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Old 07-06-2014, 01:48 PM
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Jacknola Jacknola is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: New Orleans
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Did General Westmoreland's famous model 1 have a Delrin handle?

General Westmoreland was famous for carrying his Randall knife whenever in the field in Vietnam. But... lots is assumed about that knife, and even more is not general public knowledge. It is often assumed that the knife was a 1-7, ivory handle, nickel-silver hilt. But was it? Here are some questions.

(1) When did General Westy acquire this knife? General Westmoreland arrived to take command in Vietnam in mid-late 1964. However, he was a veteran of WWII and Korea. He could have acquired this knife much earlier than in the run up to Vietnam. (However, the close-ups seem to show a baby-dot Johnson sheath.)

(2) Where is the knife today? No one has identified where that knife is, at least on line, though speculation is that it is at The Citadel. However, Gen. Westmoreland was only there for one year then went to West Point where he was the honor graduate. No one on line has actually described where the knife is or related the details of the knife from visual inspection. There is a Westmoreland collection at The Citadel, but I was unable to visit it because it is only open at odd hours.

(3) What was the size of the knife? There are contradictory accounts... some say 1-7, some say 1-6. Without an eyewitness account preferably with photos, no has authenticated this, at least that I can find on-line.

(4) What was the handle material? We know that Delrin became a product in about 1963 and was used on at least one Randall knife with "SS" markings, usually taken to indicate 1963-4 vintage. If Gen. Westmoreland acquired his knife in that time span, it COULD have had a Delrin, not ivory, handle.

I'm open to any and all information, especially if someone has some direct knowledge about this knife, better pictures, etc. Here are some close ups of the best photos I could find.


Last edited by Jacknola; 07-30-2017 at 02:38 PM.
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