Andy,
Welcome to the forum. That's a very nice and collectable model #14.
Tenite is a brand of cellulosic thermoplastic materials produced by the Eastman Chemical Company. Created in 1929, and trademarked in 1932, Tenite? has been used in a wide variety of consumer, industrial, architectural and medical applications. Tenite cellulosics are manufactured from renewable raw materials (soft woods); they exhibit many of the same tactile and finish properties as wood, yet can easily be molded and extruded. Historically, applications for Tenite have varied from radios and telephones, to toys, toothbrushes and eyeglass frames. Bo Randall was looking for a durable synthetic handle material when he ordered samples of Tenite from Eastman.
The reason Tenite is a reasonably rare handle material is that it proved to be a poor choice and was discontinued. With apologizes to George Castanza, the "shrinkage" that is clearly evident in this example is what doomed Tenite as a viable Randall handle material and elevated Tenite handled Randall knives to mythical status.
|