Thanks for that. I enjoyed reading about it.

What made you pick the 6” back then and the 8” now?
 
All the "experts" in the 1960's said the six inch blade was the best compromise for both combat and field use. Since my main weapon would be an M-14 and it came with a bayonet, a six inch fighting knife seemed adequate.

Now after studying fighting knives for more than 50 years, the eight inch blade is more appropriate for knife alone defense. Not that I'll ever get i to a knife fight. LOL

I will admit that if Randall made a Model 1 with a 10 inch blade it would be ideal. Their big Bowies are heavy and hard to conceal. I have a 12-11 Confedate Bowie but feel Model 1 is a better knife for routine carry.
 
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I really like that you have a vision of what you want and make it happen. Function over looks.

Randall makes the smoothest stacked leather handles in the knife industry. It would be nice if you could order them a little less finished.

I’ve been thinking of filing rings into mine like some other military knives. Like I did to the MkII knife above. That adds some grip, plus you can add o rings too.
 
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I completed my 1-8 today. Pics show rough checkering, checkering with beeswax applied, and the whole knife. Not pretty but higly serviceable. You can deepen checkering with a V shaped riffling file if you choose. You could also do a much prettier job than this if wanted to make it a project using wood checkering as a guide.

Handle Rough.jpg 1-8 Handle Check.jpg Model 1-8 Completre.jpg
 
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