Many years ago I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to acquire a beautiful model #2 from a UH1-C “Huey” Gunship pilot that carried the knife as a backup in Viet Nam. He not being a “knife guy” per se, I basically had to go on his perception of the knife to include the condition. Being a pilot of a combat helicopter I surmised that he was probably more of a stickler for detail so I felt confident I was going to get a Randall in nice condition as described. I was pleasantly surprised that when I received the knife, it was in virtually unused condition!
On top of that, I thought I was getting a standard configuration model 2-5”. Upon receipt and again to my surprise, it was a separate “S” knife denoted by the small Randall Made logo stamp paired with a large “S” stamp. How lucky could I get!? This was a nice bonus to say the least and added to an already great piece.
The part that sealed the deal of course either way was the preponderance of provenance that he was willing to include with the Randall. Top shelf stuff that is so hard to get. This was more than a guy saying he was in country, but a guy that had some real duty in combat with a storied unit – 92nd Guns of the 17th Avn Bn – in Viet Nam. Photographs, a Vietnamese made unit patch, his uniform name tag with wings, unit doc’s, a unit “calling card”, and so forth. It doesn’t get much better than that and it the real deal. It is probably one of the best if not the best piece I have ever had from a combat helicopter pilot.
One question I had for Mr. Mills after I received the knife was and as I mentioned in the first paragraph, and that was how did the knife remain in near mint condition? He told me that he always took it with him on missions in the event the chopper went down, but it most often resided in his escape pack, or “grab bag”. He said he did on occasion carry it in a pocket on his jump suit, but generally left it in the pack. I am sure the fact that it was stainless steel aided a bit in its preservation and condition.
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