The “Sun Valley Patrol” conjures up images of a top notch ski patrol in Sun Valley, Idaho, helping and rescuing skiers in distress, but for this discussion, it references the first of a new model of a Randall Bowie knife, the Big Bear. Bob Gaddis covers this new Bowie design extensively in his book beginning on page 212 for those wanting a more in depth history.

The name “Sun Valley Patrol” was coined by Paul Adams, and it was referenced as such in his original correspondence with Bo in 1957 when he submitted his design. It is interesting to note, that the the knife design as originally submitted by Adams was 12″ in length, but Bo changed it to a more servicable length of 8″. The knife was not even made until several years after the initial correspondence and design changes with Bo finally making a chrome plated example for the shop in November of 1960. Suffice it to say, this particular  example pictured is the only I have seen like it outside of the Randall Museum. It is extremely rare and is without a doubt one of the first made, maybe even the second example.  Key to this of course is the unique “forward curved” hilt. The hilt design submitted by Adams in his drawing, was rather unusual and ultimately time consuming to make, thus when orders started coming in to the shop in 1964 shortly after publication of an article about the knife and bear hunting in Argosy magazine, it appears this original style was supplanted by the more familiar style of forward curved hilt you see to this day.  The knife was officially introduced to the public in the 17th catalog of 1965