Disclaimer: I am not a professional outdoorsman in any capacity. I have simply spent most of my years in the woods in some capacity and have learned many skills in the outdoors. And as such have learned a great deal through experience and research about knives.
Also, this is not necessarily meant to bag on or detract from the well known and loved knife company that is Randall Made Knives. This is simply my experience from some testing and resulting opinion from such. I encourage all to research and form their own opinions as Randall Made Knives has a great deal of loyal followers and a record for exceptional products.
The Review:
My grading scale
Poor-fair-good-excellent-exceptional
Model: RMK Non-Catalogue 9” Sportsmans Bowie
Steel: 440B Stainless
Temper: 52 - 54 Rockwell (I read this somewhere will update when I find the source again)
Edge retention: good
Toughness: good
Hardness: poor
Fit and Finish: exceptional
I have always wanted one of these knives. The Reputation and beauty had always captivated me and so many people had great things to say about them. So finally I sprung for one.
Since I bought it it’s been my favorite knife. The blade is the perfect size and shape for me as well as weight and balance. The construction was flawless. Fit and finish impeccable. And the top bevel being sharpened just made me even more giddy lol. But I was hesitant because of how gorgeous it was, I desperately wanted to use the knife but didn’t want to risk hurting it. However, I read that many people that own Randall knives do use them and do not end up hurting them. So I took it camping with me this weekend To give it a good old fashioned test run. I used it to split wood, light chopping, and shaved multiple sticks down to nothing to make shavings for fire all three days it performed each task without complaint or incident. Until it did.
I was using it to baton through a medium sized piece of wood 12 long and maybe a diameter of 3” at the most, so not large at all. It was not particularly hardwood as I could mark the wood easily with my thumbnail. Upon completion of the task I realized that the edge of the knife had picked up a blemish at two points of the blade. The edge of the knife had actually folded forward and distorted somewhat, I’d expected light chipping or edge rolling at least but this was a surprise.
Now, the knife is not ruined, in fact it is even still sharp and the spine is straight. It still functions as a knife, however, anything that requires cutting in a straight line is a pain in the butt now and so is sharpening it.
There are a few reasons I have a problem with this. First, it means the steel is tempered soft (obviously at rock 52-54). And while it can with stand a lot of legit a lot of abuse (it’ll bend instead of break) it also means that the edge will dull and chip quicker and easier. Secondly, I am not a fan of stainless steels in the least, I have a few knives in various stainless steels that perform well enough but they are nothing compared to any of my high carbon blades. Stainless chips FAR more easily than carbon and this causes you to lose your edge completely. And thirdly, frankly it makes me nervous that the blade will fail me one day if it warps so easily. I admit I demand a lot of out of my knives. I use them hard but I am incessant in my care for them too. And the possibility that this knife could fail me when I need it most spooks me a little. Do I know exactly what that would look like? No, I do not but it seems a possibility to me now.
Separate issue: I contacted them about this and they make you pay to repair your knife, which is absolutely ridiculous for a company of such Repute when companies like Buck stand firmly behind their products.
Final verdict: I still love this knife, it’s still beautiful and balanced perfectly for me. But, if the blade distorts that easily, even if it is minor, how much more would it take for some kind of catastrophic failure? I will not be purchasing another RMK as a gift or otherwise.
Best wishes to All. Hope this review was helpful!
Also, this is not necessarily meant to bag on or detract from the well known and loved knife company that is Randall Made Knives. This is simply my experience from some testing and resulting opinion from such. I encourage all to research and form their own opinions as Randall Made Knives has a great deal of loyal followers and a record for exceptional products.
The Review:
My grading scale
Poor-fair-good-excellent-exceptional
Model: RMK Non-Catalogue 9” Sportsmans Bowie
Steel: 440B Stainless
Temper: 52 - 54 Rockwell (I read this somewhere will update when I find the source again)
Edge retention: good
Toughness: good
Hardness: poor
Fit and Finish: exceptional
I have always wanted one of these knives. The Reputation and beauty had always captivated me and so many people had great things to say about them. So finally I sprung for one.
Since I bought it it’s been my favorite knife. The blade is the perfect size and shape for me as well as weight and balance. The construction was flawless. Fit and finish impeccable. And the top bevel being sharpened just made me even more giddy lol. But I was hesitant because of how gorgeous it was, I desperately wanted to use the knife but didn’t want to risk hurting it. However, I read that many people that own Randall knives do use them and do not end up hurting them. So I took it camping with me this weekend To give it a good old fashioned test run. I used it to split wood, light chopping, and shaved multiple sticks down to nothing to make shavings for fire all three days it performed each task without complaint or incident. Until it did.
I was using it to baton through a medium sized piece of wood 12 long and maybe a diameter of 3” at the most, so not large at all. It was not particularly hardwood as I could mark the wood easily with my thumbnail. Upon completion of the task I realized that the edge of the knife had picked up a blemish at two points of the blade. The edge of the knife had actually folded forward and distorted somewhat, I’d expected light chipping or edge rolling at least but this was a surprise.
Now, the knife is not ruined, in fact it is even still sharp and the spine is straight. It still functions as a knife, however, anything that requires cutting in a straight line is a pain in the butt now and so is sharpening it.
There are a few reasons I have a problem with this. First, it means the steel is tempered soft (obviously at rock 52-54). And while it can with stand a lot of legit a lot of abuse (it’ll bend instead of break) it also means that the edge will dull and chip quicker and easier. Secondly, I am not a fan of stainless steels in the least, I have a few knives in various stainless steels that perform well enough but they are nothing compared to any of my high carbon blades. Stainless chips FAR more easily than carbon and this causes you to lose your edge completely. And thirdly, frankly it makes me nervous that the blade will fail me one day if it warps so easily. I admit I demand a lot of out of my knives. I use them hard but I am incessant in my care for them too. And the possibility that this knife could fail me when I need it most spooks me a little. Do I know exactly what that would look like? No, I do not but it seems a possibility to me now.
Separate issue: I contacted them about this and they make you pay to repair your knife, which is absolutely ridiculous for a company of such Repute when companies like Buck stand firmly behind their products.
Final verdict: I still love this knife, it’s still beautiful and balanced perfectly for me. But, if the blade distorts that easily, even if it is minor, how much more would it take for some kind of catastrophic failure? I will not be purchasing another RMK as a gift or otherwise.
Best wishes to All. Hope this review was helpful!
