On April 7 of 1943, Bo Randall shipped his first two stilettos made in the Randall shop to the same gentleman, this according to Bob Gaddis. This is based on an entry in Bo’s journal of the day. Both of these knives had 7” blades. The third stiletto made is pictured in Gaddis on page 79, with this knife going to Lt. Dickson Mullins. This particular knife was an 8” blade. The Mullins knife has a brass center spacer, thick leather washers on the handle and a unique style of hilt. Maybe most importantly, it lacks a logo stamp.
The subject knife has a 7 3/8” blade that is the narrowest of any other WWII stiletto I recall seeing. It’s diminutive size seems closer to the Fairbain-Sykes type than later examples coming from the shop. According to Gaddis, Bo’s impetus for the stiletto was to improve upon the FS knife which was prone to have the tip broken easily. With a width of only about a heavy 3/4” at its widest point, this slender Randall Made blade is in very good condition for what is obviously a carried piece.
The handle is also small in size being only 4” in length from the hilt to the end of the butt cap, and also is very thin in the circumference. I know Bo had smaller hands, but this handle is also along the lines of a FS stiletto, and lends to the obvious influence that the British Commando dagger had on Bo’s first foray into a double edged fighting knife. There are fourtreen thick leather washers with the typical WWII “cigar” shape if you will.
The spacer stack at the hilt has what was originally a thick pale green, thin white, brass, thin white, and then thick red. This is the only known WWII stiletto other than the Mullins knife (residing in the Randall Museum) with a metal spacer. The butt spacer arrangement has a thick green next to the butt cap, and then a thin white and thin red.
The crudely cast duralumin butt cap is topped off by a brass washer and nut, but no wrist thong link. This is the the earliest WWII vintage stiletto to have surfaced without a link. The Mullins knife is the third stiletto made and does have a wrist thong link. I have seen a couple later examples without a link, but generally they seem to be from the period (or just prior during the transition from wrist thong link when a hole was being drilled through the butt cap as the means for wrist thong attachment. Perhaps they just weren’t drilled for a thong for use as a concealment knife.
The real key to it being one of the first two stilettos Bo made is the lack of a logo stamp. The Mullins knife is the only other WWII era stiletto I have seen or heard of that lacks a logo stamp and also has the other early attributes like a brass center spacer at the hilt. We know the Mullins knife was the third one made, so it stands to reason this is one of the first two Gaddis mentions in his book.
The hilt of this knife in a standard configuration would be almost identical to the Mullins knife referenced in Gaddis with the swollen or tear drop ends, but this one appears to have had one quillion bent to form a type of “S” guard. It is not known if this was done at the shop or later by an owner of the knife, but it has been correctly brazed where the quillion apparently cracked or broke when it was being modified from its original shape. There is a difference though in the end shape of the straight quillion and the one curved to the back. The straight one retains a tear drop end whereas the one back towards the handle is smoother as to fit more comfortably over the fingers. So, in the end, whatever the circumstances were, it is uncertain the modification was done intentionally or not.
The overall appearance of this stiletto, the slender blade, lack of a logo stamp, small handle with thick washers, metal spacer, shape of hilt, no wrist thong link, and tight fitting Moore sheath, are all indicators that this knife is one of the first two of this type made by Bo Randall in the spring of 1943.
About Author
