History
Bo Randall first became interested in making knives after he purchased a Bill Scagel knife that was being used to scrape paint off of a boat without showing any signs of wear or damage. He founded the company in 1938 after making knives for several years as a hobby. He made his first knife in his garage at Lake Ivanhoe, Florida using an auto spring. Although Randall originally designed his knives for outdoorsmen and sold them at sporting goods stores, demand from military customers initially provided his biggest boost in business, and launched his company nationally. In the early 1940s, Randall knives significantly increased in popularity after receiving good publicity during World War II. Several noted war heroes and GIs on all fronts carried Randall knives with them into major battles, including Lieutenant General James M. Gavin, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division during the Normandy invasion. Army Air Force Captain Ronald Reagan, future U.S. President, owned a Randall knife in WWII. Randalls were so popular that GIs from overseas ordered through the mail by simply addressing letters to the "Knife Man, Orlando".
Shortly after the war, the popularity of Randall knives increased among non-military users, and Randall developed additional models specifically for expanding markets. In 1956, Randall received a United States design patent for models 14 and 15. In 1957, bestselling author James Jones mentioned Randall knives in his book Some Came Running, and subsequently helped Randall to design a diver’s knife. In the Vietnam War, General William Westmoreland, Commander of American military operations in Vietnam, was often photographed with a Randall. Pilot Gary Powers of the 1960 U-2 incident, and herpetologist Ross Allen, carried Randalls. In 1982, Randall was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia.
Bo Randall died in 1989 in Orlando, Florida, at 80 years of age. His son, Gary Randall, currently oversees production at Randall made Knives.
Bo Randall was inducted into the Blade magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1983 Blade Show as an inauguree. In 1997, Randall was inducted into the American Bladesmith Society Hall of Fame. In 2001, Randall's knives were listed as "Best Sheath Knife" as part of Forbes "50 Best List".
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